My family has always been big on Christmas. I started shopping in the middle of October this year. I am officially a Christmas freak! I love the lights, the music, and the nog! Try not to the judge me for putting up the tree before Thanksgiving, but I have to strategize where the “parking space” […]
reflections
Mommy’s Nervous About Kindergarten, too!
Today, my daughter began Kindergarten. For the past several days, she’s expressed the typical fears and nervousness about starting at a new school with a new teacher in a new building with new friends to make and so on…. We talked about her feelings and I tried to help calm her anxiety by pointing out […]
Back to School When School is Done
This is it, the first time in 27 years for us. A year with no back-to-school rushes, no watching for sales, no picking out school clothes or visiting several stores to find the perfect backpack. There will be no lunches to pack and no waiting for vans to arrive. My youngest graduated in May, so […]
First Day of School
It was your first day of school, and I remember being more nervous than you, and trying to hold back the tears, tears I think most moms experience when their babies go to school for the first time. But for me, that time, my tears also came from fears rooted in my past — […]
A Mother’s Rant
I hate it when someone refers to me me as “not normal.” I absolutely detest it. There is no such thing as “normal” to me. We live in a world full of different people; diversity is one of the most beautiful traits of humanity. I have seen different groups of people come together as a […]
Vacation Time at the Lake: Reflections from a Blind Mother
I have been reminded over this past week, while my family and I were at Mercer lake in Florence Oregon, how the four fundamentals in life are often taken for granted: 1) family, 2) friendship, 3) fun, and 4) fellowship. When things are still and quiet, and we are removed from our everyday busy lives, […]
What Being a Parent Means to Me
As a totally blind person who is a parent of three, an unpaid foster parent of children who regard my wife and me as their parents, a grandfather, and a host parent of almost a dozen foreign exchange students, it is difficult to put into a few short sentences what being a parent means to […]
Adventures in Parenting
My son is one of the most interesting characters I have ever met. When all the news came about regarding the “reformed” health care bill, he realized very quickly that it was unfair to his mommy and her friends. I was both sad and proud of his reaction. His ability to empathize with others never […]
Reflections on #ADA27
As I sit and reflect on the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I think about both how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to come. I think about the great people, some of whom I’ve been privileged to meet who have lead and accomplished great things, and I […]
A Place to Call Home
This morning I offered the following prayer to the universe. “When caring, empathy, and concern for the common good seems in increasingly short supply, the weight of life seems heavy. Lord, as we fight in the here and now, bring us into your kingdom should we fall to the forces of this world.” For those […]