We went to the birthday part of a friend’s kid this weekend. It was at a gym. Max had a great time at his sister Sabrina’s gym party, so I was hoping he’d like this, too. Only Max had his own ideas. He didn’t want to follow what all the other kids were doing. First,…
Category Archives: Conditions and Diseases
Fathers
Today’s post is an excerpt from my book that highlights the fact that I have the best father in the whole world. THE INTERVIEW Matthew fussed in his infant seat while I struggled to put myself together. In the eight weeks since his birth, I polled my friends who had gone back to work after…
Whoa! Even More Special Needs Mommy Confessions
You know, just in case you hadn’t gotten enough confessions the last time. • I’ll let Max get away with stuff—like having three chocolate ice-creams in a row—because I feel sorry for him. As if having all that ice-cream will somehow make up for the fact that he has cerebral palsy. • I’d like to program…
Teachers
This is the time of year that many of us stress out about teachers gifts. Guess what? What your child’s teacher would like the most (they might not even realize it until you give it to them) is a heart-felt thank you note, written the old fashioned way (on note paper-not in email form) along…
PsychoMom strikes again
We went to a children’s museum this weekend, a place where Max feels really comfortable. There’s a cute little outdoor area with a basin where you can push boats around, and Max can happily hang there for a good hour. There were a couple of other kids nearby playing with this little fishing rod where…
Setbacks
“Hey, Laura,” said Eric, Matthew’s primary care-giver at Camphill, California,”if it’s convenient for you, I might need a little vacation.” Since Eric is the second most patient person in the world (I’m number one) his request could only mean one thing. Matthew was having a setback that made him very hard to live with. Setbacks…
On not babying our kids
I was just looking at photos from a bowling party Max recently went to, where SpongeBob SquarePants made an appearance. Max had the time of his life. But as I stared at the pictures, I realized how ridiculous Max looked in that little-kid bib that I threw on him before we left the house. He…
Please, spare me the sympathy
I was at an event this weekend where I met some other bloggers. Several times, I was asked what my blog is about, and what Max’s special needs are. “He has cerebral palsy,” I would say, matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry,” they’d inevitably respond. This is the whirling dervish of thoughts that goes through my head when…
That trip to Idaho that got me on this whole “help Matthew find a girlfriend” campaign
A while back I told you that Matthew wanted to go to Spokane, Washington and Idaho. I never told you how the trip went. Here goes: As soon as our plane landed at the Spokane Airport, we picked up our rental car and started our journey, listening to Roy Orbison, the Beatles and Jimmy Buffett…
The boob tube and our kids
Kids aren’t supposed to watch more than two hours of TV a day, according to The American Academy of Pediatrics. I’ve always wondered, though, if that time recommendation should be less for kids with special needs. Watching TV probably isn’t doing their brains much good, even if they’re so-called educational programs. I use the TV…