Category Archives: Bridget

Dear Tourist

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Dear Tourist,

Thank you for visiting our little piece of sand.

You get a lot of flack coming here. You don’t know how to drive in the Rotary. You do not realize you are driving the wrong way up Main Street until you are faced with a Duck Boat ready to crush your Prius. You order your Sundae with sprinkles. We have to teach you how to pronounce Quahog and how properly eat a lobstah. Cape drivers honk at you when you stop to take in the view of the marsh.

You are blamed when we cannot even think of leaving the Cape on a Sunday or try to get back on a Friday. You are the reason we cannot go to Market Basket on our day off. There are some of you think Route 6a and the Service Road are a practice track for the Monte Carlo, barely missing joggers or bikers practicing for the PanMass Challenge.

10399797_1164462949144_6679198_n Continue reading →

I blinked and it’s almost over

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This summer I have taken more time off of work than I ever have in the past. I have taken more time to spend with my family. I have traveled and I have connected. I have also disconnected from my phone/e-mail/social crap. I have read more books this summer and watched less reality TV.

I’m freaking exhausted. Continue reading →

LTYM “Imperfect Model”

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On May 9, 2015 eleven women came together to tell their stories at Listen To Your Mother Boston. Here is my feelings (previously unpublished) about becoming an imperfect model.

View More: http://amyemilyphotography.pass.us/ltym--boston

Photo credit: Amy/Emily Photography

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TBT–One face of autism

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Today’s Throw Back Thursday Post is perfectly timed. It was first published last year on April 2nd for Autism Awareness Day and today Bridget is again just one small face of Autism.

Today is Autism Awareness Day. While I may not (yet) be comfortable with Boo having an added diagnosis of Autism, I am getting there. There is no escaping the fact that Boo was tested and she has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. But what does this a child with autism look like?
It depends on the child. When Boo was first diagnosed my friend Julie told me that Autism Speaks has a motto: Meet one child with autism and you have met one child with autism. The children are as unique as a snowflake. Each wondrous and magical and heartbreaking beautiful.
A child with autism is born just as perfect as a child born without. Continue reading →

On learning to see the person first

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It took having a second child for me to understand that disability did not mean inability. I am guilty, like many others, of seeing the chair before the person in it. I would look at those with a disability and not see the person first.

After my second daughter was born my definition of disability was reborn. This wasn’t a child to be pitied or thought to be unable.  This child could accomplish anything she set her mind to, whether it was walking or climbing up the wrong side of the stairs. She would defy doctors and our own expectations too often for us to begin putting limits on her ability. I wanted everyone to see Bridget, not the things that set her apart from her peers.

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Today matters

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Bridget has never obtained her milestones on time. There are some milestones we will never be able to record. Rather than dwell on those unattainable moments, I focus on the unique to Bridget milestones. Ones we never expected and the ones she worked so hard to accomplish.

Last week we had an epic milestone. Well, three milestones wrapped into a big one. Continue reading →

I already hate Kindergarten

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**Warning Rant Ahead****

Bridget started in a Montessori daycare within her first few months of life. Before we knew that our fragile daughter would soon become a ‘special’ child.

176Transitioning at age three to an integrated preschool was difficult. She was nurtured at Montessori, they accepted her for where she was at her developmental age and they encouraged her growth. There were no labels, there were no educational plans or processes. She was just Bridget. I was so nervous the first day of preschool. I felt like I was leaving my baby, the one who had so many struggles, in a cold classroom. I wasn’t ready. She was, thankfully, more than ready to spread her wings.  Continue reading →

Words hurt

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Have you seen the GEICO commercial, “Words Hurt”. Funniest freaking commercial out there.  It cracks our family up every time we view it.

Then Abby said to me (in all seriousness): You know mom, words really do hurt. They just don’t leave a bruise. Continue reading →

These Boots Were Made…

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Like most children with sensory processing issues, Bridget prefers to walk on her toes. Which is cute and if she had a desire to become a ballerina and dance on pointe we would save tons of money on professional training. Instead we had to worry if Bridget preferred to walk on her toes or if she was unable to put her heel down and walk normally.

toes

Continue reading →

It’s the cost

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I hate tax season. When I start compiling all the documents, look at our W2 forms and realize where all our money has gone. A good amount to charity, not a great amount, but a nice amount. Money we worked hard for and in David’s case a lot of overtime. Money we are saving for retirement seems to dwindle each year. Vacations become more camping trips and economical. Holidays and birthdays become less extravagant and more meaningful.

CNN reports that the “average cost” of raising ONE child from birth to age 18 is a staggering $245,000. That is a quarter of a million dollars. This is the “average”, according to the report those in the Northeast can expect to spend an estimated $455,000. A half-million dollars and costs are rising. And that doesn’t include what your family may pay for auto insurance, driver’s ed, tutors or college costs (or the cost of your 25 year-old that continues to live with you).

Let that sink in for a moment. Continue reading →