Sophie got braces on her teeth last week. Knowing I had a solid hour with no (or few) interruptions, I settled onto a bench behind the line of dental chairs in the fancy orthodontist’s office, put my phone on silent, and lost myself in a book about a different set of braces — the ones […]

Today is World Down Syndrome Day. All week long, my Facebook feed has been filled with posts by devoted, prepared parents going to their kids’ schools to educate others about DS. They are bringing blue and yellow (the official Down syndrome colors, I’m not sure why) iced cookies, wearing blue and yellow tutus, printing tee […]

“Hey Mom come here, I need help with the green eyeshadow,” Sophie called from the bathroom. “Um, okay,” I said, taking in the situation, the big, blurry smears. “You want me to get it off your cheeks?” “No! I want you to put it on my eyebrows and all over my eyes,” she said, pointing […]

I don’t hear it so much anymore, so I was surprised. “I’m so retarded!” a brand-new employee said the other day, struggling to open a door with a new key card. We were coming back from lunch, and as we walked to the security office to get the key card, I’d winced a little, thinking […]