A letter landed in my e-mailbox the other day. Hi Amy! My name is Robyn Rosenberger and I’m the founder of Tiny Superheros – a superhero cape company with a big mission to empower Extraordinary kids as they overcome illness or disability! (The attached 2 min video captures our mission!) I came across your blog awhile […]
“Finding Dory” made me nauseous, and not just because I’m prone to seasickness. The sequel to “Finding Nemo” was widely anticipated, particularly in the special needs community. All week my friends were sharing reviews that heralded the movie for celebrating people with disabilities, beginning with Dory, the blue tang with short term memory loss. I […]
I got a Facebook message the other day from a guy I don’t know well, an artist in town. He and his wife just had their second baby, he wrote. And the baby has Down syndrome. I invited myself over. He said okay. I think I went more for me than for them. It was […]
I’m going to begin this blog post the way I’ve started countless blog posts before. I’m going to to tell you a secret. Book publishing is hard. Okay, that might not be much of a surprise, but it bears mention. It’s really fucking hard. You spend a hunk of your life writing this thing (in […]
Dear Sophie, You know, I have been writing this blog for the last 8 years — I started it on your fifth birthday, to document your year in kindergarten — but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually written to you, only about you. So today, in honor of your 13th birthday, I thought I’d write […]
I am so grateful to Sophie’s teachers — past and present — and to everyone at her school (she pretty much knows them all by name!) for educating, enlightening and including my little girl. Sometimes, knowing where to begin to say “thank you” can be tough. As usual, Sophie gave me the best lesson when […]
Each year in honor of National Poetry Month, Center Dance Ensemble — a modern dance company in Phoenix — celebrates with American Voices, short original pieces inspired by poetry, held in the small black box at the Herberger Theater downtown. The girls and I usually go. Center Dance is run by Frances Smith Cohen, my […]
Today began with a mad dash for an appropriate tee shirt. I was still on my first cup of coffee when Annabelle skidded into the kitchen, on the hunt. I had to explain to Ray what World Down Syndrome Day is. (“You know, like 4/20?”) This was followed by near-tears as Sophie realized that she […]
Yesterday I ran into the vice principal at Sophie’s middle school. I adore this woman, who ushered my tiny girl into cheerleading and is one of many who look out for her every day. After we had such an incredible experience in elementary school, I never thought I’d get comfortable with these people at this […]
Sophie has been really into groceries lately. Not eating them. Her four food groups are still rice, noodles, cheddar crackers and chocolate ice cream. I’m talking about groceries in the grocery store. It began at Trader Joe’s about a year ago, when she developed an interest in scanning all the items in our cart. Not one […]
