You know who you are… your the mom that most can’t relate to, the mom that takes her job seriously. The mom that’s misunderstood more than understood. The one that stands up for what’s right and wrong. The one that is the child’s first teacher and strongest advocate. You are the REAL EXPERT of your child….
Category Archives: Grandparents
Friendship Road
Since we’re walking through another season of learning curve, this time related to my mother-in-law’s needs, I have been realizing again the importance of friends…and not just any friends, but friends who really know what you are going through. For us, this is not just people who have taken care of an aging parent, but…
Mildly Concerned
I’ve just about decided I don’t like the word mild – except as it relates to cheddar cheese and salsa. Mild should come with a warning label… I believe I recognized the signs of “mild” cognitive decline due to dementia in my mother-in-law a couple of years ago. Although I did what I could to…
Just Venting…
For the first time since writing for 5 Minutes for Special Needs I am at a bit of a loss of what to write. Often I know days in advance what I will write, and it becomes a finely crafted piece before I hit publish. Usually at some point on Tuesday inspiration will strike and…
When she won’t hug Grandma
We flew 8 hours with 4 kids and umpteen bags across the country to visit Grandma. Within 2 minutes they’d already hurt her feelings. It’s always been stressful to balance the expectations of extended family and the needs of my two older girls, adopted as toddlers from foster care. Both their difficult history and their…
Reports from Inside the Sandwich
It’s hard to say when, exactly, we became members of the “sandwich generation.” If I had to guess I would say it started around the time that my husband flew to his mother’s home in order to drive her back to our home so that she could meet our twins. This was about six months…
Learning to ride…one step at a time…
A Cowboy Needs a Horse Johnny lives in a big city, but has everything a cowboy could want (Everything, everything) He has a place to pan for gold (Panning, panning) And he has time to shoot a buffalo everyday (Shooting, shooting) And every night, he dreams he’s a cowboy riding the rangeFinally found the words…
The “Ick”
We have been part of the “Ick” people. We try SO hard not to get anything. To not be exposed to any others that are sick, have been sick recently, or that have been exposed to sick. I know impossible. But we really do try to stay germ free. Then it HIT and it didn’t…
New Groove
I need a sabbatical. I know from time to time we all need a break. I’ve taken to calling this much needed break a sabbatical. You see life got turned upside down in August. My mom entered the hospital with what we thought was going to be pneumonia but spent 2 weeks inpatient getting a…
Going to the Movies
Traditionally on extended holiday breaks, one (or both) of the grandmas suggest taking the kids to a movie. It is one of those activities that makes me cringe inside because I’m never quite sure how Will is going to behave once we get there. Sometimes I opt out all together or just send the girls….