For the first two years, Ray repped the family at middle school Career Day, talking about life as a journalist. It was a good thing. Really, what would you rather hear about — the time Ray volunteered to be Tased at the hands of the Mesa Police Department or the last dozen “now open” restaurant stories I […]
I got an earful from the social studies teacher today at parent/teacher conferences. Apparently Sophie has had a crush on House Speaker Paul Ryan since the fall, which causes her great consternation as she tries to juggle his appearance (good) with his politics (bad), I was told. Today, when the social studies teacher announced […]
I will admit that I was kind of meh on the whole pussy hat thing, but as soon as a post about the brain hat popped up on Facebook I was all over Etsy, looking for someone to make me three. One for me, one for my daughter, Annabelle, and one for my other […]
We talk all the time about how tough transitions are for kids with special needs. Hard on all kids, to be sure, but particularly tough when your kid’s brain is hard-wired at the cellular level to refuse to budge when requested. Thanks a fucking lot, extra 21st chromosome. But how about how tough transitions are on […]
I sobbed my way through three performances of Beauty and the Beast this weekend. “WHO ARE YOU?” my friend Trish asked as I wiped away tears yesterday afternoon. The curtain hadn’t even gone up yet. “I don’t know,” I said, sniffling loudly then flipping her off to confirm I’m still me, still the asshole she’s always […]
Sophie is terrified of Santa Claus. Either that, or she’s completely full of shit. We’re less than a day out from Christmas, and I’m no closer to knowing the truth than I was the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday we drove around visiting friends — exchanging gifts, admiring trees, sipping festive beverages — and Sophie […]
The other day I took Annabelle, Sophie’s big sister, to a doctor appointment at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The doctor recommended a flu shot and, glancing at the consent form, I noticed the term “mental retardation.” In 2016. Look, I get that in the scheme of things this is not a big deal. Frankly, I’d rather […]
Dear administrators, teachers, and staff: Before I say anything else, thank you. Thank you for creating an incredible environment for my daughter. Two and a half years ago, I sat in the audience at Sophie’s fifth grade graduation and sobbed, convinced her education (both academic and social) had come to a halt, that we’d […]
The girls spent the night at my mom’s house on Thanksgiving. I took the opportunity Friday morning to drag all the bins marked XMAS out of the holiday closet and burn new copies of my favorite holiday music mixes so that we’d ready to start celebrating as soon as possible. “Oh no. No Christmas […]
I decided to make a mix tape for Thanksgiving, a gratitude mix. I started off with “Thank You Friends” by Big Star and had every intention of including other simple expressions of thanks — a fun play list for cocktail hour tomorrow — when things went south. Like, with the second song. I landed […]
