The sound of ceramic hitting Mexican tile was unmistakable. The only question: What broke? I hauled myself off the couch to find Sophie in the kitchen doorway, a dish towel in hand, my favorite mug — sweetly shaped, with a pale pink floral pattern and an “a” to match Ray’s brown “r” version, so cute […]

  I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in synagogue. No, I haven’t found religion. It’s bar/bat mitzvah season. Those kids my friends and family had 13 (or so) years ago are all grown up (sort of) and many are participating in the traditional coming-of-age ceremony for Jews. I love watching these kids get […]

I dragged myself into the house the other night after work, exhausted, preoccupied with how quickly I could make dinner and hit the couch, when Sophie stopped me in my tracks — literally. “Look!” she said, pulling me over to the refrigerator, where she and the nanny had posted Sophie’s first junior high school report card. […]

From almost the beginning, I have had one wish for Sophie: that she get married, have great sex and live happily ever after. I didn’t — and still don’t — have the career thing worked out, or the living situation, or a lot of other things I agree are equally important. (And yeah, yeah, all […]

The other day I opened Sophie’s school backpack and noticed she had a new set of folders — shiny, carefully labeled with each of her classes and in her favorite themes, kittens and nail polish. Her aide did it. She didn’t ask, or make a big deal out of it. She just did it, knowing […]

Sophie had her annual well-check yesterday. It was blissfully uneventful. She is still in the third percentile for both height and weight, she caught air when she was asked to jump up and down, and no one even mentioned her twice-mended heart — though the pediatrician did give it an extra-long listen. As he turned […]

Sophie is the most popular kid I know. Just a few weeks into the new school year, I’m having trouble keeping up with my 11-year-old’s social schedule. Last Sunday she was invited to a friend’s house for dinner, and another friend asked her out for ice cream. Another pal asked if she can have a […]

Another big change in junior high: a strict dress code. The first couple days of school, Sophie was excited to wear her navy polo dress or a shirt and a khaki skort. By day three, she was rebelling — wanting to wear forbidden leggings, refusing to tuck in her shirt — and by the first […]

All summer long, Sophie was obsessed with plays — buying them, reading them, casting them. Because our local bookstore doesn’t stock any kid-oriented scripts, Sophie’s collection is a little odd for a tween: Our Town, the collected works of Neil Simon, and The Miracle Worker. Odder still for a kid with Down syndrome. I’m not […]

I met a woman yesterday. She and I have a lot in common. We both live in metro Phoenix, both write, both have blonde hair. We both have 13 year old daughters and like the same coffee shop. One big difference: This woman is pregnant with a baby that has Down syndrome. I was never […]