Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota’
My Son has Never Been a Burden
I received an email last night. It was from a disabled adult. She self identified that way. She told me that she feels like a burden to her family. She feels guilty. She feels sad. She feels awful for the stress her disability has caused her parents. She worries that her siblings resent her. She said she lies awake at night wishing she could make her parent’s lives easier. She feels like a burden. I read the email over and over again. And I felt like I’d been punched in…
Read MoreI Will Give You The World Kid
For the first five years of my son’s life, he never asked me for anything. No birthday presents. No trips to Lego Land. No demanding things in the Target checkout line. Some of you with children may think I am lucky. I don’t look at it that way. Until you live it, you can never truly understand either. For the first few years of Cooper’s life, he really never asked for anything. He never told us when he was hungry. He never asked for a drink. He never told us…
Read MoreAdjusting to Having a Child in Residential Treatment
This is a follow up post to ‘Let’s Talk About Residential Treatment.’ Margaret shares their families experience with making the agonizing decision to place their son in Residential Treatment. I never thought residential would be easy. It’s a whole different kind of roller coaster or maybe the power tower. The up. The down. Surprisingly, I find myself enjoying the “easy” parts. The day to day with just the two other boys, going to my sons baseball games, going out to eat and running errands. I can tell my body and…
Read MoreWhen Time Seems to Stand Still
I went for a walk tonight with my dogs. Like I try to do every night. It’s my sanity after long days. As I was walking I took note of four house being built down the road from mine. So much change. I let myself think about the house we moved into just a month ago and how I plan to live here the rest of my life. No joke. I’ve told Jamie he will have to carry my dead body out of here. I let myself think about our…
Read MoreMy Son Always Pointed
Last night Cooper requested that I sit on the front porch with him. Which I gladly agreed too. It’s not often that my little Energizer Bunny asks me to sit with him. As he meticulously lined up his treasures around us he noticed the trucks and bulldozers that were working in the field behind our house. He immediately squealed in delight, pointed, and turned my cheek. He was in awe. And felt that I should be just as excited as he was. He climbed up on my lap and snuggled…
Read MoreYour First Time Seeing Autism
We’ve known each other for years. Friend of a friend I suppose you could say. We are the same age. Both married. Both busy. You don’t have children though. I would say you know me pretty well. You know where I work. Where I live. Who my friends and family are. I see you regularly. You know that my son has autism. You hear me talk about him often. Sometimes I talk about the hard times. The medical struggles. The sleep deprivation. The constant fight. Sometimes I talk about my…
Read MoreThe Honesty of Six Year Old Boys
Our world is completely different than it was less than a week ago. A week ago we lived in a neighborhood without any children. So, our five year old son Sawyer really depended a lot on mom and dad for entertainment. He had a bit more screen time than he probably should have. He often told me he was lonely. He wanted more friends. This week, we live in a new house in a neighborhood full of children. All kids Sawyer’s age. All wanting to play and have fun. On…
Read MoreNew Video: Finding Balance Outside of your Home
In this video I discuss how fantastic my son is doing right now. He is happy, healthy, and thriving in every area. Every day continues to be the best and happiest day of his life. Our family feels calm and relaxed. It’s been an amazing few months. But, we also realized that Cooper has literally only been going to and from therapy and to visit families houses. That is it. Otherwise, he is home. We want and need him to be able to have successful outings outside of our home.…
Read MoreAutism Outside the Safety Net of Home
Yesterday, Jamie pulled me aside and asked if I thought Cooper was acting more autistic than usual. I told him no. Now before you gasp at that statement, know that it comes from love. And an increase in autistic type behaviors means pain, anxiety and other areas of concern. If we see him all of a sudden head hitting, lining up objects, closing doors, etc., we know that something is wrong. And we dive in and try and figure it out. When a child is not verbal and not able…
Read MoreIt’s Going to be Okay, Because You Will Make it Okay
I often get overwhelmed by life. Parenting, working, surviving, money, winter, whatever. You name it. I’m human. But typically, the worries I carry around life have answers that I can see. I may not always be able to do them or fix the problem but I do know what I ‘should’ do. I don’t always feel like that with my son’s autism. I feel like the questions are more confusing. They are harder. They are unique. I often feel like the questions and concerns live in the grey area. It’s…
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