Category Archives: Uncategorized

When we hear the word “disability,” we often think of physical challenges….someone who is blind, wheelchair bound, or deaf. Rarely do the “invisible” disabilities come to mind…FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), trauma, anxiety…these are the disabilities that affect children in profound ways, but no one can “see” the outward signs of these disabilities. There areContinue reading “But He’s Blind…”

This is something I wrote three years ago. I had meant to publish it each year at the end of school, but the pandemic made it a bit irrelevant. As we are now in our first year of face-to-face instruction since the fall of 2019, I hope that folks (teachers!) read this and re-think howContinue reading “Can We Talk About Awards Ceremonies”

Let me start by saying…it has been a while. Maybe you have not noticed or cared about my lack of writing, but I have certainly felt its absence. As of mid-March, life took a crazy-ass left-hand turn, and I have been struggling ever since to get back on course. Let me also say that weContinue reading “Maybe I Was Just Destined to Nurture “Special-ness””

Warning: This blog post is pretty raw. I debated about whether or not to write this and just keep it for myself, or to publish it and share it with the world. I decided to post it for a few reasons: 1) some of you are reading this because you find yourself on a similarContinue reading “Grief and Loss”

Sometimes my kids say things that are so profound. Let’s be honest, most of the time they say shit that doesn’t make sense, that is antagonizing, that is hurtful and unnecessary, and that make me want to guzzle a bottle of wine. But every once in a while, they manage to have more insight thanContinue reading ““God gave us this one chance…””

I love my children. They can drive me to the brink of insanity more swiftly and more often than I ever thought possible, but at the end of the day, as they snuggle under my arm and fall asleep, I struggle to extract myself from their sweet embrace. I kiss the tops of their headsContinue reading “Guess What? I Love You!”

Let me start by acknowledging that “normal” is a problematic notion. My professional life has been dedicated to getting classroom teachers to critically question assumptions and practices that are deemed normal in public school settings. What is “normal” anyway? Who gets to decide? How are we accounting for different life experiences rooted in race, class,Continue reading “Chasing Normal”

I so wish that the answer to that question was yes. But the reality is she is facing her own trauma demons. “A” was four days old when we brought her home from the hospital. So, yes, she avoided the trauma of living in a dysfunctional abusive home that was riddled with drug use. InContinue reading “But your daughter is fine, right?!”

The simplest explanation is most often correct…clearly William of Ockham never met my son, or any other child impacted by trauma. As my husband was putting him to bed last night, J (VERY!) angrily demanded that Bluebell (one of our beloved and EXTREMELY patient dogs) had to sleep with him or else he would stayContinue reading “I want to go live with my “REAL” mom!”

The one consistent advice I have run across on this foster care/adoption journey is self-care. I read a lot about it over the years (blogs, articles, books, etc.), but for some reason it did not click for me until winter break 2019-2020 (7 years into this journey!). Perhaps I thought I was above all ofContinue reading “Self-Care is More Than Just a Platitude”