Blog Posts
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
(First appeared on VestLife blog) The other day, my son and I were in a store, and he was helping the cashier by putting our items in a bag. One slipped. The clerk said, “Ooops! Try again!” And I cringed. I glanced over at Zach, fearing some kind of reaction. I readied myself to calm him. Fortunately for all, he [...]
Sequins and Sharks
(Originally appeared on the VestLife blog) It feels like yesterday, but it wasn’t. My son and I were doing some browsing around at a San Francisco shopping plaza. It looked like rain was coming, so I had an umbrella. I also carried a very loaded-up backpack. Special needs parents go places prepared for almost anything! After a visit to F.A.O. [...]
Sharing Some Sun on Groundhog Day
“Then put your little hand in mine…there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…Babe, I got you babe…I got you babe…” As the black alarm clock on the white doily flipped to 6:00 A.M., Sonny and Cher awakened Phil from his slumber in his room at the Cherry Tree Inn. It was February second, Groundhog Day, and haughty weatherman [...]
How an Apple Changed the IEP
It can take the strength of a weightlifter to haul documents, books, and a laptop from one’s car to an IEP meeting. That particular Individualized Educational Plan meeting for my then 10-year-old son was pivotal (not that every IEP meeting isn’t). My husband and I, along with our advocate, had one ginormous task in mind: to have a communication device [...]
Cookies, Crayons, and Cookbooks
As a special needs parent, you just want to get it right. You won’t hit it out of the park all the time. But when you do, it sure feels good. When you go from idea to reality and the outcome brings sheer joy to your child, there’s nothing that compares. […]
Cemetery Trees
One stands solitary Stick straight and stalwart A sturdy presence under sun Under stars Through sleet Thick heat A steadfast sentinel […]
Sunflowers and Sunbeams
As I gazed at my son watching the beloved bees on the salvia in our yard, I wondered if what happened earlier played in his mind. There is no way for me to know. As the afternoon sun slanted, I studied him, and thought about what he might be thinking about. Waves of sadness lapped the edges of my heart. [...]
Everything Gold Comes Back
{Note to reader: this is a response poem to Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay} If nothing gold can stay, Then joy must slip away. The tides do castles sink. Fall robs the rose of pink. A Christmas tree goes dry. A rainbow fades to sky. […]
The Fear Ferris Wheel
When your world is a spinning pinwheel A moment of peace you just cannot steal The madness around you is totally real There’s tears in your eyes you cannot conceal […]
Mourning Has Arrived
About a week ago, as cases of coronavirus multiplied across the country and social distancing became the new trend, a visitor arrived on my front porch. Unexpected, unannounced, save for the deposit of a tiny package. […]
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