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Thin Places

I’ve written before about the significance of language and my concerns about many words used to describe (and deride) people with disabilities. It can be subtle (even the word disability gives me pause). It can be blatant (“You’re such a retard”). It happens at all levels of culture–from politicians to celebrities to my close friends,…

On December 31, my daughter was born after a complicated pregnancy my doctors did not expect her to survive. It has been hard work for her to live, and she is still–more than nine months later–in the hospital, though we hope to bring her home soon. Last weekend I stopped by the local baby superstore…

We had a rough morning on Saturday. They’ve happened before. Penny sobbing, William banging something, me about to yell at them. And all of it a result of trying to get out of the house and into the car.  I was afraid this morning would be more of the same. I had a little over…

I’m a woman with a lot of education. My parents spent plenty of money supporting me in boarding school and through college. I went on to get a Masters as well. What do I have to show for it? By some measures, not much. I currently make just enough money to cover the cost of…

I grew up as the oldest of four girls. My mom was a stay-at-home mom for the most part, and to me, she epitomized the qualities a mother should have. Before I had kids, I didn’t find myself comparing myself to her all that often, but now that I have young children I find myself…

I have a new post at her.meneutics: “Actually, It Takes More Than a Village.” It begins: I picked up Time with trepidation. I’m nearly six months pregnant, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what Annie Murphy Paul had to tell me in her cover story, “How the first nine months shape the rest of your…

I’ve been sick for ten days now. It started with a cold, then laryngitis, then some nausea and general fatigue. As Penny keeps asking me, “Do you still feel yucky, Mom?” And the answer is, yes. Still yucky. William says, “I hope you feel better!” and he loves opening up the cough drops for me.…

As Down Syndrome Awareness Month comes to a close, I’d like to highlight the four “Perfectly Human” posts that have focused upon relationships with individuals with Down syndrome. There’s much work to be done on behalf of people with Down syndrome–advocacy, medical research, educational advances. And yet the work that seems most significant to me…

When I was a kid, I loved the movie Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels. I thought Steve Martin was hilarious. If you haven’t seen it, or to refresh your memory, as a part of a scam, Steve Martin pretended to be a man with mental disabilities. (Just to be clear–he wasn’t actually playing a character with disabilities.…

I’m a Type-A personality. I like goals. I like predictions. I like plans. If we’re headed somewhere in the car, I take my I-Phone along so I can look up our route and see the traffic conditions, find out the predicted time it will take to get from point A to point B, and adjust…
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