Hope wanted to know what in the world I do with myself when she’s not around. Especially after she goes to bed. I told her I go flying at night for exercise. “Really?” she asked wide-eyed. “Yep. After you fall asleep, I grow a tail and feathers. My nose curves into a beak. And I [...]
Archive for June, 2011
Fly
Posted in Uncategorized on June 29, 2011 | 19 Comments »
Even in this
Posted in Uncategorized on June 27, 2011 | 15 Comments »
It’s late at night, and I’m dreaming about dreaming. Sleep is a like race, and I need to beat the morning. As I drag weary bones to bed I hear a loud thud. I check the video monitor: her bed is empty. Oh no. I rush to her room and… there she is. She hears the door [...]
The real dose of hope
Posted in Uncategorized on June 23, 2011 | 15 Comments »
“Do you have any questions for the pharmacist?” I glance in the rear view mirror. There are three cars in line behind me. Uh, well. See, my little girl has been having these horribly violent meltdowns for the past few weeks. Every day. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t know exactly what happened. Like [...]
Typical Time
Posted in Uncategorized on June 20, 2011 | 33 Comments »
Last week my dear friend Jess suggested that we take our daughters, Katie and Hope, out for some special fun. It would be just for them – and us! - with no autism to think about. We called it “typical time.” It was to be Hope’s first American Girl experience (and mine). So we got dressed [...]
Faith of my father
Posted in Uncategorized on June 19, 2011 | 8 Comments »
“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” ~2 Cor. 6:18 . I have two recollections of my biological father. The first, I was about five years old, sitting in his car. The second, I was eighteen, a freshman in college. I’d taken a [...]
Girl in the blank space
Posted in Hope, tagged autism, Hope, siblings, sisters on June 15, 2011 | 29 Comments »
When it’s finally quiet at night, the events of the day run through my head. The day’s story is like a sheet of filled notebook paper. There are faces and conversations, there’s my job in the city; our comings and goings. But most of the day’s page is covered with lines of Rhema and me. I see [...]
Detained at the Police Station
Posted in Uncategorized on June 12, 2011 | 46 Comments »
Transitions have become increasingly difficult for Rhema. Be it from the dinner table to the bath, the house to the car, the car to the house, upstairs to downstairs… she is not coping well with moving from one thing to the next. When I try to help her along by taking her hand, she resists. Touching [...]
Silly
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged cold fries on June 8, 2011 | 26 Comments »
It’s been a day. It’s late. It’s hot. We’re sitting in traffic. Kids are hungry. “Girls. You know this totally calls for fast food.” Hope cheers. Only it takes us forever to get to the Golden Arches because of all the crazy traffic. Finally we pull up to the drive-through, and the line is long. Hope places our [...]
VIPs
Posted in Ordinary Miracles, tagged amusement park, autism, disability pass, storyland, vip pass on June 6, 2011 | 15 Comments »
Over Memorial Day weekend we spent two days at an amusement park. We’ve never taken a family vacation before. We’ve traveled to visit extended family during the holidays, yes. But we’ve never taken a trip, just us, just to have fun. The girls and I visited Storyland with my sister last summer – it’s perfectly suited [...]
Mine too
Posted in Uncategorized on June 3, 2011 | 20 Comments »
The girls and I were at the playground. Hope was making all the boys play with her – appointing one as the evil dragon, another as the ice cream man, and the tall one as her knight. (It goes without saying that she was Princess Pinky of the Play Structure.) Rhema was being Rhema, contentedly [...]
