Blogs
You Should Be A Model Ms. Waiver(ly)
First, I have never been asked or accused of being a model. In fact, this has nothing to do with beautiful people slinging jeans on “the gram.” We are talking about state and federal waivers allowing families like mine to access...
Glass Boomerangs
Raising a child with a disability presents unforeseen challenges. One of many is navigating the experience of his or her sibling(s). You may have heard the expression Glass Children which captures the sentiment of many siblings of children with disabilities....
I Can’t Do That Anymore
Ability Wealth Group’s SustainAbility planning process can help support families as they transition through life’s stages, well, maybe not so much with the printer issues.
Prince of Pavlovia
We are all “Pavlovians” in some respect, conditioned to repeat things that work.
The Time Value of Mommy
There is a distinct trend of “super moms” aging out of being able to care for their differently abled child. Leaving other siblings and family struggling to replace the love, time, and care that Mom was able to provide.
Sounds Like a You Problem
When I told her that he was so happy simply watching others play, she looked right at me and said,
“that seems like a you problem and not a Drew problem.”
4 Wheel Grind
Let it be known that I am fully aware that all our kids drive us crazy in one way or another. But what type of transmission drives their car? Some are smooth like a Rolls Royce but obviously expensive to maintain. Others are fast as a Ferrari with so much...
A New Lowes In Parenting
I have rewritten this thing three times at this point and I am unable to tell the story in less than thirty pages so here is the screen play version. Scene: A packed Lowes on a beautiful fall Saturday. Characters: Drew (The Boy) Jason (The Dad) ...
The Extraordinary Extra Ordinary
We often hear, “Y’all are extraordinary parents,” and we very much appreciate the compliment. With that said, the word “extraordinary” is interesting to me. Mainly because whoever penned this word got lazy and just smashed two words together and called it a...
Waffle Sauce
Waffle Sauce Is it bad that I think it is awesome that Drew calls syrup “waffle sauce”? In my opinion, waffle sauce is right up there with the guy who asked the question “why are jet skis not called boater cycles”. I mean, technically the kid is not wrong. Log cabin...
Attempting Brave
Attempting Brave To all those who read “A Picture to Precious” this blog was written a month before, I managed to misplace it on my hard drive. For all you movie buffs, let’s call it a prequel. It is 11 am, we are at Children’s Hospital in Atlanta with Drew, for the...
The Journey to Finding Purpose
The Journey to Finding Purpose I have searched for many things in life over the past 11 years with my son Drew. That list would include everything from a rare disease diagnosis to a toy ice cream truck that drew played with one time four years ago. Some of what I was...
A Moment Too Precious for a Picture
A Moment Too Precious for a Picture I love going to a child’s first birthday party, and not for the reason you’re thinking. Sure, I care about the little ankle-biter but the entertainment for the day is mom and dad. It’s like watching a SWAT team clear a house during...
The Pilot Jumped
The Pilot JumpedSeveral years ago, while visiting our team of doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (a.k.a. CHOP), Christy and I were asked to be part of a commercial. The video featured parents being interviewed about the excellent level of care we had...
Welcome to Holland
Welcome to HollandTruth be told, I have never been asked what it is like to be a special needs parent. Probably because that would be a terrible question to ask someone. Having said that, I do think some perspective into our world would be helpful.The poem below...
Fighting Gravity
Fighting GravityIts 8:40 am. I sit in my usual spot for that time of day at Athens Regional Pediatric outpatient clinic. My five-year-old son, Drew, is in his physical therapy session. Drew is a regular, which makes me a regular as well. How regular, you ask? Four...
Waiting Room Friends
Waiting Room FriendsIn my last blog post, I mentioned spending a lot of time in waiting rooms. If you’re a fan of the show The Office, you will appreciate my ability to channel my inner Dwight Shrute with my version of “Mega Desk”, using multiple waiting room chairs...