1Sep 29, 2023
At a stoplight on our way to school, Adam looks at me, his expression all tenderness, and reaches over to flick my ears. He leans across my field of vision, glancing pointedly toward the red light before beginning to rhythmically bend and release the tops of my ears, sometimes tugging lightly on the lobes and […]
2Jul 14, 2023
“Need to go upstairs,” Adam says, the very minute Kevin mentions that we should play a game together after dinner. We gather around the family table, but Adam feels no compulsion to stay, may in fact find the relational atmosphere a bit overwhelming. When we ask him questions during the meal, Adam puts down his […]
3Jun 30, 2023
I stand on my tiptoes a little now to brush Adam’s teeth, reminding myself not to hum aloud the thread of praise weaving through my thoughts because Adam will feel as though, while he’s already telling me it’s time to finish with his teeth, he must also ask me to stop humming, please, because the […]
4Apr 28, 2023
“How was your day?” I ask Riley as she slides into the car after work, and what I really mean is how were the last few hours, and what astounds me when I ask is that, as usual, she seems as peaceful as the ocean at low tide, still, like glass. “Work was amazing,” she […]
5Apr 22, 2022
I gather plates for Adam’s birthday cake; they clink in my hands. He wanted chocolate–the cake (the frosting, the ice cream), and I have already carried it in, along with the knife, long and shiny and sharp. The cake looks imperfect, and therefore perfect for us, shaped like a sweet, dark hill. I placed the […]
6Jun 9, 2017
They sit waiting–my children and this party of their best friends, a huddled, cross-legged, patchwork group in costumes as vibrant and varied as they. Even with the house lights dim, I see the startling glint of silver sequins, a neon vest, leotards and athletic jerseys. I slip into a chair and just smile, holding my […]
7Nov 4, 2011
May your unfailing love be my comfort…(Psalm 119:76) Last night, they sat in the chair together, a boy and his dad. For years, Kevin’s lap has been the place where Adam finds the most comfort. In his most terrible moments, when he cries so hard he gasps for air, this is the place he remembers […]
8Jan 21, 2011
Adam’s voice is the best sound in my day. This week, I had the longest sustained conversation I’ve ever had with my son in the (nearly) nine years of his life. And it was about supper. Early in the morning, I thawed some chicken and mixed up the ingredients for some aptly named “chicken delicious.” […]
9Dec 10, 2010
My son has juvenile diabetes and autism, and he’s afraid to taste things. Well, he was.🙂 Word to the wise: Do not use the words I’ll never when discussing parenting your children. As a little girl, I lived by a few rules when it came to eating. First, we all ate the same thing for […]