Communication, Family, Friends, inspiration, Loss, Poetry

Daddy, Dance with Me

Daddy, dance with me one more time before you leave for work, and I run out to the bus stop for school. I rather stay in just my socks and stand on top of your feet. There's no party tonight with sparkling lights and my the music turned all the way up, but we can… Continue reading Daddy, Dance with Me

Blogging, children, Communication, Family, Life, Writing

Three Goals for 2021

As 2021 begins, I look forward with Corrie on my mind to what I call my rehabilitation goals. Some goals are set between my husband, John, and me. Others are general.

children, Communication, Friends, Holiday, inspiration, Joy, Photography, Poetry, Writing

A Poem: These Gifts Given in Times of Black Ice

My favorite Christmas picture of Corrie from 2017. The poem below is written as a "thank you" to so many people who sent us cards, messages, or gifts in support of our journey without Corrie. This is a poem you have to read through with the biggest "thank you" to Mom and my husband, John.… Continue reading A Poem: These Gifts Given in Times of Black Ice

autism, children, Communication, Family, Life, Poetry

A Sibling Love Story: Poem for Corrie and Hayes

Hayes and Corrie in early May 2020. sticks in black water, the lake where my grandparents lived looked  black until you crept to the side and saw sticks with splintered stems.  i’ve heard love stories like that before. the story where a couple chooses the happiest moments for coffee mugs,  pillows, and twentieth anniversary albums.… Continue reading A Sibling Love Story: Poem for Corrie and Hayes

Art, children, Communication, Family, Life, parenthood, Photography, Photos, Poetry, Writing

The Best Reason Why: John, His Service, and His Poem

Some loves experience more pies in the face than ballets and dreams sold to strangers on a holiday channel.

Advocacy, children, Communication, Education, inspiration, Life, Mental Health, teaching, Writing

We Were Made to Endure

We were made to step out of the sand rather than be stepped upon in the sand.

Advocacy, autism, children, Communication, Family, inspiration, Mental Health, parenting, Photography, Writing

Four Points: Speaking with a Child about the Unimaginable

I saw the tears in Daddy's eyes, and Hayes hugged his Papa. For my father to acknowledge Hayes's losses was a powerful moment for both of them. Another adult, besides his parents, verbally spoke with him about his losses.

autism, children, Communication, Family, inspiration, Life, marriage, Mental Health, parenthood, Poetry, Writing

“Mommy, What Does Love Look Like”: Stories Imagined and Stories Told

When the darkest hour was not done and the mud feel from the mountain, yes, I slid. The tears came, and my anger, without a mercy for which a Christian sinner prays, set ablaze for those who demanded when they'd received. I collapsed upon the green shores where you once played and asked for such stories of mine. Then your father came home with your brother, and found me quiet ...

Art, children, Communication, Death, Family, Grief, Life, Photography, Writing

The Switch, Bear Claw and a Fruit Cup

After all, life is not always filled with moments of fruit cups and bear claw tears.

Communication, Life, parenthood, Photography, Photos, Poetry, Writing

Remember Me, Mommy (a Corrie Poem)

“Remember me, Mommy,” I hear her say.  “I know who you are, and who took me to all the places. Don’t let your brain go  to places or people who were never with me.”   To the field or in my dreams, I reply to her,  “It just made me mad what she did to… Continue reading Remember Me, Mommy (a Corrie Poem)