When you learn that caring about someone else is more important than anything you could do for yourself. Sometimes it can be hard to put someone before ourselves. We are human and we are innately selfish. It takes a conscientious effort to put others before ourselves. But when a women gets pregnant, there is shift. We now have a growing little one we carry inside our bellies. Our focus shifts from ourselves to the little one. I remember the day I was walking through Wal-Mart with my … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2013
Day 59: What Writers Can Learn from Six-Year-Olds
As writers, we love to go into the recesses of our brain and come up with stories out of no where. It's what fuels the fire of our story as we write out each word. I think of Mari as I'm writing this today. Sometimes while Mari would be sitting in her chair, and it looked like she was starring off into space, she would start to giggle incessantly over what appeared to be nothing. You could take your hand and move it back and forth in front of her face and she didn't see it. She had retreated … [Read more...]
B is for Beautiful
The beautiful miracle we know as Mari. Keith and I were told we couldn't get pregnant the old-fashioned way. Between Keith having his issues and me having mine, we were told IVF was the only way I'd get preggers. I still remember sitting in a Piazza Hut with Keith, my mom, and her husband at the time. A few tables away sat a family with a baby that was big enough to sit in a high chair. I looked at him and yearned to have one of my own. Tears formed in my eyes. My mom looked where I was … [Read more...]
Day 58: Retreating to Play
We can look at kids with all the energy we wish we still and get tired by looking at them. Sometimes we joke and say, "Man, if I could bottle all that energy and sell it I'd make millions." We all laugh and agree. I think sometimes we forget what it's like to play. I'm not saying to go out to the monkey bars or anything. I'm talking about taking time out to do some fun adult things like rock climbing, paintball or going to a dance club to just let loose. Kids are undeterred by what holds … [Read more...]
A is for Amazing
What an amazing little girl Mari was. My daughter had such an amazing way of being able to jump into your heart and stay forever. Mari didn't fit the stereotype for someone with autism. So much so that when she was two and attended the early intervention program that everyone kept saying she had autistic tendencies but she didn't have autism. She was tested in January 2003 by neuropsychologist. On February 5, my husband, Keith, and I were given the test results. Not only did Mari test on the … [Read more...]
Day 57: Juggling
In life, the perfect day would be 100% smooth. If we're doing something we don't get interrupted. We blissfully move from one activity to another. The dream life. Well, that's just it. It's a dream. Whether at home or at a job, you will always inevitably be interrupted by someone or something. That's just life. Sometimes those interruptions are either wanted or good. Other times you wish you could disappear. Ultimately, we have to juggle everything we do in just the right combination so we … [Read more...]
