Category: Just Keep Swimming
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From my perfectly imperfect family, to yours…
It’s late morning on Christmas Eve day. Hanukkah also begins this evening. A scroll through my Facebook feed shows me most of my friends and acquaintances all over the world are engaged in some form of last minute holiday preparations. I’ve been sick for the past couple of days, and am pretty weak and tired,…
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Grace and Respect
I did not have a candidate in this election. Not from the beginning. Not in either major political party, and not in any of the 3rd party options. So I was never going to feel “great” waking up on this day. What I do feel is confused, and concerned, and a little bit sad. Because…
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The Power of a Plastic Cat
Today is my son’s 11th birthday. This past weekend we had a small party for him and 4 of his buddies. This was huge. For the past two years he has not wanted a party – too many people, too much unknown, too many potential triggers. His solution to avoiding all of that was opting…
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Enjoying the Journey
When I fill up my car with gas, the electronic display looks like this… When I filled up the gas tank on the car for the very first time a couple of years ago, I glanced at the display and read the word “empty” as “enjoy”. I thought to myself, “Oh how nice, the car…
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Trust and Life Preservers
Summer break is slowly rolling to a close. We’re not at the end yet (11 days to go if I were to count!), but we’re close enough that new backpacks, shoes and some clothes are ready and waiting for the first day back. It’s been a long summer. My son has been with me most of the time…
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Once Upon A Time…
Once upon a time, there was a 10 month old baby boy who took his first assisted steps up and down the aisle of a church during Vacation Bible School week. The hands he held were those of a sweet little girl who would grow up to be one of his favorite baby sitters, as…
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Back on Track to Black
My son began training in the martial art of ninjitsu when he was 7 years old. From the very first lesson he loved it and was hooked. By the time he had trained long enough and showed enough mastery of technique to advance to his second belt, he had declared his intent to become a…
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To the Kind Woman in the Dallas Airport
We came home last night from a week visiting my husband’s family in NJ. Travel for a kid battling anxiety and panic has the potential for disaster. He did fairly well on the way out (there is beauty in a red eye flight!), but had some really challenging moments on the way home. There were…
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Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Every once in awhile I am struck by the absolute paradox that is my son. Following the rough time he had on the 4th of July, we gave him a completely down day yesterday. He needed a day of quiet and relative solitude to recover. Toward the end of the day I asked him if he…
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Holidays Are Rough – But a Furry Friend Can Make It Easier
4th of July is winding down. We are in NJ visiting my husband’s family, and Independence Day is a BIG DEAL in the town where he grew up. There’s a parade, food & games at the town park, and an extended family & friends barbeque to round out the day. We knew my son would…
We're All A Little Broken 