Last week, Jewish people all over the world cleaned out pantries and changed dishes — getting rid of all signs of leavened foods — in pious (and arduous) preparation for Passover, the celebration of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. I was busy getting ready, too, trying to figure out how to wrap bacon around matzoh […]
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 […]
In the end, I didn’t bake a pie. And the IEP still went well. As well as could be expected, I suppose. Maybe better. Okay, definitely better. Funny how I spent so much time looking for a fancy charter or specialty school for Sophie. There are things she doesn’t like about this traditional junior […]
Tomorrow is Sophie’s IEP. I hate IEP day. (The IEP is basically a master plan for school for a kid with special needs.) I know a family that bakes a pie in honor of IEP day. I love that. Tonight I’m going to rustle around in the freezer and cupboards and find something to make […]
“Hey,” I said yesterday to the nanny, “I’ll give you a bonus if you find Sophie some friends at school.” It was actually several hours before it dawned on me just how fucked up that was, how fucked up I am. In my defense, I’m not alone in worrying about the friend thing. Last week […]
This morning I found a pointe shoe on top of the dryer. I don’t know how it got there or whose it is (not so unusual, you wouldn’t believe what I find in the bottom of my purse on a regular basis) but I do know it does not belong to Sophie. Earlier this week, I […]
It was standing room only yesterday at Green Acres. So many people loved Steve Wiley, and they knew him as many things — record store guy, baseball coach, unconventional philospher. I knew him as Tatum’s dad. I’m sure Steve had an opinion of what it’s like to have a kid with Down syndrome, though as […]
