RECENT POSTS
Penny’s 19th Birthday
We celebrated Penny’s 19th birthday in stages last week, first with a trip to NJ to see her friend Rachel and—a few days late—with our
Baking at Her Own Pace
Penny wants to work on cooking and baking skills this year. Usually, we are rushing around, so it is hard to let her work at
Questions for the New Year {Plus my 2024 favorites}
I love this pause in the year, these days between Christmas and New Year’s, between shopping and going back to school. It’s one of the
December Favorites {2024}
Here are books, podcasts, movies, shows, and essays that I enjoyed this December: 1. Episode 287: Julia Watts Belser – A Jewish Perspective on Disability. Here’s a
Patiently, Beautifully Wrapping Presents
Gift wrapping has never been an easy task for Penny. Typically, she’s been relegated to the background of the wrapping extravaganza in our household—handing over
Embracing the Mystery (more than the magic) of Christmas
Amidst the morning snowfalls and twinkling lights and jolly tunes, we’ve received grim news from a few different people in recent weeks. One of my
Dancing Again | Nutcracker 2024
(Keep scrolling for video!) | Our daughter Penny danced for twelve years at Fineline Theatre Arts, which included many years of performing scenes from the
From Conditional Love to Unconditional Growth
I sometimes beat myself up as a parent. In all honesty, I also beat myself up as a human, but on the parenting front, I
RNS | You will need to stay for 15 minutes to see the art
A few weeks ago, my husband and I visited Mass MoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. One wing of the museum is devoted to
Truths From “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
We went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as a family a couple of weeks ago. I’m still an even bigger fan of the 1980s,
Step by Step by Step | Increasing Independence
Step by step by step. For our daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome, the path toward adulthood and increasing independence involves many more deliberate and
Let’s have this conversation together.
These days, my writing and speaking are drawn to interdependence—the beauty of life together, of reciprocal relationships of love and care. Often, these relationships of mutuality (or, as Rosemarie
S8 E7 | The New Testament in Color with Esau McCaulley, Ph.D.
Apple YouTube Spotify More! How do we attend to diverse voices in our churches and society without silencing or patronizing each other? Author and professor
November Favorites {2024}
Recent favorites—a podcast and two essays—that I enjoyed in November 2024: 1. The Antidote To Not-Enoughness | Robin Wall Kimmerer. I could listen to snippets of
When Is It Time to Speak Up?
After our most recent national election, I started wondering when/whether/how I should respond publicly to politics here in this newsletter or on social media. You might
Disability’s Beautiful Complication of Human Flourishing
I’ve written a lot from the perspective of a white, affluent, educated, able-bodied, married woman about the ways in which my demographic group has rates
Culture’s Good-Life Mirage
How do we decide who has a life worth living? I thought about this question as I listened to bioethicist Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, PhD, tell me
S8 E6 | A Life Worth Living? Reimagining Life, Choice, and Disability with Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Ph.D.
Apple YouTube Spotify More! How do we decide who has a life worth living? Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, PhD, author and professor emerita of English and bioethics
One Way Churches Can Welcome People With Disabilities
Want to make your church more welcoming? Invite individuals with disabilities to lead in reading or prayer. MORE WITH AMY JULIA: FREE RESOURCE: 10 Way
What Can We Do After the Election? Be Salt and Light
In the wake of the results of the American Presidential election, I suspect many of you feel like I do. Bedraggled and unimportant and impotent
Waiting With Hope in the Dark | Advent Devotional
With all the political divisions and election news this year, it can feel like we’ve come to the end of ourselves. We’re waiting—impossibly waiting—for our
