this summer there was internet buzz over the near eradication of down syndrome in iceland. people wrote articles against eugenics and disability. and i agree, it is terrible, right? deciding that your child probably shouldn’t live because they may have down syndrome? i mean, geez louise. mazzy wasn’t too concerned though. she listened to a lot of beyonce this summer. last
raspberry beret
a funny thing kept happening as we walked alone in rows of raspberries. every spot we stopped to pick there would be a better one directly across the way. each time the very next row would hold larger berries, branches with fruit threatening to drop from the weight. how can it be, i wondered each
whether or not you have ever dared to pray
maybe the light at the end of the tunnel is really a lamp lit in the window. seems the largest part of my life is a grasping, a strangling, trying to make a good thing and hold on to it as tight as i can. it turns into a mist, sand, a memory and i
maybe i might love you
maybe you’re like me. maybe light has always hit friendship at a strange angle. i’ve always looked for the true friend, the real friend, the friend i could trust no matter what. and i’ve never found her. i’m watching my daughter play in the yard with her newest friend. hours of play fly by like
moms forgiving children forgiving moms
i broke ella’s tea cup. she found a set at an estate sale that was pretty perfect and upon carrying it in from the yard, it slipped from my hand. way to go, mom. its tough not to venerate your mother. to gloss over the past and the short comings and hope your own children
the great intelligence of kindness
mazzy has been busy with her high school musical. she’s been spending nights at rehearsal, putting together costume ideas and driving to the performing center right from school with friends who have cars. driving in a friend’s car. walking together out of the school to the parking lot and dropping her purple backpack onto the
the reliable enemy of good friday
our cat is pretty reliable in this way – if we open a window, soon the cat will appear there on its ledge. he can also always be found when we open the back door, trying to run out between our feet and prowl these flowering yards. the other day he caught a bird in
stout-hearted
i’m going through the motions. laundry. dishes. downstairs in the basement i hear change in my son’s jeans as i go to put them in the washing machine. i dig around in the pocket and bring out three coins. they feel like quarters in my hand, but when i look at them, i see three
and i’m so glad
joshua and i celebrated 19 years of marriage a couple of weeks ago. the first four years of it there were no children. no mazzy. no abe. no ella. i remember the counseling and the fighting. i remember how hard it was to suddenly be married in a new city where i knew no one.
a blog post about a person with down syndrome
i had a dream last night about bloggers who write about their children with down syndrome. some are so famous online that you’d recognize them in public. in the dream i was walking by lake michigan and a mother had set up her kids for a photo shoot complete with lighthouse in the background. mazzy