Posts Tagged ‘boy’

‘Thanks for coming to my conferences mama.’ Of course buddy. ‘Did you like my owl? They are nocturnal. There is a girl I like. I’m going to ask her on a date on the last day of school. Then if she says no I won’t have to see her for the whole summer.’ That’s seriously genius. But you are too young to date. ‘I’m not doing for very good in reading. I’m trying. I need to stretch the words more. But it’s hard for me.’ You are doing just fine…

Being a confident mother to a child with a disability didn’t always come natural to me. Even though it may appear that way. On social media. Or if you see me sitting on the ground in Target next to my son while his hands dance as he takes it all in. I may appear fearless. As I sit there, my back absorbing the stares. But often I feel out of control. Like I’m standing in a room spinning a dozen plates in the air. And praying that none fall. And…

Self-Care You’ve probably heard a lot about the importance of it lately. It is important for everyone to do this, not to mention necessary. This is especially true for those of us who are caregivers. Many caregivers are what we call forever parents. This means that we have a child that requires constant care and assistance. I will also be the first to tell you that I have not been very good about this myself. For starters, I was a single mom for many years. I went to school full-time…

Dear high school seniors, I want to talk to you about a group of individuals I wasn’t thinking about at your age. A group of individuals like my son, who need compassionate, patient individuals, just like you, who make a huge difference in their life and the lives of their caregivers like me. Choosing to work with individuals with disabilities wasn’t discussed at any career day, on any career assessment paper tool, or the college programs I was looking at….. but I wish they were. On a daily basis people…

See these two boys? They are brothers. One is 12 and the other is 10. They both have birthdays coming up and at least once a day I hear… ‘First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Cooper’s birthday and then mine!’ This family loves their birthdays. This photo may look like no big deal and when I snapped it, as the little brother walked his older brother into his first day of school this year, I remember pausing and thinking…this is it. This is what I prayed for. Every day. While driving.…

A while ago a newspaper article showed up in my Facebook newsfeed about a petition to ban drive thrus in a neighboring city. It had thousands of comments. And hearts. And angry faces. I was so confused. How could anyone feel that strongly one way or another about drive thrus. What did they ever do to anybody? Well, after reading through countless comments it became clear. Food places that have drive thrus appeal to lower income people. Therefore, bringing down the cities appearance and value. Which was news to me.…

To not always believe what the professionals told me. That no one has a crystal ball about his future. That what I am feeling is grief. And grief is love. To let go of the guilt. To focus on self-care earlier. And my marriage. To make finding peace a priority. To not judge my beginnings so harshly. To focus on the good more, even when it is hardest to find. To stand up for myself sooner. To realize that the child I have right now is not the child I…

I think that social media has led us to believe that a lot of families are perfect. I know I follow a few pages that make me feel that way. And sometimes it hurts me heart. My family isn’t perfect. We aren’t even close. We are loud and messy and probably even a little bit annoying. (I say that with the love of a mother.) There are six of us. Two adults. Four little people. And we smile and pose for a photo that will be shared on Facebook. Often…