Every year I write each of my children a letter on their birthday. It describes the person they are at that particular age; their likes and dislikes, favorite activities, and overall temperament. This letter is to my son Jack, as he turns seventeen. Dear Jack, Today, you are seventeen. My second child, my Sunday son, my rule-breaker, […]
Pssst, hey you. Yes, you. The Mama whose brain is a catalogue of shoe sizes, permission slips, meatball recipes, and social stories. The woman trying to balance marriage/motherhood/autism and the cart in the grocery store. I see you. I hear you I am you. My name is Carrie. I have five kids. My second son, Jack, […]
I guess you could say I’m just a roof and windows and concrete and wood. You might think I have no soul. But this is not true. I breathe alongside the people I hold. For the past fourteen years, a family has lived inside these walls—a mom, a dad, four boys, and one pink girl. […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. My son Jack has autism. He is almost seventeen. About five years ago, Jack fell apart. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was springtime, which in New Hampshire is little more than an extension of winter. Crusty snow lingered on the ground, and the mornings were cloudy […]
I’d like to apologize for my son Jack’s behavior today. He didn’t answer when you asked what grade he’s in or look up when you commented on his height. Still you packed our bags cheerfully—the new pitcher for iced tea, the yellow placemats, the fragrant candles. But I felt a tension settle over us like […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. He is almost seventeen years old. April is Autism Awareness Month. As a kid I played a game with my friends, where we’d repeat the same word over and over again until they turned meaningless on […]
My name is Carrie. I am married to a man named Joe, and we have five children. Our second son is diagnosed with autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen. I am equal parts mother/wife/advocate. I mean, I try to be equal in all of these parts, yet sometimes I feel as though I am robbing […]
Mom. For today. Is Joey’s birthday. Yes, Jack, it is. Eighteen. He is eighteen. Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. You can ask any mother what time her baby was born, and she will tell you down to the minute. You can […]
I talk a lot about my son Jack, and the day we officially learned he had autism. It was a chilly afternoon in November. The doctor’s office was small, and stuffy. Jack whirled and jumped and spun around the room. He banged his shin on the filing cabinet and dropped to the floor and shrieked. […]
My son Jack was diagnosed with autism in 2005. Carrie Underwood had just won American Idol. Matthew McConaughy was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine, and scientists discovered a dwarf planet called Eris. I knew nothing about autism. Aside from a random documentary I’d once watched, and the movie Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman, I […]