A few weeks ago, I chatted with a father I know who also has a son with autism. In fact, they had just put him into full-time residential care. He told me about the year-long process to find the right place, and the profound sense of loss so deep, it felt like a death. Just before […]
Note: I wrote this post based on many, many conversations with my son, Jack. I tried to use language in the same fashion he does, because I find it fascinating. My name is Jack. I am fourteen years old, and I have autism. Autism is something in me that never sits still. It is my […]
I had such a nice time talking with you tonight at the baseball game. You cracked me up with all of your questions. Once upon a time, I had little boys like you. Now they are big boys. They don’t ask me questions anymore. Mostly, they tell me things they know but they think I […]
Today, I will be here. I will be here in this house with my kids and my dog and my son with special-needs and my husband who has dark, wavy hair. Today, I will remember that when it comes to autism, there is no right. There is no wrong. There is just me, and a […]
This weekend my 12-year old son, Charlie, won an award for Little League. I felt so happy, watching him walk onto the field in his orange uniform, with his shoulders squared and his head held high. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my other son Jack jumping and hopping with his […]
I know, I know. I haven’t been to church in a while. Yet I pray to you every day. My prayers are short, and to the point. In fact, I usually just say one thing. Please, show me the way. I mean a lot of things by this. I mean show me the way with […]
Last week, I read an article about a teenage boy who took a girl to the prom. It was squashed between an announcement about the royal wedding and some pictures of a hairless cat. At first glance, it didn’t seem particularly noteworthy. To tell you the truth, I almost scrolled right past it. Then I […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I am forty-three years old. I am in decent shape. I exercise almost every day, and I don’t take medication, and I don’t have any medical issues. For the most part—aside from the occasional cold in the winter and monthly bouts of PMS—I am healthy. And yet, I often think […]
Last week, I stood behind you in line at Pier One. I was buying throw pillows. I overheard you chatting with the cashier about baseball and kids and school and whatever. I wasn’t really paying attention, but then I heard you say, “I told my kids, they better get all A’s or they can’t play.” […]
Hey there, Mama. I see you. I see you trying to put that jacket on wiggling spaghetti arms. I see you holding a flush-faced toddler in your lap at the doctor’s office. I watch you load your card with groceries while a little person trails behind you, begging for a balloon. I see you. I […]
