Dear Sarah,
I am writing to express my continued gratitude for the Wings For Autism event held in Anchorage, Alaska.
Jack and his cat
Jack and his cat
Our 11 year old son Jack experiences high functioning autism, which he was diagnosed with at four years of age. While Jack did fly at ages 5 months and 9 months respectively, in his memory he has never been on an airplane, which raised concerns for us, since we have scheduled air-travel this summer.
The Wings for Autism experience was far beyond any of our expectations (our family of 4 attended). The attention to detail, real life/real time airport experience of obtaining tickets, line waiting, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), airport exploring, more waiting at the gate; it was all so needed, and so appreciated...
Lifestyle
Dear Ava,
Six years ago, your dad and I had one of our most memorable arguments.
We struggled with the decision to send you to kindergarten. You’d just turned five and separation anxiety was the name of your game.
I wanted to delay your start another year until you felt more secure; your dad stressed that you should enroll because you were ready. Guess who won?
Now I’m writing as you wrap up your time in elementary school. In a few months (weeks, really), you’ll be in what your dad and I called “junior high.”
This is the place where you’ll learn more about others than you will in college. That’s where you’ll go to learn about yourself. These next few years are going to be the hardest — for you, as you work through situations that make no sense — and for us, as we work...
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Dear You,
I have so much I want to tell you. I hope I can give you some help, give you some hope. Please pick and choose what you need from what I can say. And also know: I am here to listen.
First of all, and I’ve told you this already, but I really want you to remember it: You are a mother; your partner is a father. You are parents. You will question this in the next weeks or months. You will have people tell you that you are not a mother. Really awful people will say it to your face. Innocently, earnestly.
Try to avoid really awful people.
You carried and nurtured your son. He grew and thrived under your heart. It is a great unfairness — how inadequate is that word? — that he is not here, in your arms. It is the most devastating thing you will endure.
Second, grief has...
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Dear Pope Francis,
As a Catholic, married to a Catholic man and raising four Catholic children, I was very excited to hear this morning that “we” have a new Pope. Congratulations on the gig.
When I woke my eldest son for school the first thing I said to him was “we have a new Pope!” It’s exciting for us. One of the highlights of my childhood was seeing Pope John Paul II in Sydney. My grandparents had a blessing on their wall from Pope Paul VI that was personally signed by him – that was a BIG THING!
We totally dig the Catholic Church and we’re trying our hardest to raise our children with Jesus’ words and teachings. But you need to make some changes, Frank. I don’t think my children will stick with their faith if you don’t.
I can’t imagine being the head of the Roman...
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Dear Mother Earth,
I am sorry. When I think about what we humans have done to you I feel ashamed and embarrassed. You have been in existence much longer than we have and yet we were foolish enough to take on the role of caretaker, so long ago, but we have proven to be unworthy of such a role. I guess I cannot take all the blame myself, nor should I really, as when I examine my life and how I have lived it, it has been one of conscience and care. I am sorry though for how I was misinformed in my upbringing, not by my parents mind you, as they were duped just as badly as I was, never giving thought to how you were treated. Although there were good people out there trying to correct the wrongs being perpetrated against you, I guess the message they were sending out did not reach...
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Dear Mom,
I’ve begun writing this too many times to remember. I’m angry. I’m upset. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. I’m trying to make sense of so much, Mom, of our broken family, of you being emotionally absent for me and my siblings, to you prioritizing a piece of scum over your children.
What man would talk down to a woman and verbally assault her in front of her children? And what mother would allow that to happen and scold her children if they tried to protect her? Do you know that I refuse to celebrate my birthday, and it’s not because Grandpa passed away on my birthday years ago. It’s because you never prioritized my birthday, one year you simply left an outfit on my bed and left a note stating you’d be at his house for the night. I spent the whole night crying, Mom. There is no...
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Dear Ruzan,
Right now, you're probably the most hated woman on the Internet. But I can't chastise you. I'd be a hypocrite, because I was once in the exact same position.
I'm assuming some of my rationale would have been similar to yours: ignorance and misguided fears. But my reasoning was even worse: Unlike you, I never lacked the resources to take care of Jo Jo. I was living in a tony suburb in Connecticut, with access to some of the best medical and educational resources for children with special needs in the world. But I was your typical type-A, narcissistic perfectionist. Having a little girl with a significant disability did not fit into my life's plans.
And so when my daughter was born—a month early with a shock of dark brown hair—I froze. I knew as soon as I saw her that...
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Dear Mr Modi:
In your campaigning, you have used the name and slogan- yeh dil maange more- of my Sher beta. People call him the Sher Shah of Kargil. He was just 24 when he was killed in the Kargil war.
Now you are using Vikram's name and slogan. I ask you - in 15 years, how come neither you nor the BJP used either? Just for the elections, you have suddenly remembered it and are using the sacrifice of a brave soldier. This is corrupt politics.
Mr Modi, if you really care for the army and respect martyrs, a soldier's family for you should be like God. If I were in your place, I would have withdrawn the BJP candidate who is running against me.
If you respect Captain Batra's family, you should think of me like his mother. If you used "yeh dil maange more" to praise my son......
2,652
Dear Kari,
As the world celebrates mothers, I celebrate you—the stepmom of my kids—and the qualities you’re teaching them with the gift of your life in theirs:
Patience: You endured the awkward season of getting to know your husband’s extroverted ex-wife and decided that showing up and being present on the sidelines of the kids’ sporting events mattered more than avoiding the situation. (I know it wasn’t easy.)
Nurture: You are a true caretaker and a champion for the underdog. Whether it’s rescuing an animal in distress, volunteering your time for those less fortunate, or caring for a family member when they need you, you’re the kind of woman who’s always there.
Grace: You allow a genuine friendship between me and the kids’ dad, and have extended friendship to me as well. There’s...
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Dear Mother Nature:
On behalf of all of us in Boston, I want to thank you for all the snow, slush and freezing rain you’ve dropped on us this winter. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it’s been a great pleasure digging out of our homes, shoveling out our cars and sloshing through slush to get to where we need to go in all of this white stuff.
Not to mention risking our lives pulling out of streets with obstructed views because of the four or five foot high snow banks. Oh, and I don’t want to forget how helpful all this snow has been to people, like myself, who are training for upcoming marathons. Running outside has never been more challenging. Yeah, all this snow – over 70 inches to date – has been a real treat.
So now that you’ve dumped an almost Shaq-sized amount...
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