I’ve found in the past couple of weeks that it is hard to describe my relationship with Pat to others. Some relationships you can encapsulate in a few words: my childhood friend, my grandmother, my next-door neighbor. Pat was different. She was a mother of a friend, but also a friend in her own right. […]
Category Archives: Life
Apples and Oranges
You can’t directly compare conditions a hundred or two hundred years ago to today. At first glance, this seems obvious, and yet I consistently see people doing this. The comparisons are made when we talk about vaccination, obesity, infant mortality, childbirth methods, autism, child labor, and probably half a dozen other topics that I can’t […]
What’s It Like?
Another post today about living with disabilities reminded me of a question somebody asked me last night: What’s it like to live with a blind husband and all these blind children? First off, the connection with the article: We see a lot of this attitude around our family’s blindness. People think blindness has to be all-or-nothing, […]
Transformation and Perspective
One day last week, while hiding in the coat closet, Kender discovered our old vacuum cleaner. It’s been hiding there for many years, gathering coats instead of dust. He decided this was going to be his new toy, and he pulled it out, hauled it to the hallway, and plugged it in. Our first response […]
Driving from the Back Seat
A recurring theme from last night’s dreams really stuck with me after I woke this morning, all day long in fact. It’s the image of driving a vehicle from the back seat. Driving by itself is a pretty common theme in my dreams, taking long trips down quiet back roads, driving across the open plains, […]
If Today Was Your Last Day
If I only had one day left to live, I would spend it relaxing with my family. I would spend some of my savings to buy a maid service to come in and clean my house so I would have a clean, dust- and mold-free place to spend my last day. I would do something […]
An Abundance of Love
My facebook feed has been full of posts about Leelah Alcorn, a teenage transgirl who committed suicide by stepping out in front of a semi on the highway. I have a friend with a trans child who felt this story hit her like a physical blow in the chest. It shows that the alternative of a […]
The Tangled Knot
I am strong and confident, swift and competent, leaving completed tasks in my dust as I dance through my day. I face adversity with a smile, and I always see the humor in everything. I am grateful for my family and my home, for A’Kos the Super Wonder Service Dog and all he does for […]
Dear friend,
It’s been a year since you were taken from us. Such a long time, and such a short time. Time enough to diminish somewhat the immediate soul-searching I did wondering if I could have helped you, if I could have saved you, if I should have done something different. Not nearly enough time to touch […]
No Good Time
There is no time when I can guarantee that nothing will keep me from making an appointed time. I can never promise that Kender will not have a meltdown over putting on his coat and shoes. I can’t promise that I can exercise complete control over the sleeping and waking habits of six or seven […]