A date and time was scrawled in red and circled a hundred times. January 5, 2013. 10:00 P.M. Today was the day. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. It’s a miracle I could even wait. By the time I finally returned to reality, my watch taunted me: 9:58 P.M. 9:59. 10:00. I held my breath and fingered a chip in the center of the face of my watch. 10:01. 10:02. I felt someone behind me. “You’re late.” Although his watch, […]

My mom had her office set up in the basement of our house.  I use the term “office” lightly because entering that room was more like diving headfirst into a labyrinth than an actual work space.  To navigate even half of the room, you have to waltz around the land of Tupperware boxes stacked in every free space and corner available, each of them stuffed to the lid with our old family photos, forgotten tax files, and framed 80s/90s artwork […]

“Just As He Is” Dedicated to the mothers of children who are different “I shouldn’t have to go through all this just to go to the grocery store,” Lydia mutters as she puts the cheerios and the teddy bear into her big red bag. She shakes her head.  Always think positive, Lydia, just like Dr. Brown says. “Damien?” she calls.  “Come meet Mommy in the kitchen, Damien.” She hears the gentle pit-pat of Damien’s feet as he heads towards the […]

How we met is somewhat clumsy. One day about six years ago we were both in the library. She was apparently reading up for some big case. I was spying on some of Stephen’s latest oh so ‘great’ work. She was carrying a stack of books taller than her, so it was really just gravity, not fate. She tripped just past the table I was sitting at and her books went spewing in every direction.  Later, I nicknamed her Grace. […]