Finding a day that works for a trip to Vancouver is only the first hurdle. Trying to align the day, appointment time, ferries, siblings’ schedules, Bear’s work schedule and staff schedule, isn’t simple and for this one appointment it took about two months to get confirmed with all the adjustments and changes. Thinking back on […]
With a child graduating this year, I overhear many conversations about parents becoming empty nesters. These conversations start with a sad, reminiscing tone but usually end with all the things they plan to do to fill up their soon-to-be extra time. There’s often comments about how they will visit their children or how they will
So, this may end up being less about the wheelchair and more about me momentarily losing my mind when chaos ensues. William spends a large amount of time in his wheelchairs. He has a manual-chair for going out and a power-chair for around the house. These chairs provide access to the community, access around the
I can’t really think of a time where William was limited purely by his wheelchair. As a family we have had many times where he was limited by his health, but it was our decision to join in or not risk illness. Maybe I have turned a blind eye to activities that limit his access
It goes without saying that my kids and Bear are the most important people in my life. However, my parents are also the most important people in my life. My kids call them Mamie and Papa and they are the best grandparents any kids could hope for. Although their role as grandparents is likely their
Years ago, a friend of mine told me to actually block off ‘blank space’ time in my calendar. This blank space is an opportunity for our family to do whatever we feel like doing. This time could be used for individual activities or for group activities, but the goal with this time was to help
I’ve mentioned in the past that Bear and I make every effort to allow our girls to just enjoy William as their little brother. We try very hard not to put any of the heavy stuff on them. They are free to build whatever relationship they want with him. So, until today, their relationships have
For William, his social interactions are primarily with therapists, his care team and our family. Occasionally, the girls will have friends over and he gets that little bit of interaction but it’s hard to find opportunities for him to engage with other kids his age or build friendships. When he attends art class or cooking
As the school year comes to an end, my sights shift to the crazy schedule of summer. William’s schedule basically stays the same but blending it with the schedules of everyone else in our home is the annual challenge. This year, the oldest got herself a full-time job and still doesn’t drive so that means
When people see William or meet our family there is always one question that quickly follows. Actually, it often comes out as a statement. “How do you do it all?” or “I don’t know how you do it!” Yup, we live a bit of an unconventional life and William is at the heart of it