Writing Quirky | Stay Quirky, my friends

For What It’s Worth

Posted on February 5, 2016 by itslikethis

So here it is February, and this is my first post of 2016.

That pretty much sums up life in this house lately.

Things have been so erratic and unpredictable around here, it’s hard to be an effective parent, much less write about it with any semblance of order or theme. Every day seems to bounce in a different direction than originally projected. When sleep is disturbed and his anxiety is high, I expect the worst; yet he laughs on through. Then, a day begins well enough for me to envision smooth sailing; yet by evening we’ve crashed and burned.

I’m finding it more and more difficult to write as a parent-blogger. I don’t write fast enough to keep up with the variations. I might start a post in the morning, and before it’s polished, the mood, the atmosphere, the energy has changed and whatever I thought I was going to say no longer feels authentic.

But this volatility is all authentic. This is what it feels like to parent this kid right now.

I have another draft almost ready to go, it’s just a short little nothing piece. An exercise to get back in the habit of writing, which I’ve been trying to do since the New Year began. But the winds shifted before that draft was ready to post, and now it may have to wait. Or join the others in the virtual scrap heap. It just doesn’t feel true at the moment. Read More

Hiatus

Posted on October 7, 2013 by itslikethis

Stay Quirky is taking a break. In the midst of designing and implementing evaluations, re-vamping programs and goals, and just dealing with life, the time to write has completely dissipated.

I hope to be back at it soon.

In the interim, I recommend you head over to Monday Coffee, a new blog page featuring stories from other moms of quirky kids. In the not-too-distant future, they will be announcing the publication of a new anthology, Monday Coffee and Other Stories of Mothering Children with Special Needs. It is a varied collection of essays and poetry revealing the experiences of moms who are raising, loving, and advocating for their children. A project of the Indiana Writers Center and INwords Press, profits from the sale of the book will support the Memoir Project at the Center.

A couple of my pieces will be included in Monday Coffee, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in the company of so many fine parent-authors. I will announce the launch here as well – it should be coming soon!

Stay Quirky, my friends.

UPDATE: Monday Coffee is now available! I am humbled to be in the presence of these other mothers – their work is amazing – please check it out!

Word Search

Posted on February 27, 2013 by itslikethis

This life has an annoying way of simultaneously providing the inspiration for writing and denying any possible chance to write.

Silences

Posted on September 14, 2012 by itslikethis

My son is screaming in the other room, and I’m thinking about silence.

Not the literal type of silence, although I could use a little bit of that right now. I’m thinking about the stories we choose to tell and the ones that remain unwritten.

I’m thinking about the silences – intentional and unintentional – that shape what our history becomes. What gets remembered and what is forgotten.

I was planning to share a nice story of a boy and a horse, but that moment of success is being pre-empted. Today there is crying and screaming, and it doesn’t feel genuine to write about that good experience while ignoring this definitely not-good one.