July 2017

I drew Drew!

Nick continues to amaze us all.  We were attending the 60th birthday party of my cousin Drew Doherty.  We had gotten a birthday card and after writing our sentiment in the card, Arden asked Nick to write his name. We are very proud of the fact that Nick can write his name.  He is proud

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Immediately friends.

Nick loves meeting new people.  Often he will put out his hand as he says, “Hello.”  If they respond to him, he follows up with, “What is your name?”  Some people will engage with him and others seem affronted by his attempt to talk to them. On Monday, I decided to follow his example.  Traveling

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A life well lived.

Over the past few months we have experienced grief and the rituals surrounding the death of a loved one. We have had our own loss and have attempted to support our friends and extended family with their losses. Today there were two funerals, each one for a person who had lived many decades and their

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I posted a video of my MIRCI Presentation on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/Q5PPJUDcpDg  is the YouTube address for the video of my presentation on 7 July 2017 during the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community and Involvement (MIRCI) conference at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at Galway University, Ireland.  The presentation is titled “The Unexpected Mothering Story” and is about 18 minutes long. A few

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A rooftop garden, sunshine, and piano music!

I am in Galway, alone.  Oh, I am with friends.  However, I am not with Nick.  He and Arden are up in Donegal and I will join them on Monday. This weekend I am presenting at a conference on Mothering at Galway University.  My talk is entitled, “The Unexpected Mothering Story.  When the story doesn’t

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On the road again!

Nick woke up Monday morning quite excited. He didn’t even say good morning in response to me entering his bedroom. He started singing, “On the road again!” I cracked up. He knew that we were traveling to Ireland and understood the sentiment in the song. He couldn’t articulate his excitement but he could communicate it

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Top Gun Mask.

In the fall of 2010, Nick’s seizures were out of control.  Our epileptologist (a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy) was looking for all sorts of solutions including the usual medicine changes.  Some of the factors used to manage epilepsy can include controlling his environment, eating or restricting certain foods, following a strict medicine schedule and

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