We’ve had a lot of firsts lately—the kind of firsts that aren’t milestones, but to my nostalgic inclinations are magic. First road trips of the summer. First strawberries from the farmer’s market. First maneuverings in a power wheelchair. First skinned knees because shorts are out in full force. First time (of many) that my girl will grow out her bangs. First ice cream where they could pick allllll the toppings. First time a little body …

Whoever invented the Allen wrench needs to take responsibility for his actions. Allen, whoever he is, needs to send an ambassador to my home with apologies and power tools.   This is just a smattering of thoughts over the course of the four hours it took to disassemble my twins’ toddler beds and reassemble them into beds for full-sized humans. It shouldn’t have taken this long. If the directions had not been smudged photocopies that …

Two years ago in a gesture of generational companionship over the lost art of gardening, I bought both my mother and myself giant lilies. They were mail-order, the first thing I’d bought from a catalog since Amazon was invented. The bulbs arrived in sawdust and dirt and we ceremoniously opened them together while sitting cross-legged on the deck.   Together we measured distance and dug holes and stuck those potato-ey nuggets in the ground and …

Hi Sunday Thoughts folks! I’m taking a break this weekend to celebrate two VERY special four-year-olds. Cora and Jonas would like me to tell you all hi. They have already been to the trampoline park and we are currently eating gummy bears and gummy worms and watching Beauty and the Beast in our pajamas. Life is good. Happy linking!   Sunday Thoughts Link Up It’s time for another Sunday Thoughts Link-Up! I know there are many …

I have a brief history with dance, like an on-again off-again love affair which began in the 80s and which I still can’t shake. When Charlie was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy and then later, when he received his first wheelchair, “dance” in the traditional sense seemed out of the question. But then we discovered swim therapy and horseback riding therapy and suddenly all these things I thought were impossible were not only doable but …

MATTHEW 18:2-5 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.   I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about what it is to live …

While I have heard the comment, “You’ve got a touch of OCD, don’t you?” more than once, it wasn’t until I became a mother that the preference for the well-known became a real hindrance. When my daughter began to show the same fear for newness that I saw in myself at her age, I didn’t know how to handle it. I had never been on this end of it before. So, in the spirit of …

My son, Charlie, is turning six soon and we can’t put it off any longer. Kindergarten is coming. Sometimes it feels like a thing looming, and others like the first page to a book that you know will be a favorite. Still…I hear the Jaws theme music.   We have a park near our house that has become a favorite for its handicap swing and smooth path that isn’t too jarring to his wheelchair. A …

REVELATION 21:22-25 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. REVELATION …

I am sitting in a tiny chair around a tiny table with four other adults, including my husband. Everyone has folders and pens. I wish I had something to hold, something to pretend to take notes on other than my phone which keeps lighting up with reminders to “pick up the kids” from the preschool which I am now at. I turn it face down on the tiny table. I do not want to be …