My son Ben has significant intellectual disabilities. As a result, he has a very small vocabulary consisting of only nouns and verbs. If I say, "Do you want ice cream?" He'll respond with enthusiasm. And if I say, "Do you never want ice cream again?" I'll get the same response. He hears "ice cream", and … Continue reading Listening for Ice Cream
Author: Andrea
A Different Summer
Do you remember writing about summer vacation for the first assignment of the school year? What would you write this year? I am tallying up a number of gains and losses. The hardest loss was not being able to see my children who live far away. I also missed attending a family wedding in California. … Continue reading A Different Summer
Worship School
I shared this article on the Perennial Gen website this week. Enjoy!https://theperennialgen.com/worship-school/
A Good Man
I watch you nod off on the couch this evening, gray head drooping and reading glasses sliding down your nose and I realize we've done it. We have succeeded in growing older together. I don't know what I thought it would be like when we spoke our vows 37 years ago, but it wasn't this. … Continue reading A Good Man
Flight
A Great Blue Heron has been perching at the end of our dock lately, so I decided to try to get close enough for a picture. He kept a wary eye on me as I crept closer, finally taking off with his long wings as Ben came clumping down to join me in his dad's big … Continue reading Flight
Conquering the Frog
We took a little getaway recently, just me, my husband and our 28 year old son who has intellectual disabilities. We had planned some fun activities, but from the moment Ben spotted the kiddie pool, it was all he could think about. “Wog” he said, making the sign for “frog” under his chin, “Me!” And … Continue reading Conquering the Frog
Fall
Here's a look back at a post from this time last year, before my blog was public: Autumn in northern Minnesota is simply spectacular. My morning walks are graced with multitudes of colorful leaves glowing in the sun, fluttering in the breeze, rolling a red and orange and gold carpet out beneath my feet. Many … Continue reading Fall
Masks
Most of the world is under a mask mandate right now. Some view it as a commonsense way to help slow the spread of Covid. Some wear a mask as a sign of respect and kindness towards others. Some wear a mask in obedience to their government. Some view mask wearing as capitulation to illegitimate … Continue reading Masks
Hidden Places
We rambled through the forest, sliding on pine needles and scrambling over granite, heading nowhere except to explore the beauty of the day and the mountains we lived in. We smelled it before we found it, a mountain laurel bay tree tucked into a small ravine near the base of a towering Ponderosa pine. Arrested … Continue reading Hidden Places
When Detours Become Destinations
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. The poet Robert Frost penned this iconic poem over a hundred years ago, and I think that many of us … Continue reading When Detours Become Destinations
A View of the Lake 