Graduation and awards ceremonies give the Right Hook. Yearbook signings throw a left jab. Prom pictures deliver an upper cut.
Sucker punches are those moments we think we are fine, but BAM out of nowhere something hits a tender place we did not know existed.
Read MoreApparently, it is Autism Awareness Day and, well, I was not aware until it started popping up everywhere. I suppose it's cool this day exists. I did my research and learned it is also national peanut butter and jelly day and also national ferret day. So, yea. I'm not quite sure what we are supposed to do with all of these days but it seems perhaps I can do my part on this national day to help you become more aware of this autism thing.
Read MoreSleep deprivation is part of the parenting gig. New moms are easy to spot with their top knots and coffee tumblers. A safe bet is the top knot, make up free, coffee tumbler toting woman you see has not slept in weeks. She is wiped out.
Lack of sleep does all sorts of wacky stuff to the body. Short term effects include cognitive impairment, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, and top knot hairdos. These side effects explain why early phases of parenthood are a blur.
For caretakers of an individual with disabilities, seasons of sleep deprivation can extend well past a decade. My daughter did not sleep consistently until puberty.
Read MoreThis is tough to discuss without coming across cold and insensitive. Special needs parenting is no joke. There is exhaustion, heartbreak, and ample opportunities for worry. We will cry. We will need to be picked up.
With the above reality comes a slippery slope of spending too much time in these areas. I thank God for people who did not allow me to linger and risk the chance of a downward spiral...
Read MoreLong term caregivers are incredibly fortunate. We have continuous opportunities to grow in capacity to love. We have a second, a third, a hundredth chance to get it right.
Loving perfectly is more complicated than what is depicted on a bumper sticker or groovy 60’s song. Rather, it is a slow process that does not come easy. The biblical definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 has countless opportunities to hold a mirror up to our hearts and remind us where we are growing and where there is room for God to be invited in...
Read MoreMy special needs daughter was the cause of many disrupted car pool drop offs when she was in grade school. When she did not want to comply, she did what was coined as “the plop”. The plop consisted of all 90 pounds of a 10 year old girl completely limp on the ground.
We had occasions where she would plop in the middle of the crosswalk.
I kid you not. She would plop smack in the middle of the street.
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