Universal Design Matters to All of Us
The cool thing about universal design is that you don’t even notice it. I’ve been attending Hope Heals Camp at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama for four summers now.1 I’ve heard people say that it…
Happy 16th Birthday, William
William turned 16 last week. We ordered Indian food and ate ice cream cake and sang a song in his honor. The chorus (set to Taylor Swift’s Getaway Car) might…
The Wonder of Kindness and Joy on Planet Earth
Last year, after we returned from a week at Hope Heals Camp, I wrote that camp “is not a place where we lay out a message of salvation, but rather…
What advice would you give someone who is trying to make a plan for their future?
Penny and I did a presentation together at Hope Heals Camp about taking steps to plan for the future. If you want great advice and info from an 18-year-old who…
2023 Photo by Ashley Monogue
Penny in Her Own Words: Why Go to Hope Heals Camp?
After spending eight hours in the Philadelphia airport (a long, boring story), we landed in Birmingham and are now at one of our favorite places—Hope Heals Camp. Before we left…
Online Course Now Available
After our daughter Penny was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, I felt as though I could no longer imagine our future as a family. The messages I had heard…
The Good Life Belongs to the Ones who are Unimportant and Overlooked
A few years ago, I was seated next to a businessman from New York City at a fundraising dinner. I asked him about his summer plans, and he told me…
Creating Belonging Within Families
I wrote a few weeks ago about the difference between exclusion, tolerance, inclusion, and belonging. Generally, when I think about belonging, I’m thinking about institutional spaces. I’m wondering whether our daughter Penny, who…
Reimagining the Dream of a Family Bike Ride
(Scroll down for a great video!) Does it matter whether your child ever learns to ride a bike? Does it matter if your child never joins a family bike ride?…
Teens, Screens, and Summer
When we turn the corner to summertime, I sink into gratitude for slower days and longer evenings, for hydrangeas and peaches, for more time together as a family. I also…
