I came to know about Special Dreams Farm in a very roundabout way. I happened to go to a party hosted by a woman I’ve known and worked with for a long time, and one of her aunts happened to … Continue reading
Sunday Shout-Out: Special Dreams Farm
Monthly Archives: September 2012
A Harvest of Handicraftiness
We’ve settled into our school routines, and are starting to catch up on some much needed sleep… Are you getting the itch to get crafty like I am? The Not-So-Lazy Susan I always get an urge to purge and re-organize … Continue reading
Dating and the Single Mom
The second guy I dated post-divorce looked great on paper. He was an engineer, about my age. He had a daughter, so he knew what single parenting was like. He not only listened to NPR, he liked the same programs I did. And he read books. We seemed to hit it off in our emails, and agreed to go out on a date after I returned from Spring Break (this was back in 2009). We met for coffee and walked around town a bit. It was OK, but I wasn’t sure about seeing him again. We get along well, and there were times when we were talking when I forgot I was on a first date with the guy. I had a good time. He was a bit geeky, but so am I. I just got the feeling that he said things because he thought he was supposed to say them, and I didn’t like that. I just wasn’t sure.
John Denver’s Greatest Hits (Photo credit: thejcgerm)
The next week, I had tickets to see David Sedaris and no one to go with, so I figured I’d give the guy another chance because first dates can be nerve-wracking. Afterwards, I tried to pinpoint the moment in the evening when I decided it was a no-go… Maybe it was the suggestion to go canoeing that weekend (I had already explained my aversion to camping-type activities)? Or was it the “Who is your favorite musician?” question (Really? Do people still ask things like that? And hello, I teach music!), or the revelation shortly thereafter that his favorite was John Denver?… Yes, we seemed to get along well, but he wasn’t all that interesting or funny, and he stared at me A LOT. Maybe it was the mention of going to some weekend-long bike race the following month… Or the thousand times he asked me something I’d already told him…
In any case, David Sedaris was hilarious, and it was well worth it all. I would follow that man on his book tour like a groupie if I didn’t have a day job.
And I learned a bit more about what I wanted and and more precisely, didn’t want in a partner. Always a good thing to figure out when you are a dating single mom.
PS I’m not a John Denver hater. His Christmas album with the Muppets gets played every year in my house. But favorite musician of all time??…
A New Experience: Rollerskating
Sometimes, I look back at the fun things I did as a kid and realize, “Holy crap. My son has probably never done that!” And I have a moment of disbelief, thinking, “This has nothing to do with autism, and … Continue reading
Our Story
Every family with autism has a “story” — not really about them, but about how they came to know about autism, and the battles they have fought, sometimes with insurance companies, sometimes with money, and always with their own emotions. … Continue reading
Why I Work
I have always had the intention of being a working woman, and I have always had the intention of being a mother, so I guess I have always had the intention of being a working mom. I sincerely don’t understand … Continue reading
No More Clif Bars: Oatmeal in a Jar
I do not have time to eat breakfast. Because The Boy needs to be at Kids Club first, we must leave the house by 7am. I am not an early riser, and never have been, ergo, I do not have … Continue reading
Sunday Shout-Out: Wrightslaw
When The Boy began going to public school for preschool, I began to feel like his needs were not being met, and that the placements they were recommending for him for the following year were inadequate (more on that in … Continue reading
Forgiveness
I’m okay, you’re… well, maybe not (Photo credit: pdxjmorris)
Therapists are big on forgiveness, aren’t they? The books I read post-divorce include forgiveness as a necessary step to healing. In my own case, it’s been hard.
I had so much anger before, during, and after the divorce. I placed all of the blame on the ex’s shoulders. I had so many stories to tell, and people listening would shake their heads, amazed that I had put up with it for so long. The day after my divorce was final, I remember sharing the news at work, and having others look at me funny because I wasn’t supposed to be so happy.
I reveled in my singlemomdom. There was so much freedom. Take a weekend trip with The Boy? Why, I could, couldn’t I? Buy a duvet cover with flowers on it? Yes, please. Fall asleep in a quiet house? Heaven. I also reveled in my anger and my indignation. The ex was clearly the spawn of Satan, and I had been a saint to last as long as I had.
As time passed, and upon more reflection, I began to realize my part in the downfall of our marriage. I realized that I had stopped communicating, that I had belittled him, that I had not been strong enough to fight him more on the big issues. And that maybe he wasn’t the spawn of Satan. Maybe.
Four years later, I am to the lovely point at which I am mostly indifferent. The thought of this person that I was married to for ten years rarely even crosses my mind, if at all. If it does, the thought is apathetic, with no real malice or anger. He can live his life as he pleases, and it has nothing to do with me.
Except when it does. When our little link is affected. When his actions hurt our little boy, I get angry, I blame, I shake with emotion. And this is why I am not, and don’t think I will ever be to the point of forgiveness. Lots of moms have this fierce emotion, this snarling-mama-bear-oh-no-you-di’nt reaction, that I think is even ferocious in those of us with kids with special needs. Because in many cases, our kids can’t express or process their emotions as well as the rest of us. Because our kids already go through enough. Because we go through enough. ENOUGH.
I can forgive strangers, because you can dismiss strangers as not knowing any better, being ignorant, or hateful, or stupid. But the ex is not a stranger, and he cannot be written off as ignorant.
It’s really hard to forgive someone who should be protecting his son as fiercely as I am.
And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do it.
And I’m OK with that.
Facebook Friday: Contest Winner!
Drumroll, please…
The winner of my Facebook Friday Contest is… Melissa Marks!
Congratulations! Please send me your email address via the contact page (or message me on facebook), and I will get your gift certificate out to you ASAP!
Thank you, everyone, for participating! Have a Fun Friday!
Simple. I Just Do. 