12 years on this ride. Here’s what I’ve learned so far: 1) You’re never as good as your best day or as bad as your worst. 2) Our biggest victories often follow short bursts of brutal tests of will. 3) Comparison is a vile, ugly monster. 4) He is sneaky like a ninja and never ...
You want answers?You want answers?You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has ignorance and that ignorance has to defeated by people with guts. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Autism Speaks? We have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for privacy and you wonder why we ...
Ball one (high and outside). “Hey Dad, can I have some peanuts?” “Sure, kiddo. The next time the guy comes by, flag him down.” Strike one (one and one). “There he is. Hey Mister! Over here!” The vendor winks at Luke, snatches a bag of nuts out of his tray and tosses it over eight ...
Dear nice mom, You caught me. I wasn’t staring, but my eyes lingered on your son a little too long and you noticed. We were in the Dollar Store. He was fascinated with the bin full of basketballs and he was in his glory bouncing them rhythmically and laughing. Our eyes met briefly. I know ...
I just quietly watched him from afar. He didn’t know I was watching. He was sitting at his desk quietly, almost silently, sounding out the words written on one of his DVD’s. He wasn’t completing a trial. He wasn’t working because I or anyone else was bribing him with a reward. There were no tokens ...
I like to race in triathlons. I completely suck at it. I am barely average. It’s the worst torture I have ever endured. But, I absolutely love it. There is a point in the swim where your arms start to ache and you can’t control your heart rate. You lose the rhythm of the stroke ...
Growing up, I was a clean-cut, straight-laced mamma’s boy. Growing up, I played sports and collected GI Joe’s and listened to Top 40 music. Growing up, I judged an entire group of people. I want to apologize to all of them. Never vocally (well, sometimes vocally among friends), I called them names like “weirdos”. I ...
They don’t teach you this stuff in school. In fact, most of it completely contradicts everything you were taught. They don’t teach you about the paradoxes that hide in the simplest places: The toys and shows that bring your kids so much joy can so easily slip into unhealthy obsession and bring them grief and ...
There is one word that beats me down on a regular basis. It’s not a noun or a verb. I don’t really know what the heck it is (I’m sure there is an English major out there who will tell me). The word is “SHOULD”. “SHOULD” connotes entitlement: “I SHOULD be able to enjoy my ...
My son just wanted to go in the hot tub. The sign said “adults only”. The attentive hotel employee (let’s call him “Mike”) enforced the rules with zero tolerance. He pointed at the sign and tapped it twice with his index finger. “No one under 18 allowed.” My son obeyed, but whimpered as he stepped ...
