Hoping Against Hope, Lighting It Up Blue: World Autism Awareness Day
This past week, I experienced a new kind of homecoming. My family had the joy of being together, but we also had the sorrow of my brother Willie's outbursts. For the first time in a long time, he had multiple instances of out-of-control aggression in the span of a week. As such, World Autism Awareness Day is tinged with pain for me. It's the grief of watching my parents incur injuries as they try to protect their son from self-harm. It's the powerlessness of wanting to help and not knowing how. Most of all, it's the sound of Willie's weeping...
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Why I Am Not Afraid of Having A Child with Autism
When I'm feeling out of sorts or uninspired, my favorite remedy is to go for a long walk. Such was the case this weekend, when I found myself stressed on Saturday morning. So, I headed out the door. After a mile of walking, I felt myself starting to smile. The tension within abated as I noticed the beauty around me. Blooming flowers, fluttering birds, blue skies ... all worked together to move my mind from anxiety to appreciation. As I walked through Rock Creek Park, I felt the noise within quieting down. And in the newfound quiet, I remembered a...
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Darling Neurotic, Meet Your New Best Friend: The Radical Practice of Rest
My husband and I have been under the weather this week. We're dealing with some kind of virus, and he's facing seasonal allergies on top of that. We've been keeping up with our most important responsibilities by sleeping or resting every free moment. And slowly, we're starting to feel better. This week of fatigue has had me feeling anxious; I worry about not getting enough work done each day, not moving faster toward my big goals. And there's always this nagging, hypochondriac worry that maybe this bug is something serious. In moments like these, I call my dear friend Brooke...
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Bittersweet Endings: Beginnings in Disguise?
Being filmed for a documentary is a peculiar exercise. I say this because, for the last six months, I've been working with filmmaker Edwin Mah on a documentary about finding meaning in your most challenging relationships, simple living, and loving someone with special needs. It's wild to think that an actual filmmaker is making an actual film about the things I love and strive for, but so it is. As such, Edwin has filmed several interviews with me, my yoga practice, my tiny studio apartment ... and last week, he filmed me and my friend Leo* at McDonald's, Leo's favorite...
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I was a Stranger to Beauty (and Who Invited Me In)
Photographs by Stefan Bremer, courtesy of Charles Krause. On a chilly Sunday afternoon, I pedaled downtown to see a photography exhibit. As I parked my bike and dialed the apartment number, I wondered what I was walking into. I didn't know the gallery or its owner, but a dear friend had told me I simply had to see these photographs. On the strength of her word I stood, and a voice welcomed me and buzzed me in. Charles Krause opened the door for my wind-swept self and took my cold hand into a warm handshake, and bid me...
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Overhearing that Argument (A Lesson Learned in Laughter)
Happy Monday, all! First off, I'd like to welcome visitors from Autism Key and I'm A Mom Too. I have two guest posts up this week; "Autism, Siblings and the R-Word Effect" and, "A Lifetime of Lies (And A Truth to Set You Free)." First-time visitors, be sure to check out the welcome video (to your right and below), and visit the About page. Finally, I'd like to offer you a gift: Your Creed of Care: How To Dig For Treasure In People (Without Getting Buried Alive). This book is about balancing the responsibilities of caregiving with the responsibility of...
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My Brother is the Biter: On Smashing Guitars, Owning Hard Truths, and Coming Through with Love: Guest Post on Autism Home Rescue
Readers, I'm happy to share that I have a guest post running today! (The 2nd guest posting has been postponed.) My Brother is the Biter: On Smashing Guitars, Owning Hard Truths, and Coming Through with Love is on Autism Home Rescue. Thank you, Cathy, for allowing me to guest on your site! It's been a pleasure to connect with you and your community. Welcome to A Wish Come Clear, readers from Autism Home Rescue! This Valentine's Day, I'd like to invite you to consider giving yourself the gift of posts via email. When you do, you'll also receive a copy...
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On Daring to Be Happy (Glitter Pens Optional)
You never know when you might get roped into making Valentines. When I came for supper at L'Arche last Thursday night, I didn't expect a craft portion of the evening. But one of our guests had brought card-making supplies, and she set us the assignment of making one Valentine each. I enjoyed this, especially because my friend Leo* asked me for my help with his card. When I said yes, he came to sit beside me. He'd added stickers, but needed some help with the glitter pens. Whenever Leo asks me for help, I'm reminded of what it was like...
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The Delivery That Changed My Life (And The Book That Could Change Yours)
Last week, I found a small, brown package propped up against the door to our apartment. I didn't have to pick it up to know what it was; in fact, once I did pick it up, I set it carefully on our coffee table and proceeded to ignore it for several hours. (Perhaps ignore doesn't quite capture it. Tiptoe around it like the elephant in the room is much more accurate.) The proof copy of Love's Subversive Stance had arrived, and somehow, I wasn't quite ready to open it. And then, hours later, I was. Slowly, I cut...
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How To Find Contentment in the (Painful, Crazy, Joyous) Present Moment
Have you ever looked at a photograph and thought, What a window into another world ? That's how I feel when I see this picture of my friends Gene and Allison, snapped at a L'Arche dance in July 2007. At the time, I'd been at L'Arche just over a month, and so, though we liked each other immediately, we were all relative strangers then. When I look at this picture now, I take in the bright colors, the glad energy, the happy smiles. I take it all in, thinking, "God, we had no idea what was coming." We didn't know how...
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