I came in last. And it was great.
I ran a 10 km road race this weekend, and I finished dead last. And it was great.
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May 30, 2016
Photo by Eduard Militaru
I made it possible
There was a time when I would have made jam from wild berries I picked in the woods. That happens rarely these days. I've become a woman who, when asked the question, "Did you make this?" coyly answers "I made it possible."
April 3, 2016
Photo by Lina Trochez
Sorry-grateful, regretful-happy
Two-plus years into life in Sweden and we are tapping into a service that didn't exist for our son, with his complex developmental disabilities, in the US. It's affectionately known in Swedish as kortis, which loosely translates as shorty, and is literally short for korttidsboende (short-term residence).
September 29, 2015
Wait for it
I was thrust out of sleep last night for a few brief seconds into total free fall, just barely this side of consciousness, unable to recall where I was, who I was, why I was. For a moment I struggled to orient myself in space and time, until I heard myself say in a calm, competent voice: "Wait for it." A total sense of trust washed over me, a sense of excitement even (who might I be?) until finally I slammed back hard into the labels and perceptions of me.
September 2, 2015
Photo by Tina Bo
Co-production and advocacy / Disability / Improving healthcare / Leadership and growth / Special Needs Parenting
In the soda aisle
Opening up my world to a wider range of difference in others has meant that there's more room for me to be me. It's easier for me to accept and even love myself and all my differences when I get the chance to know and love others for theirs. When everyone belongs, I belong too.
July 15, 2015
Photo by Jessica Newendyke
39,000 feet
I am writing this somewhere between the US and Europe, 39,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, the churning vastness that has been the threshold for my personal reboot many times.
May 6, 2015
Photo by NeONBRAND
More kitchen table talk
So last night my 10-year-old child and I were sitting at the kitchen table filling out back-to-school paperwork, and they mentioned that they had had a dream in which their older brother didn't have Coffin-Lowry Syndrome. They proceeded to tell me of the zany antics that can only ensue in a dream world. I've had a couple of dreams too in which he is neurotypical and I have woken up feeling shaken.
August 20, 2014
Photo by Flo Karr
Look Ma, no hands!
I have been riding with no hands when it comes to special needs parenting for some time now, ever since our huge move has had my attention elsewhere--getting a job, a place to live, a dog, converting recipes into metrics and Celsius. With so much to take in, I took my hands off the handlebars, trusting that the people around me would keep us safe (a correct hunch), that my mom detectors would sound even if 99% of me was caught up with figuring out the recycling rules of my new homeland, that I would take the handlebars again when it was time.
July 22, 2014
Photo by Jametlene Reskp
Detoxing from crisis
We have been in crisis. And I am good at crisis. As a parent of a child with special needs, I'd have to say I feel comfortable there. After years of wishing to be done with the drama of crisis, recognizing a pang of nostalgia for it makes me stop and think.
May 4, 2014
Engagement and Groundhog’s Day
It's not Groundhog's Day here in Sweden but that won't stop our family from the annual viewing of the Bill Murray classic. Tonight we'll snuggle on the sofa while Bill awakens to Sonny and Cher for about, according to the DVD comments, 1000 years or so, reliving the same day until he gets it right. When I first saw the movie years ago, it was merely a funny, clever film with wry Murray wit and all that Andy MacDowell hair. Over the years it has become a story of engagement.
February 2, 2014