Season’s greetings, friends and family! I am happy to report the Cariello family had a wonderful 2018. My husband Joe and I are doing well, and all five kids are happy, healthy, and active. We now have three teenage boys in the house. They eat like you can’t even imagine. The other day I snapped […]
When the sound of your 6-foot–size-13-shoe self jumping hopping grunting stimming threatens my very sanity, I try to remember. I try to remember how it might feel to live inside your body. I try to remember all the times I held your little hand in mine. Fingers dancing against my palm, desperate […]
Because of a boy, I know things. I kind of wish I didn’t. But I do. I know unconditional love it not easy love. Oh, it is not. Unconditional love is gritty, hold-your-head-in-your-hands hard. It is determined. It is raw. It is a choice. Because of a boy, I know that being alone is […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post based on some conversations with my son Jack. Hello. This is Jack. My mother said we are going to your house for a holiday party this year. Last time I came to your house it didn’t go so good. It was Saturday, December 14th, 2013. I was very scared of your […]
Hi. I’m not sure if you remember me. You were standing behind my son Jack and I in Panera this afternoon. He had just finished ordering his macaroni and cheese in a bread bowl with a side of bread. As we were walking over to get our drinks, you reached out and touched my arm […]
Child of mine. Come close to me. Closer still. Sit here, and take my hand. I have so many things I want to tell you. Too often, the things I want to say get caught in the bottom of my throat when I am driving to basketball practice, and buying oatmeal, and folding towels. […]
Hey buddy. We met with some people today to talk about your future and stuff. When you were a little boy, we used words like integrated preschool, joint attention, perseverative behavior. Rigidity. Speech therapy. Autism. We worried you’d get lost in the store because you liked to run from us. We were afraid you’d reach […]
It is an epidemic, they say. A catastrophe. A crisis. How? We ask. How do we keep them safe? These children of ours. How do we keep them from shooting up their arms, and snorting into their nose, and vaping in their lungs? We consult handbooks. We attend meetings in the community. We read. […]
[Editor’s note: I wrote this post based on conversations with my son, Jack. He read it over and asked me to tell you that he always has a sandwich after school now, except on Tuesdays. On Tuesdays he likes to have cereal.] My Tell-Tale Heart Hello. I am Jack. I am a teenager. I […]
What did you do today? Your question for me. A good question. A curious question. Nonetheless, I found myself without an answer. What did I do? Well, I did nothing. And I did everything. I remade a bed so the sheets were pulled extra-tight. I noticed a broken window blind, and made an […]