heartache

To the Lady in the Black Sedan…

June 4, 2013

I get it. I understand why you did what you did. The main parking lot is a pretty long walk from the building, and the circular drive out front is always a clusterfark during pickup and dropoff for swim team. Your kids are old enough to be left at practice by themselves (I’m guessing 7-8?) [...]

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It’s a Rainy Day in the Neighborhood

January 10, 2013

I’m in a funk. I’ve been training for the Walt Disney World marathon for months. It’s not my first go ’round running a marathon. In fact, it’s not even the first (or the second) attempt at the Disney marathon in particular. But I did plan for it to be my best. In 2009, I was [...]

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The Heartache I Didn’t See Coming

November 29, 2012

Here in Mayberry, the kids wear uniforms to school. Uniforms are a parent’s dream. No grousing over what to wear in the mornings, no arguing about what to buy in the store during back-to-school shopping, and it’s pretty easy to find inexpensive tops and bottoms that fit the dress code. Because we live in a [...]

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A Special Needs Mom’s Heartache: Not What You Expect

March 1, 2012

I know that when some people look at my family, they see heartache. They see struggles. They think to themselves, “Thank goodness that’s not me.” They imagine that my life is difficult, that I am sad most of the time, and that I want to escape from the hell that I’m living in because I [...]

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Facing My Fears…Because She Has None

February 9, 2012

The great irony of parenting a child with a disability is that one of the things you want most for them – full inclusion, with no strings attached – is often sabotaged not by the actions of others, but by your own fears. When Sarah Kate wanted to sign up for swim team, every ounce [...]

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Highs, Lows, and a Girl Named Amelia

January 17, 2012

For all of my talk about “more alike than different,” one crucial element about our family is very different from families with only typical children: the fight for acceptance, inclusion, and equality for our differently-abled kids. In our world, the highs are extra high; the lows are extra low. Last week, Nathan and I spent six [...]

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Santa’s Lost His Mojo: A Christmas Story

December 28, 2011

Remember when I asked in a Seven Snippets post recently how much longer the Santa gig was going to last? Ten days. This year, Sarah Kate asked for a Zhu Zhu baby, a Kindle, and a NeatDesk (yes, you read that right – one of those fancy schmancy $400 home office scanners). I’ve been throwing [...]

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The Faithful Departed: Remembering Deacon Hank

November 2, 2011

Over the past nineteen months since Nathan’s birth, I’ve read many stories of moms who were devastated when they found out their children were (or would be) born with Down syndrome. My story is a little different. Someday I plan to tell it all, but for now I’ll summarize it in this way: before Nathan [...]

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Expectations: Bike vs. Cerebral Palsy

October 4, 2011

In 2008, Sarah Kate participated in an intensive physical therapy program (four hours per day, five days per week, for three weeks) at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.  In addition to the Adeli suit and the typical weights and pulleys, the therapist worked with her on riding an adapted bike. We offered to buy her a “big [...]

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Some Days: Life as a Special Needs Mom

September 29, 2011

Some days…you struggle to make yourself get ready to go visit with other moms who have typical lives. Some days…you die a little inside when you hear another mom answer, “Gee, I can’t think of anything. Guess my life must be pretty easy!” when someone asks her the question, “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever [...]

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