Different Kind of Special Blog

The other day, I noticed a small, tender bump on the bottom of my foot. It seemed to appear out of nowhere. One minute, I was going about my normal routine, and the next, I was shifting my weight, wincing every time I took a step.

In two months, I'm supposed to be walking the cobblestone streets of Spain, France, and Italy — my first trip to Europe and a dream I've looked forward to for years. Long days of exploring, wandering, and soaking in every bit of beauty I can find. And now, here I am, ...

A reflection on wintering, waiting, and the quiet miracle of new beginnings

Some winters aren’t on the calendar.
They settle into our bones with worry, sorrow, or uncertainty—and they don’t care what the season says.

Right now, the world is blooming. Trees are waking up. Flowers are stretching toward the light.
But I know not everyone feels like spring inside.

Especially for parents raising children with complex needs, winter doesn’t always end when the snow melts.

The Waiting Season

I spen...

When my kids were younger, I was that momma - the one that the neighbors talked about. On warm, rainy days, you could find me and my kids outside playing in the rain. Many of our neighbors are senior citizens, and they found our rain dances entertaining. For my kids, it was pure joy. For me, it was a reminder that you don’t always need sunny skies to find happiness.

I love this quote from Vivian Greene:

“Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.”...

Last week, my husband and I noticed that we were both sleeping restlessly. After a night or two of tossing and turning, we realized that our sleeplessness was being caused by the hooting of a nearby owl. Even though the owl wasn’t very loud, it turned out that this owl’s call sounded exactly like the soft, whimpering moan that my daughter makes when she’s uncomfortable and needs help. So, every time the owl hooted, my husband and I would startle awake, ready to rush to our daughter’s side. The h...

“Will I ever be happy again?” That thought echoed in my head over and over in the days, weeks and months after my daughter was born. When she was only two days old, she received a devastating diagnosis that included daily, uncontrolled seizures, a significant vision impairment and a life expectancy of just 6-8 years.

I was sad and angry and scared. There were times that I truly thought that I might not ever feel joy again.

Spoiler alert: I would be happy again. But, it would take time, and som...

When I was younger, I would sometimes find myself thinking about how I would handle adversity if and when it came my way. I don’t mean disappointments or small setbacks. I wondered how I would react to a really difficult life circumstance. I thought about whether or not I had it in me to behave with strength and grace when things got really hard.

Then, at a routine 20-week ultrasound during my second pregnancy, I started to uncover the answers to those questions. I learned that when faced with ...