Penny Goes to College
Most people say that kids with intellectual disabilities fall off a cliff when they turn 18 and complete their time in high school. Even though most of them are still…
What Happens with Three Days Away with Your Teenager
I’ve never taken a mother-daughter trip with Marilee before. But this year over spring break, Marilee and I spent four nights together in Jamaica. I was a little worried we…
3 Ways to Interact With Your Disengaged Teenager
We now officially have three teenagers under our roof. Which means we have lots of pop music playing at all hours. And we go through more snacks than we do…
Penny’s Final Night of Cheerleading
I don’t know why I wasn’t weepy with Penny’s final night of cheerleading. Maybe I’m in total denial that her time in high school is coming to an end. Maybe…
Changing Prepositions (from “for” to “with”)
As a part of an ongoing desire to honor Penny’s capacities as an adult with Down syndrome, I’m learning to change my prepositions. I keep catching myself talking about things…
Mothers Can Pass Along Belovedness
What if, as mothers, we believed our own belovedness and passed that belief along to our daughters? I really appreciated Alexandra D’Amour’s essay for the New York Times about toxic…
COGNOSCENTI | Why our family still makes time for church on Sundays
"On Sunday mornings, our family does something unusual. We wake our three teenagers earlier than they want, shower and dress up a little bit, and drive seven minutes up the…
Penny’s Senior Night as a Cheerleader
If you had told me when she was born that our daughter with Down syndrome would be a Varsity cheerleader at our local high school, I don’t think I would…
2020 | Courtesy of Meghan Morse Photography
How to Talk With Siblings About Disability
How should I talk with my typically-developing kids about a brother or sister who has a disability? As the mother of an 18-year-old with Down syndrome with two younger siblings…
The Disability Community Needs Grandparents Like These
I spoke with the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress Grandparents support group this week by Zoom, and what struck me most was that they all just want a good future for…
