Parenting

May 28, 2011

The War I Want To Wage

If it had been my time to write this post a few weeks ago it would have been very different. It also wouldn’t have been a post that belonged on a site called Hopeful Parents. No, it would have been the antithesis of hope. It would have been an extremely dark and depressing piece.The month of April and most of May were so depressing that I completely lost that time. I didn’t just forget to write my piece for the 27th of last month, I didn’t even know the 27th had come and gone. — Originally posted at  Hopeful Parents… Grief and sadness and desperation and fear and worry and angst and exhaustion and and and . . . . […]
September 11, 2015

Double Edged Sword

As soon as I walk through the door he throws himself toward me, his face pinched with anger he shouts with disgust in his voice “Did you and Dad buy me a Chromebook?” “hunh?What?” I respond while I put down my bags and wait for him to do a better job explaining himself. “There’s a Chromebook at school with my name on it. Did you do that?” he still sounds so angry and that anger is not making sense to me. I mean, who wouldn’t want a Chromebook? But I’m piecing things together as he stands there, his arms crossed, tapping his foot with impatience. “Look, Buddy, when we went to see that doctor and they did all those activities […]
October 1, 2015

Get In The Pool

My essay analogy about life as a parent with a child with a disability being like trying to swim in a pool has been picked up by BLOOM, online magazine for Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. http://bloom-parentingkidswithdisabilities.blogspot.ca/2015/09/its-hard-to-tell-when-special-needs.html There are some paragraphs in this version that weren’t in the earlier version. Tina
October 12, 2015

He Will Be Okay

I began writing this 12 years ago and just finished it to submit to an online site (they passed, sniff) but I thought I would share it here. He moved quickly around the room – touching all that could be touched. I followed him, trying to head him off before he ran down the hallway. He went to the front desk and knocked all the papers off the table. I firmly helped him to pick them all up again. I could feel the eyes staring at me, judging me for not having better control of my child. I silently admonished myself. I should have known to not come so early, the waiting was just too much for him. I dug […]
October 18, 2015

To the 28 Year Old Me

You are about to meet the most adorable little boy who will make you a mother. His smile and laugh are the best. He gives hugs like no other and his inquisitiveness is infectious.  Your first few weeks of being a mom will mostly be wonderful. The first sign that things aren’t as amazing as they are meant to be is when you find yourself crying in Zellers in the sock aisle because no one has taught you what size of socks a 3 year old needs and there are so many choices. But don’t worry. No one saw you cry. That will come later. I probably don’t need to tell you that the crying over socks isn’t really about […]
October 27, 2015

Our Son Had a Positive Transition to High School

Our Son had a Positive Transition to High School:    Why? Good Planning, Respect for Parental Knowledge and Excellent Teamwork High school was coming fast and just the thought of it filled me with dread. Our son, Corbin, was still only attending school part time in the 8th grade. This was due to many factors and was agreed upon by all parties including us, his parents. He had support of an Educational Assistant (EA) though we felt the EA was not a good match for Corbin and was part of the reason he was not flourishing at elementary school. Thinking of high school was daunting particularly because he has a lot anxiety and does not do well with change. The idea […]