"To girls everywhere, I am with you." This is how a woman who was assaulted and raped behind a dumpster at Stanford University ended her statement to her attacker at his sentencing hearing. My admiration for this woman is seeping out of my pores. If this were me,...
Today was Jax's first day of summer school (ESY for you special education people). He hasn't been in a school setting for about a year because some medical issues snowballed with his anxiety, which resulted in the school district sending a teacher to...
My son, Jax, is obsessed with Monopoly Junior. He thinks it is the best game ever invented, which let’s be honest, is slightly unfortunate for those of us around him. We play it after dinner, before breakfast, on the iPad. It’s a lot of Monopoly Junior. I feel like I...
It was 1984, and I was barely 11. We lived outside of Chicago and were headed to the home of family friends for dinner. Unlike my family, these friends lived large. They had lots of disposable income and were unapologetically flashy. They competed in horse jumping,...
My son, Jax, spent last Friday night at his dad's house. On Saturday morning, I waited for my ex-husband's big, white, cowboy of a truck, and opened my front door to greet my son as the truck pulled into my driveway. It was February 13th, the day before...
My son is a quirky kid. He talks about airplanes 99% of the time, he doesn't like video games, and his natural energy level makes hiding the sugar products on the top shelf of the pantry a necessity. He has cleft scars that make his lip a little puffy, his...
Jax, It’s National Adoption Month, and my newsfeed is full of adoption stories like ours. Stories about the decision to adopt, the complicated process, the financing, the trip to China or Korea or the group home in the next town over. There’s a theme in all the...
My son, Jax, and I were in the back of an Uber car heading to the airport. It was early, and although we were leaving for Colorado, Jax’s favorite place in the world, he was so, so nervous. His autism and anxiety were in full swing, and the What Ifs that have taken up...
“He is soooooo lucky!” If I had a dollar for every time someone looked at my internationally-adopted son and said that to me, I would be living large, y’all. I’d own a fancy horse and a yacht and some serious acreage, all owned by my corporation, MyLuckyKid, LLC....
OMG OMG OMG. I was paid to write something. Cash money! For the very first time. I will now have a celebratory parade around my house with streamers that will take up most of my earnings. But whatever!! I was paid to write.
"What do you want others to know about parenting a special needs kid?" This is a common thread in special needs world. This theme gets batted around frequently on Facebook and the blogs and the newsletters. Moms chime in, one after another, I...
We just celebrated my son’s ninth birthday. If you had asked me ten years ago what my future son’s ninth birthday would look like, I might have described the perfect summer pool party. Something rambunctious and loud and perfectly planned. Water balloons and canon...
I have been putting this post off for weeks. I’ve told myself that I have writer’s block, that I’m too busy, that life, you guys. Really, I am just hiding out. From myself and from you and from this blinking cursor who knows that I won’t write another thing until and...
My son was born with a cleft lip and palate. His lip was surgically repaired while he was in China, but the palate was wide open when we adopted him. I knew, going in, that surgeries were a part of his treatment plan. To date, his surgeries have been successful and...
I was driving out of the parking lot of a thai restaurant in a sketchy part of town when my son asked from the backseat, "Mom, will you always love me?" This is not the first time he has asked this, and it won't be the last, but it's a tweak to the heart all the same....
Like I do every morning, I dropped off Jax at school today. They have it down. You enter from the north, pull around to the back doors, school staff meet you at your car, "Bye, Have a Rockstar Day, Love you," and off you drive out the west entrance. The whole thing...
Hi Therapists, I feel like I know you all pretty well now. You’ve been in my home with my son for almost a year. Four, five, six days a week, you’re here. You’ve seen me in my pajamas, watched me do laundry and cook dinner. I spend more time with you than I do with my...
I heard Jax wake up this morning and run right into the kitchen. He wants to be a "big kid" so I crept out of my bed, and very quietly hovered in the hallway so he didn't know I was watching. I thought he might try to spray paint my cabinets or take apart my toaster....
What I have here is a box full of plans for a kid that I don’t have. Some days, like today, it makes me sad.
A few months back, I got an email asking a few of us special needs moms to share the "gifts" of special needs parenting. The responses would be published and the world would probably be a better place. I like to see my name in lights as much as anybody else, but I...
Dear Mom in the Waiting Room, I didn't see you at first. What I noticed as we walked in was a young, laughing girl spinning around with a stuffed animal at the end of her outstretched arms. She had that kind of pure laugh that made me smile just hearing it. We...
Happy 4th, my lovely readers. Happy 4th. We are braving the great big typical world this weekend with a staycation at a local resort. There will be swim-up movies, a water balloon toss, t-shirt decorating, hoola hoop contests - this sounds like kid heaven. My son...
We just celebrated Chinese New Year over here. Another family with an adopted Chinese daughter joined us and we called it a party. I bought some food from a local Chinese restaurant, bought some stuff from World Market and did a little bit of decorating. It...
Just a few days ago, Kelli Stapleton tried to kill herself and her 14 year-old autistic daughter, Issy. Kelli drove the family van to a desolate area near Lake Michigan, rolled up the windows, and lit two charcoal grills. Mother and daughter were found...
Hey girlllll! 🙂 I read your Op-Ed piece on your preventative double mastectomy. OMG! Who knew? That sneaky Brad - such a secret keeper. So it's funny, but I did the same thing. Yes! Seriously! Back in 2009, I had a double mastectomy because, sit down for this, I have...
