Tobin, You are turning 10.Ten years old! Double digits! I can’t even believe it. You’re getting so much taller. Those scrawny legs stretching so long, when I hold you, it looks like I’m barely lifting you off the ground! Your permanent teeth are filling out your smile, and you and I wear the same size... Continue Reading →
---Anna-Marie--- Lately I’ve been feeling anxiety trying to creep its way back into my life. I have a true desire to stay in this present moment, so I don’t miss the gift of right now. And although it may seem contradictory, I’m actually not much of a worrier. There are too many actual things in... Continue Reading →
This is a crazy time of year. So many deadlines.So many activities.So many people. It’s a time when it’s easy to get caught up in all the things you have to do. The reason for the season is about thinking of other people, so we shop and we wrap and we go and we do... Continue Reading →
The day you left us, your Joseph’s Coat was in full bloom. Just like you said it would, the rose took on different colors, bright reds on the tips sliding down through oranges to its yellow ruffly center. Dew on the edges, reflecting the sun. Somehow I know I would have never noticed those intricacies... Continue Reading →
—Anna-Marie— I’ll always remember the first time Brian and I got into our first all-out “fight” as a married couple. We were on our honeymoon. We were walking around the deck of the cruise ship, talking, taking in the night sky and the band and the murmur of people around us laughing and chatting. Brian... Continue Reading →
—Anna-Marie— “Science, art, community, and nature make manifest that bad will or mistakes can lead to progress, like Bob Ross on his show The Joy of Painting reminding us that when we make big mistakes on canvas, we can turn them into birds—‘Yeah, they’re birds now!’” ... Continue Reading →
—Anna-Marie— A little old lady called my son an asshole. Actually, she wasn’t that little and the term she used to describe Tobin was “asshole kid.” She was standing right beside my un-invisable, hearing-enabled son. She looked right at him and said it like it was this hilarious joke between her and the lady who... Continue Reading →
—Anna-Marie— The last thing I remember is my vision getting a little “funky.” It felt like I was about to get a migraine. (Years ago, when I frequently had migraines, I would see a light—one of those lights you see after staring into a light bulb—and then my vision would get “funky.”) I remember thinking,... Continue Reading →
—Anna-Marie— Earlier this week, we unexpectedly lost one of the matriarchs in our family: my grandma. It wasn't until I was visiting her in the hospital, reflecting after her death, and processing everything to write her eulogy that I fully realized the impact she made on my life. On Mother’s Day, we celebrate the women... Continue Reading →
—Tobin and Anna-Marie— Our son Tobin is a sweet, determined, loving, and ornery little six year old. He is also nonverbal and on the autism spectrum. A couple of years ago, we made a little video and had our son Knox introduce his brother, explaining Tobin’s likes, dislikes, strengths and struggles. These were based on... Continue Reading →
PURSUING TOB 