A couple of weeks ago I connected with a social media personality who goes by the name of Autism With a Side of Fries. She blogs regularly and posts smart, pithy comments about parenthood and autism, and occasionally, French fries. Every now and again she posts thought-provoking questions for her readers to consider. I never […]
Well, it’s time. Many of you have been asking—begging, even. I can’t let your questions go unanswered a minute longer. Really, you’ve been so patient and I do appreciate it. The time has come to post about something very near and dear to my heart. It’s time to talk about my new favorite Mexican restaurant. They have […]
“Okay, I should be home in ten minutes,” I told my husband, Joe, last Wednesday evening. It was about 6:00, and I was leaving Barnes & Noble so we could all go out for dinner. “Great. Everyone’s hungry.” But when I walked in the door ten minutes later, it was chaos. Charlie and Henry were crying on the […]
I’m always struck at the number of grandparents who turn up at readings. During the discussion afterwards they usually ask similar questions; “I have a granddaughter with autism. What should I do when she flaps her hands?” or, “Why do the tags on his sweater bother him so much?” One time I met a tall slender man […]
Last Friday night Joe had four tickets to a Monster Truck rally in town, which meant we had to decide which of the kids he should take. This was an easier decision than you might imagine. Rose smiled sweetly and shook her head when I asked if she was interested, and Jack politely declined, which […]
In a rare display of affection last Friday night, Jack bounced next to me on the couch in our family room where I was sitting with Joe enjoying the lights on the Christmas tree. For a moment we all three sat together, listening to the muted chaos of four other people taking showers upstairs. “At karate,” he blurted […]
“Oh NO!” Jack shrieked from where he was standing at the kitchen sink. I rushed over and saw one of Joe’s dark blue Dovetail Dental mugs in pieces from when he tried to rinse the hot chocolate out of it. “I broke it I broke it I BROKE IT! I broke Daddy’s mug,” he yelled, holding […]
“Hello? Mom?” a small voice said tentatively when I picked up the phone. “It’s me, Joey. I won the class spelling bee! My teacher let me call and tell you.” “Buddy, that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!” “Yeah, my winning word was incentive.” “You know,” I said thoughtfully, relaxing back in my chair. “I won the spelling […]
I rarely look over old essays I’ve written—and when I do, I usually hate them—but I came across this one yesterday and thought it was timely, given the anniversary of both my Aunt Jean’s passing and the Newtown tragedy. If I close my eyes, I can still hear my Aunt’s laugh; loud, silly, and best […]
“So, buddy. Everything going okay? Anything you want to talk about while we’re alone?” I asked my ten-year old as we pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. I had just picked him up from cub scouts, and I needed to run a few errands before we headed home. “No, Mom,” he sighed, reaching […]