Mikelle and I feel compelled to write about life with a disability, not just the challenges but the opportunities, the friendships, the innovations, and the brilliance of our communities in action as we share our everyday life living with a disability. With a little more information, motivation, we hope to share how our life is shining beautiful and maybe help you to shine beautiful, too.
Mikelle’s Bronco Magic
Last Year’s Disappointments Don’t Matter this Year. We all hoped it would be a better year for the Denver Broncos, but it wasn’t. Oh well, we all have our building years, right? Mikelle doesn’t really care about last year’s disappointment as long as she can hang out in Bronco’s country
Part Two. Checklist for the Pioneer Generation.
Let’s start there. Who needs to be at the table? We have but a few short years to figure this out. Solutions for Consideration: Identify caregivers in Colorado over the age of 55. Send a survey/or have case managers inquire about the status of the items listed below in
Will the Pioneer Generation become the Generation in Crisis?
Is the aging caregiver crisis just around the corner? Her passing set in motion a cascade of decisions that triggered deep thought about my passing and preparation for when, as one of my fellow special needs parents says, “We fall off our perch.” The Problem. In the U.S. today, there
Shining Beautiful at 40!
A Beautiful Gift Arrives In the fall of 1983, I lived in a nice-sized three-bedroom home in a southwestern suburb of Denver. My father, a general residential contractor, had built many homes in the neighborhood. My then-husband and I purchased this house in 1979 while I was pregnant with
The Big Wheelchair Debate
Community Connects at Eye Level We all desire a certain amount of control over our lives in what we eat, where we go, and who we see, and Mikelle is no different. Most enjoy sitting across the table and sharing coffee with friends and family at the local cafe. We
A Must Have Tool for Transition Planning
It is late spring. The flowers are bursting through moist soil with daffodils and tulips, and the sweet smell of apple blossoms lingers. All across America, in high school classrooms everywhere, transition plans are in progress for teenagers with disabilities who have an IEP (Individual Education Plan). These transition plans
Our Everything, Everywhere All At Once!
Routine Life Most families have a routine. We have a daily set of rituals and activities that help us wake up, move around the house and help us run around our communities, and chat with each other over coffee. Yet, we all know that when the dishwasher does work, or
Part Two: What is Next?
Doubt Nagging doubt and uncertainty have replaced my fear. Yet, I know I am not alone as I share a cup of coffee with the unknown. Four other women, all with adults who experience disabilities and have been living an inclusive life in their own homes, feel my trepidation about
Where is the Exit Ramp?
What are the Options? Like many mothers my age, I am at the dark end of a blind alleyway looking for the exit ramp from daily caregiving and into retirement. I love being a mom and have been privileged to support and care for Mikelle’s mom. I am just being
Let’s Celebrate!
One Christmas in Color, two-holiday parties, three great presents, four fun team members, and five golden smiles made this holiday season bright. Strung together like a strand of lights on the Christmas tree, this season’s events were brilliant and beautiful. Our hearts are full of love for our friends and
Vote Like Your Life Depends on It! Cause it does.
Today, November offers up a beautiful fall day. The temperature hovers at a lovely sixty-five degrees. Soft, faded pink hydrangeas bounce on a gentle breeze. I am sitting in the sun at a local coffee shop in the garden of falling leaves. This moment feels like the warm before the
Simple, Basic, Fun Ways to Win Back our Happiness.
Simple Sometimes it is so simple—a win for a beleaguered and treasured football team and a Halloween party. In these moments, we step back into traditions to reclaim our future by being present in the moment. For Mikelle, her brother, and his family, Sunday’s Bronco football team win in London