Tag: depression
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Hard Choices and the Space Between
It’s been almost 3 years since we made the decision to use medication as a tool to help my son manage his mental health. 3 years of the trial and error that is inherent to the delicate balance between brain chemistry and drug efficacy. 3 years of weighing potential and actual side effects against positive…
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Make a Wish – Part 2
In the first part of this post, I talked about World Mental Health Day and how the significance of that date was different for me this year, as my son was about to turn 13. That was yesterday. Now we’re at today, and suddenly I have a teenager living in my house – a teenager…
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Make a Wish – Part 1
October 10th. World Mental Health Day. Also the day before my son turns 13. When he wakes up tomorrow he will have made another trip around the sun while living with anxiety and depression, and will morph from being a child battling mental illness to being a teenager battling mental illness. The fact that the focus…
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It’s Okay To Keep Walking Away…A Letter To My Middle School Aged Kids
Dear O & K, Yesterday, I watched you both walk away from me and toward your middle school. Together you walked for the first time toward a shared experience that is all yours and not at all mine. As you walked away I was reminded of another time I watched you walk away from me,…
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Grace, Grit, and an Unfinished Story
The idea for this blog first took root in my heart as I sat in the sanctuary of Riviera United Methodist Church on Maundy Thursday of 2016. This is the church that has been my spiritual home for 17 years and my place of employment for almost 7 years. It is also the place where…
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Letting Go of the Security Blanket
We are now one week into summer vacation for my kids. Which means we are now one week into being solidly past our elementary school years – a fact I am just beginning to fully acknowledge. It’s not that I am sappy, mushy, and in denial about my kids growing up. Frankly, I enjoy them…
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(Failure to) Thrive…
My son was born tongue-tied. Literally. Many people don’t know that tongue-tie is an actual thing…Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition present at birth that restricts the tongue’s range of motion. An unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue (lingual frenulum) tethers the bottom of the tongue’s tip to the floor of the mouth. The…
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Note to self…
Dear Dena, Today started with an email from your son’s therapist that included this…”It seems increasingly urgent that we meet ASAP to collaborate more closely and consider what may be needed for O at this time. He does seem to be deteriorating over the last several months now.” It’s not that you didn’t see that…
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Valentine’s Day – Real. Raw. Broken. Beautiful.
So Valentine’s Day. Commercial holiday? Totally. But do I still love any excuse to shower some love on my kids and husband? Totally. Sometimes showering love in real life, doesn’t always look like it does in my head. Today was one of those days. Today showering love looked like me holding my son as he…
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The View From Here..
School ended today at 12pm. By 12:20pm I had four extra kids in the house – two friends of my son and two friends of my daughter. They all came home from school with us and will all spend the night. It’s a huge “Welcome to Summer” celebration. Earlier today as I was leaving work…
We're All A Little Broken 