It’s the holiday season, bringing with it, its beautiful music, glittering trees and wonderfully wrapped presents. For me at least though, there are unseen gifts: Presents I have received that cannot be seen. With a disability, especially an undiagnosed disability, there are a myriad of challenges that come with it. However, what many people don’t understand […]
disability
The Fluidity of Independence
For my inaugural post on this blog, I wanted to write about something that’s come to my mind recently as I’ve thought about my disability and my upcoming fatherhood. I’m calling this The Fluidity of Independence, or TFI, for short (if someone else has used this term, I have no idea, and I’m not trying […]
Brutal Honesty
Parenthood is an amazing process. That’s right, I said it. It’s a process. It is the continuation of building a relationship with a miniature copy of you. You’re going to look in your child’s eyes and see a twinkle in his or her eye that reminds you of yourself, Sometimes, you will smile when you […]
Motherhood
As I am writing this, my son is watching an animated feature film about accepting others unconditionally via monsters! At six, his questions are incessant. Some of those questions involve my disability: “Mommy, why can’t you walk?” “Will we need an elevator in this house forever?” “Why don’t they build steps that can turn into […]
Spastic Mama: You Must Think Moments
A friend of mine has always amazed me. She has juggled three kids; two of them twins, has lived abroad with her family, has forged a deep commitment to her faith and community and is a writer. She balanced all of this while acknowledging her own needs for personal and professional growth. None of this […]
The Truth About the Short Bus
Now that I have a little boy getting ready to start kindergarten, I’ve already been thinking about the school bus. He’s fascinated by large vehicles and wants nothing more than to ride the school bus to kindergarten. He loves “The Wheels on the Bus” song and book. I’m pretty sure the day will quickly come […]
Reflections on Being a Parent with a Disability
A version of this blog was originally published in Breaking Ground, a quarterly publication of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities I am a person with a disability. I survived a traumatic brain injury following a car wreck when I was 18. My disability is visible in the partial paralysis of the right side of my body which affects the […]
A Tale of Toilets: Happy Unbirthday to You!
The other night my husband and I took my 98-year-old grandmother out to dinner with our two young children. My son, age 4, seems to always need to use the restroom. Seriously – his record is 5 pitstops in one meal! Anyway, this was a small Mexican restaurant with a single use bathroom. We were […]