I am honoring and so incredibly thankful for my best friend Regina. In 2014 we were pregnant at the same time. Our kids would be five months apart. We would do everything together and we were going to make sure that our kids did everything together. That was until things changed. I started to see the differences in our kids as they got older. I ignored it. I was overreacting. Everyone says boys develop slower anyways. “I have nothing to worry about” I would tell myself. I remember at his…
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When my son was first diagnosed with autism I struggled to even say it out loud. I felt awful saying the words, ‘my son has autism.’ When I said them, I felt like I was betraying him. Or making it real. Then, once I was ready to talk about it, I quite literally had no one to talk with. None of the other parents in my group had autistic children. They would be talking about sports and education while my life was therapy, doctors and sleep deprivation. I realized quickly…
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I know so many of you are wondering how Cooper’s birthday party went. Well, honestly, it went fantastic. And I was nervous. Heck, I’m always nervous. Prior to this year Cooper has never cared about birthdays. The song scared him to death. Presents didn’t make sense. He didn’t care about friends or family really. He hated crowds and expectations. So around age four we stopped having them. We would celebrate the day with just our family. And that was fine. But this year was different. With the help of ABA…
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I would like to honor my mom and mother-in-law this November. I’m thankful for everything they’ve done for my family in the past three years. I have three kids with special needs and they both have been there since the beginning. They’re our biggest support system. My first son Nicholas was recently diagnosed with Autism. He’s 3.5 years old, non-verbal, has global developmental delay, and sensory processing disorder, among other things. Daniel, my second son, is 2 years old and was born with an association that affects many body systems,…
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My son, Rowan, will be two in January. At four months old Rowan was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, a 1/6000, rare, genetic disease that causes epilepsy, tumors to grow in all major organs and development delays including autism. My love for him is bigger than life itself. I want nothing but greatness for him, for him to flourish in every way imaginable. And here it is ladies and gentlemen…the “but” we’ve been waiting for: But… But I hurt FOR him. I cry FOR him. I think about the life he…
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Have you ever prayed so hard for something and when God answers your prayer it is the opposite of what you expected. Then when you look back it was the biggest blessing that you ever experienced? I remember the day so clearly. It was a beautiful Friday in August. We were on our way to Green Bay to celebrate Chad’s nephew’s birthday. As our car was pulling out of the driveway, my phone rang. It was Katie, one of the supervisors at WEAP. She was calling to say that they…
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I’m writing this at 10 minutes to midnight. I’m lying in my bed with one arm trapped under my 16 kg, 3 year old son, his eyes have finally closed again but his breathing is still jumpy and uneven after his wake up. It is a regular occurrence for my son to wake up screaming and inconsolable. He wakes up so heartbreakingly confused and will often repeat the same phases which make no sense to me but it’s something that must be going over and over in his mind as…
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We decorated the Christmas tree today! Super Cooper couldn’t have been more excited. His anxiety about the day started early but we were able to talk through it without any issues. We visited the tree farm, he helped pick out the tree and we loaded it up in the truck…in under 6 minutes. No lie. The people selling the trees laughed at how fast we were. Let’s just say our family knows how to do things quickly. Once home we realized the trunk was too big for the tree stand.…
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I spent this Thanksgiving in Baltimore, split from those I love. Instead I spent it with my son and with families that feel the same aching, haunting pain that I do. We sit as strangers, yet we know each others stories better than our own relatives. For at today’s table, we are reminded of that, as our chairs remain vacant at the homes we have left behind. As life continues stirring around us with no one really understanding what we feel. Expect these strangers I celebrate with today; they do,…
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My seven year old daughter, Emmy, sat down next to me this evening and asked me what I am most thankful for this year. She told me ‘Don’t just say family, really think about it. Be specific.’ Without any hesitation…I said ‘You. I am most thankful for you.’ She looked puzzled. Offended mostly. ‘How could you say you’re most thankful for me?! What about Dawson?! Are you not thankful for Dawson too?’ I smiled, and I hugged her tight. Emmy is always thinking about her little brother. Putting his wants…
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