bountifulplate

I first started writing this blog back in July 2011, because the first six months of 2011 were incredibly challenging (lots of personal losses). I needed a way to get out all of the emotions I had been holding in. My husband calls me the "glue that holds our family together." Well, that's sweet, but sometimes glue dries up and starts to "crack" a bit! I have never considered myself a writer (I have a degree in Business).  Anyways, flash forward to April 28 of this year. We had just dropped off my stepson and his wife at their hotel and were driving home from Lauren's college graduation. I was sitting in the back seat and started getting text messages from my brother that my mom was going to the hospital for an infection. The next day she was eating applesauce and was in relatively good spirits. I was totally caught off-guard the next day (Monday) when my brother called me to tell me my mom was gravely ill. My first extinct was to hop on a plane and fly back...

I had someone very close to me ask me this question many years ago, "why do you stay in touch with so many of Dominic's old teachers, therapists, social workers, etc.?" The reason is actually quite simple, every single person that Dominic has met, whether they realize it or not, has made an impact on him. I have said this before and I'll say it again. When you become a parent of a special needs child, it's not like someone hands you a manual and says, "here you go, this has everything you will ever need to know about school, toilet training, puberty, etc.!" It would be great if there was, but unfortunately that's not the way life works. People will make comments and judge knowing absolutely nothing about you, your family or your circumstances. You may lose the friendships of other special needs parents along the way because you don't agree with the treatments they give their children (I have). You will learn to become a HUGE advocat...

    At one time, the hubby and I had hopes that Dominic would go to college.  My husband told other people, "I think Dominic will go to college!" As the years have gone by and we have watched him get further and further behind academically, both my husband and I have come to the conclusion that our dream of him going to college will probably not happen. We had a meeting with his teacher early last week about which "path" we thought our son will be heading down this fall when he goes to the local high school.  If this was a meeting about a "typically" developing teen, we would have been discussing the classes he would be taking in ninth grade and college plans. Instead, we discussed him earning a "Certificate of Completion," and continuing to learn basic self-care and life skills. I think in that moment, I realized the dream I had been keeping in my head for all these years was gone. My entire focus, not just parts of it, instea...

Dominic has been fixated, you really could call it obsessed with calendars for several months. They cover part of our family room floor and if I try to move them or if the hubby, Lauren or I accidentally touch one, he gets upset. He spends hours on the floor looking at them and no matter how many times I try to redirect him to something else, like putting together a puzzle, he will tell me no, every single time. Last week, I asked him to hand me the March 2018 page from our master family calendar. This is what he handed me.     I asked him where the rest of the calendar was and he brought over a bunch of torn up pieces of paper, handed them to me and said, "fix it." I tried for about a half hour to "reconstruct," the calendar and then realized it was a futile effort. I told Dominic, "there are some things even tape can't fix." I didn't get mad at him because I knew there had to be a reason "why," he ripped up all ...

Two weeks ago, I helped host a Special Needs Holiday Party.  I had Santa and Nana Claus lined up to make their appearance about 3 p.m. I had told Dominic that they were coming ahead of time, but since I have never taken him in the past to see them, I was a little apprehensive how he would act.  I took Lauren to see Santa a handful of times when she was little, but I guess I thought that Dominic wouldn't be able to handle it, so I never even attempted it. When Santa and Nana arrived, I went over to them and introduced myself because I had never met them in person, we had only corresponded by e-mail. They were so sweet and were circulating around the tables talking to everybody. When Dominic saw them, he decided to get as far as he could away from them. We had a large group and there were many that wanted to sit on Santa's lap. I was busy taking pictures and every so often, I would look over and Dominic was still on the other side of the room. I explained to Santa ...

Back at least two months ago, my dad asked me a question. He LOVES history and as much as he's tried to get me interested, I'm just NOT . He has been at his assisted living facility back in Maryland for a while now. It's been hard on him at times, because he moved out of the family home where he had lived for several decades. Anyways, you're probably wondering what the question was, right?? Well, he asked me something like, "something very important happened on December 7th, it's Pearl Harbor Day." He went on to say that he was thinking of giving a talk to the other residents about that day. This would involve him going to the activities coordinator and getting him on the monthly "schedule." He asked me my opinion of what he wanted to do. Without hesitation, I said, " YOLO ." He asked me what that meant. I told him "you only live once!" My dad and I have had lots of talks this year about the stroke he had a f...

It seems like almost daily, another man is accused of sexual harassment, etc. I can't even keep track of it. It's like a lid has been pulled off a boiling pot and all the men accused are spilling out. What would have happened if all that stuff hadn't come out about Harvey Weinstein? How long would have all those men been kept in the "boiling pot?" I think the individuals coming forward are very brave and it makes me sad that they felt their voices were not heard for so long or that they kept it inside for years and sometimes decades. I told my dad recently about my "#M e Too" moment. I thought I had told him before, but evidently I hadn't. Anyways, in the late 1980's into the early 1990's I worked for a very small company as a receptionist. I was told by the owner of the company I had to always wear panty hose and a skirt/dress. I did it because I liked the job and the people I worked with. After I had been there a few years, the...