As a mother of a teen girl myself, I know how difficult it is for teen girls to just be in today’s present world. The CDC released an article stating that “US teen girls are Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence”. Both males and females are suffering, but the data shows that girls actually “fared worse… Continue reading Parenting Teen Girls: Social Media, Body Image and Emotional Health

How You View Your Past Is a Window into Your Present I broke up with the man I thought I was going to marry on New Year’s day. What a way to go into a new year, right? The breakup had not been part of the plan. In fact, we had gone to a concert,… Continue reading The Power of Perspective

Outer Space Taught Me How to Zoom Out On an incredibly frigid weekend in March, my spouse and I decided that the only thing to soothe our winter-weary hearts was to pack up the van and head out on an adventure. At this point in their lives at ages nine and eleven, my kids know… Continue reading Rediscovering the Mystery and Magic of our Children

There is a reason Etsy exists. And Pinterest boards. And the entire home section of Anthropologie. We like to fancify our lives. We like the idea of tablescapes and monogrammed sweatshirts and the perfect mod lamp. It sounds silly, but it serves a purpose. Underneath all the fluff is this idea that we crave specialness.… Continue reading I Don’t Need a T-Shirt to Tell Me My Son is Growing Up

I Lost Someone in a School Shooting and Now I’m Fighting for Better Protection for My Son In March of this year, I lost someone dear to me in a school shooting in Nashville. My friend, Katherine Koonce, was the head of the Covenant School. She was kind, with a dry sense of humor that… Continue reading School Shootings and Children with Special Healthcare Needs

I read an article recently on the Swedish concept of kärt besvär. Kart means “dear or cherished” and besvar means “pain,” so loosely translated it describes cherishing the painful moments in life. The article listed several examples including the specific pain of paying a bill while also being grateful that you have the money to… Continue reading You Don’t Have to Cherish Every Moment

It’s coming. Can you feel it – the hint of warmth in the breeze and the sheer volume of birdsong in the morning? Spring is so close. With it comes longer days, al fresco dining, and the ability to walk outside without five layers of clothes. But first we must lose that extra hour of… Continue reading Four Ways to Help Kids Ease into the Time Change

What Are Developmental Disabilities? Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions that come from a physical, learning, language, or behavior impairment that manifests before the individual turns 22. These conditions usually last throughout a person’s lifetime and can affect everyday living. Recent estimates in the United States show that about one in six (17%) of… Continue reading Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month: Beyond the Conversation

There were airplanes in primary colors on the walls of the developmental clinic. Red and yellow and blue and green planes that seemed to move the longer I looked at them. That’s what I remember from the day my son Charlie was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It’s a trippy thing to process that kind of… Continue reading Medical Equipment for Disabilities: The Freebies Make All the Difference

We Cannot Underestimate the Importance of Disabled Role Models for Our Kids I’m pretty good at being my son Charlie’s mom. I know the difference between his sad cry and mad cry, his happy laugh and jokester laugh. I know his favorite foods and can probably guess what he’d want to do at any given… Continue reading The Importance of Disabled Role Models