On some nights, as my daughter watches her pre-bed TV downstairs in our living room with my husband, I opt for putting my son to sleep in our bed, rather than lying with him in the darkness of his. I dim the sconce lights low on either side of our bed, and get some work…
Category: Parents
Dear Woman at the Park
I was informed this morning by my husband that another mother in our neighborhood – even though she had never met me or even communicated with me via email – did not consider hiring me as a photographer because she thinks I’m “so negative”. What follows is a lengthy explanation of who I am, if…
The Defensive Stance
A few weeks ago I took my daughter in for her first dental visit. The appointment was at Children’s Hospital in DC. This location meant that we would have to park in a large underground garage, take an elevator to a large thoroughfare/lobby area, and walk down at least two large hallways, along with anybody…
Filmstrip of Memories
This has been THE blog post that I have avoided writing, ever since I started gathering my thoughts about my son’s autism. I have been putting this one off for a long time in order to avoid ruining the rest of my day. But I need to document, document, document. *********************** Me, standing over his…
Different. But Equal?
I’m about to work out some thoughts on the Interwebs that I should probably just keep to myself. Because I’m sure that if anyone stumbles across these, I will surely receive a slew of comments accusing me of being “ableist” or “hateful” towards my son and all other Autistics out there. The fact is that…
New Clothes, Rage and Guilt
So the weekend started out promisingly enough. I stopped work early and went to the mall for a rare (and I mean RARE) two hour wardrobe update experience. Not to get too far off topic, but I just need to confess that I don’t even bother shopping on sale. I get to the mall about…
On Not Being a Very Good Mother
So I feel like [insert bad word] today about my parenting skills. I’m questioning the wisdom of posting this plainly on the Interwebs, where strangers can judge me. But I’m committing more fully to writing these days, as I’m finding it effective in helping me figure out just who I am these days. Yesterday, my…
Photojournalism Project – What Autism Looks Like in My Home
A lot of photographers participate in 365/52 projects, where somebody establishes a theme, and each participant then hunts around for images in their lives that illustrate what that theme means to them. I briefly thought about signing up for one of these projects. And then I thought about how crazy my life is, and how…
Summertime
Not a whole lot to report around here. We have one tired kid who’s falling asleep in his lunch because he can’t catch up on his sleep (usual story with all of us “Autism Parents”). I’m still demanding that he puts an “I want” in front of the nouns he grunts at me when he…
The Purity Factor
I realized tonight that I haven’t painted my toenails yet this season. I say “season”, because I have never cared what my toes look like when I’m not wearing sandals. Let’s face it: I have always been the type of woman who has to be strongly motivated to put contact lenses in over glasses, and…