That one time I turned the wrong way, drove 20 miles, and missed my daughter’s band concert

That one time I turned the wrong way, drove 20 miles, and missed my daughter’s band concert I was encouraged to share a ‘bad mom’ moment. Here’s a doozie: Zoya, my second daughter, participated in her school band in the fifth grade. She chose to play the trumpet which thrilled me, having been a trumpeter myself in my youth. I located my instrument from high school and cleaned it up for her use. The class started.

Writing a book, one author’s process I’ve been tagged by my friend Isaac James Baker, author of brilliant new novel Broken Bones about a twenty-something man’s month long stay in a psych ward for an eating disorder (go buy it now… I’ll wait), to participate in a #MyWritingProcess blog hop. Writers are asked four questions about their process and then they tag a couple of their friends. It’s a writing process revolution! Writing a book. Maybe everyone will

The importance of sunny soccer Saturdays in a special needs life A few Saturdays ago, Sergei and I took Polly and Evangeline, our two daughters with special needs (Polly has Down syndrome and Moyamoya, Evie has autism and Down syndrome) to play soccer in an AYSO program built for families affected by disability here in Chicago. A friend from the girls’ school told us about it. “Just sign up. It’s great. It is an hour

An eight-year-old birthday party with Down syndrome My daughter Polly invited all the girls from her second grade class to our house Saturday for her birthday. The theme was a cooking party. I ordered paper chef hats and aprons for everyone to use and then take home as party favors. The menu included homemade personal pizzas, a fruit caterpillar, a snack butterfly, and cupcakes (thank you Pinterest. I hate you but I love you). The