I think sometimes we special needs parents are getting the wrong message. We’re told that if we want to be effective, we should be the mama bear — fierce and protective. Or the victim, sad and pleading. The course leader’s parable reminded me that I have other options, ones that actually might be more effective than anger or sadness.
Tag Archives: Durga
Empty space
As we prepared to sell our house and pack for our huge adventure and head out to Sweden next week, we’ve had to take decluttering to the proverbial “whole nother level” to say the least. A trifecta of motivators—a cheer-leading realtor, the understandably high cost of trans-Atlantic shipping and an earnest desire for a fresh start—has lit a fire under our bums and experience has been nothing short of catharsis.
Love, even when it’s hard
Lisa Belkin at the Huffington Post did a wonderful story on me, my family and my Care Map on Friday. So many good things are coming out of it: new friends, new thought partners, new mentors, new opportunities. In some ways, the impact is easiest to capture in the stats: 9,000 visits to the blog, …
Getting into the driver’s seat
In my 10 years as a parent of a child with significant medical and developmental challenges, I had significant “a-ha” change in my level of consciousness just a couple of years ago. So significant that it almost deserves a personal equivalent to the B.C. and A.D. of our Western calendar. That’s how big a deal …
Surprise, surprise
This label, this story that “I am a parent of a child with special needs” is … changing. Feeling less precious, less necessary.
Don’t Google
Back in the day, when my son’s medical symptoms and developmental delays started slowly revealing themselves one by one, I received the following advice from several of his doctors: Don’t start Googling. While this advice may have been given for job security or to prevent a lot of “needless” requests for referrals, I think it was …
Synchronicity, Luck or Fate (whatever it is, I’ll take it!)
Well, it’s official. The blood test results are in and my son does indeed have a new gentic diagnosis as I wrote about suspecting a couple of months back. It feels weird. I’m not going to go into the details of which arm of which chromosome has been duplicated or deleted here because what interests me more …
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My gut
In 10th grade business class, my teacher Mrs. Goldstein taught our class a model that promised to make us more successful in life. When faced with a difficult decision of whether or not to do something, she counciled us to execute the following strategy: At the top of a sheet of paper (this was the …
Pushing my physical body to its limit
I am not a naturally athletic person. Lest you get the impression from the post’s title that I am one of those people with a vexing bottomless well of physical energy, aptitude or endurance, I must assure you that I am a clutz. I was a good student in my youth. I felt secure and …
Durga Tool #2: Empty space, as symbolized by trash bags
Here’s the second in what will certainly be a belabored series on tools that inspire me as a special needs parent to live with joy, courage and compassion, as inspired by the Hindi goddess Durga. As the Big Brother Big Sister Donation truck drove off with several enormous bags of my stuff yesterday, I realized …
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