Bridget recently won a trip to Great Wolf Lodge through a local disability group.  In a million years we never would have planned the trip.  One, the expense just would not be in our budget. Two, we never know if this type of thing would be something Bridget would enjoy or be tortured by. This would be the first theme-park type experience that Bridget would experience being mobile and not just hanging out in her chair.

Abby was beyond excited. Continue reading →

Dear Class of 2016,

You graduate this weekend.  You have spent the past 12 years going to a school you sometimes loved and sometimes hated. You have made friends and lost them. While it might not feel like it, you have lived a lot of life in a short time. Continue reading →

We were shopping over the weekend. I went looking for one thing, ended up with a whole bunch of things I hadn’t planned on buying. I know it happens to the best of us. You go in for a gallon of milk, you come out with three types of cookies, ten bags of chips and forget the milk.

On Saturday we went into the store to get a pair of shorts.  Continue reading →

I had this great idea for Bridget. She loves to run and play. I wanted her to have more typical peer interaction. Bridget would tell me that she played soccer at school. Viola! I will sign her up for the Y.

Before signing her up, I asked if she would be a suitable participant. I was told that the YMCA isn’t about competition but about teamwork and inclusion. I thought I had found the one thing where Bridget could be a typical kid. I know it’s stupid. I know, in my head, that she has a disability and there are some things she cannot do.

It’s my heart that has difficulty.  Continue reading →

If we were having a glass of wine, I would tell you the tourists are back. They have brought their enthusiasm for the Cape. They have booked our hotels and sat in “our” seat at Flynn’s. They have backed up the only Route off the Cape for 10 miles and made me get inventive to drive from point A to point B.

If we were having a glass of wine, I would tell you that the best neighbors are available for Margarita’s on a weeknight with a quick walk through the woods. I would tell you that I wish we had hours to spend chatting but I was thankful for the brief respite from my day. Continue reading →

Do you ever play with Siri? It’s one of Abby’s favorite past times. We have done the Zero divided by Zero question. We have asked her to sing Happy Birthday (She told us she doesn’t sing).  Abby has even asked her to call me Mommy who doesn’t craft. Let me tell you, the first time I voiced texted and she replied, “I’ll send it Mommy who doesn’t craft” I almost drove off the road.

We have asked Siri a lot of questions.  We have asked what to do when you are bored. We have asked if she was our friend.

I was leaving for work the other day and Bridget asked, “you working, mom”? (HELLO SPEECH!). “Yes”, I replied. “Why you working so much?”, was her response. Abby decided that was a question for Siri.

Well, ask an obvious question…get an obvious answer.

I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined that I would sign Bridget up for a team sport. We tried a Special Olympic basketball clinic. It was horrible. Bridget would not participate. She would kick the ball rather than try to make a hoop. She ran away and was, to be frank, that pain in the neck kid who was ruining it for everyone else.

Being the Special Olympics they would never say that statement out loud. But I was sure thinking it! Yes, I am Bridget’s biggest cheerleader. I am also her strongest critic when I think she should be able to do something and she refuses to conform. Continue reading →

When you have a child who is considered non-verbal, even with all her gains, is a difficult life. You, the parent, do not understand why she is hitting her head. She, the child, doesn’t understand why she cannot have an 8th Pop Tart (thanks, Grandma for that addiction).  You try to understand the extremes, yet you find yourself being frustrated about the little things.

Your child cannot tell you about their day. You are thankful when her teacher sends you a picture in the hope you can elicit conversation. And then it backfires. Continue reading →