Author: Dena Abramson Babb
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The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on that bus go round and round, setting my kid apart as “other” in a way we never wanted. We always felt (hoped) that the resources available in the mainstream school programs combined with the resources we access outside of school would be enough. And they were, until they weren’t.
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Thoughts on Afters and Nexts 2.0
Tomorrow is the last day of the 2021-2022 school year. The kids will say peace out to 9th and 10th grades by lunchtime, and by dinnertime the eldest will also be officially discharged from the outpatient mental heath program that has been that child’s only extracurricular activity since March. To say the least, June 16,…
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Antonyms for Linear…
Healing is not linear. Every option available to the kid and to us as parents right now is a rotten option. Nothing makes sense and nothing is clear – actually nothing make sense and the only thing that is clear is our love for this child.
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Strange Symmetry and “Stepping Down”
April 5, 2022, 6 years deep into treatment for depression and an anxiety disorder, and just one month into a partial hospitalization program to treat a crisis point in their mental health; my eldest child was officially “stepped down” from the full day program to the afternoon program.
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Thoughts on Afters and Nexts
So here’s the thing….if you ask me how I am right now, I will probably answer honestly that I am perpetually exhausted, frustrated by school and insurance systems that make it nearly impossible to get a teenager critical mental health treatment, frightened for my struggling child, worried that my other child is uncomfortable in our…
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Reentry Tales – What Is Normal Anyway?
Reentry is tricky business and there’s nothing normal about it.
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Social Distancing Week 52…525,600 Minutes
525,600 minutes and we’re still here to see what comes next. That is a gift and a reason for some celebration.
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Social Distancing Week 51…Vaccine!
This time last year, the COVID-19 vaccines did not exist. Today, only about 16% of the US population has received a vaccine. The fact that I am lucky enough to be so early in the distribution is both bonkers and humbling. I do not take a moment of this for granted.
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Social Distancing Week 50…”Coronasomnia”
COVID insomnia – or “coronasomnia”- is a thing. Google it if you need a rabbit hole to wander down. The results of my search gave me article after article assuring me that I am not alone in my current sleepless nights – despite the evidence in my own home provided by a snoring husband, snoring…
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Social Distancing Week 49…Yes. There Is Still a Global Pandemic
Keep doing all the things we can all do to help keep the virus in check as the vaccines continue to make their way (slowly) through the general population. Social distance, wear a mask, wash your hands. Because yes, we are still living in the midst of a global pandemic and I don’t want anymore…
We're All A Little Broken 