Posts Tagged ‘autism dad’
Autism, Football, and Apples
I love football. I don’t remember ever not loving football. I can’t tell you when that love started because it has always been part of my life. Growing up, Sundays consisted of going to church, making a great Sunday dinner, getting together with family and watching the Denver Broncos. One of my favorite memories of my Dad is running back and forth throughout the house while he threw me passes. My love for football has grown and changed over the years. Like any dad, I hope that I can share…
Read MoreThis Journey Alongside Autism Can Be Lonely
I’m struggling. There, I said it. The weird thing is, I don’t know everything I’m struggling with. It seems to be a few things, but the one that I think is at the fore front of it all is loneliness. How can I be lonely? I have a beautiful wife that I see and talk to every night. However, it has been quite some time since we’ve had a date night. We get respite sometimes. It’s just never the same person, and I have trust issues. I have two beautiful…
Read MoreThe Forever Dads
I imagine it’s different for the dads. The dads like my husband. Last night I sat in the bleachers of a cold hockey rink watching my middle son play hockey. I glanced back behind me and took note of all the dads standing in a row. My husband was sandwiched in-between a group of 5 or so men. A snapshot out of the suburbia playbook. They all shared a striking resemblance. Black jackets. Black facemasks. All wearing hats. We are in the stage of life I suppose. Our peers are…
Read MoreDaddy, I’ve Been Watching You
Today, while driving in the car, we heard these lyrics: “He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool…I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you….And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are…We like fixing things and holding mama’s hand…Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad…I wanna do everything you do…So I’ve been watching you.” I started to tear up. I got to thinking about our little boy. Nathan is 5 and is non-verbal with autism. He can say some words when prompted but cannot…
Read MoreHappy Birthday Jamie
Happy birthday to my husband Jamie! So much to say. So little time because one kid is in the dog dish, one needs a snack, Cooper can’t find his iPad, and I’m attached to a breast pump. So I’ll just say thank you for being with me on this journey. It’s never dull. It’s never quiet. I miss you a lot…even when we are in the same room. We have our four beautiful children to blame for that. We are blessed beyond measure. I know that for certain. And maybe…
Read MoreHe Made up for It
Yesterday when I was talking about the chapters in my book, someone asked about Cooper’s relationship with his dad. And if I touched on it in my writing. The person then asked a follow up question about affection. ‘Does Cooper show affection to his dad? Has he always?’ The answer is no…he hasn’t always shown affection outwardly. Coops was more of a lone wolf when he was younger. And it was hard at times. Lonely even. We wanted so desperately to engage with our beautiful son. But his dad made…
Read MoreI am so Much More Than a Caregiver
A couple of my friends, Finding Cooper’s Voice and Jackson’s Journey, Jackson’s Voice, started a campaign called, “More than a Caregiver”. Proceeds from merchandise sales go to help people that are well… Caregivers. Caregivers, but so much more. It got me thinking…what does “More than a Caregiver” mean to me? I’m a “caregiver” to our two boys, and I might be forever. I have hope that they will be able to do things on their own, and we are working on that. But, I’m so much more than a “caregiver”.…
Read MoreHappy Father’s Day Jamie
Happy Father’s Day to this guy. I’m sure he will second my statement of…’four kids? How did this happen?’ And yet here we are. Four weeks into an adventure like no other. I will say that while we both know that we are blessed beyond our wildest dreams, it also hasn’t been the easiest. And if we’ve learned anything it’s that chaos can happen in a split second. We can be cruising along, doing fine, and then all of sudden everyone is screaming and threats are being made and the…
Read MoreYou are Our Hero
Young love, there’s nothing like it. You live in this bubble of hope. You make plans for the future and wonder about what your life together will bring. You dream about where you will live, how many children you will have, what vacations you will take. You look forward to a happy life together. Especially being so young and naive you are not imagining all the heartbreak and loss you will have to go through. It’s a part of life and how you cope and support each other as a couple…
Read MoreThe Person
I never wanted to be The Person. You know, The Person—the one in a marriage who handles all the kid stuff, like changing the diapers and checking the homework folder and buying shoes. (The Person is also known as the Default Parent, The Micromanager, or the Helicopter Mom.) I did pretty well for the first year I was a mother. Our oldest son Joey was born and, for the most part, my husband Joe and I handled the responsibility of taking care of a new baby fairly equally. I didn’t care how he swaddled him,…
Read More