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Dear Addie, Yesterday, we went to the grocery store, where I purchased a few fresh peaches for a recipe I planned to make today. We came home, and I washed them and freely tossed them into the fruit drawer with your apples and oranges. Fast-forward to today (surely you see where this is going)…you went to grab an apple but mistakenly grabbed a peach instead. A fruit, respectfully, you've never been interested in and always turn your nose up at when offered. I tried to tell yo

Dear Addie, It’s been an adjustment. Sister and brother headed back to their schools, and suddenly our everyday looked and sounded different. A quietness has settled over our home, and everything just feels…different. You headed back to school too, and you were SO excited to be there. Watching you be excited about something so ordinary and so meaningful at the same time has been a gift, especially while you’ve been navigating relapses, adjusting treatment plans, and carrying

Dear Addie, I knew it was coming… I just thought it was going to take a little more time. Like somehow the days would stretch a little longer, the calendar might slow its roll, and time would agree to stand still for just a minute. Apparently, time had other plans. Wishful thinking, I know. You headed back to school this past week and, honestly, you could not have been happier about it. The second we pulled into the parking lot, that giant smile came out. You were READY. Aft

Dear Addie, And then it happened. After almost fourteen months of an illness that brought chaos into an already chaotic life, we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Just as June 3, 2025, will forever be burned into my memory, so will July 31, 2026. But instead of feeling like it was seared into me by a hot iron, it felt as though someone had painted it in watercolor…soft, gentle, full of joy and hope. A date that marked not the beginning of fear, but the quiet arr

Dear Addie, Kindergarten friends. Both of you born into a world that wasn't built with either of you in mind. The struggles were (& are) daily, the challenges are real. Life went ahead and did what life does. It stretched the distance between you two, carrying you both down different roads until your everyday lives were separated by miles and miles. It could have been the end of your story… Spoiler alert - it wasn’t and I’m grateful everyday for that. Instead, an ocean, a sur

Dear Addie, For most people, holiday traditions just... happen. Trick-or-treating? Umm, yes please. Costumes, candy, spooktacular decorations, say less. Fourth of July? Grilling in the blazing heat, popsicles, and fireworks. America understood the assignment. Christmas? Lights on everything, a very special birthday, Santa Claus and all things Grinch (if you know, you know), presents, cookies, Mariah Carey, honestly, what's not to love? For many of us, these traditions are jus

Dear Addie, I often wonder if he knew he was destined for something different. Kind of like you, he never quite fit into what others would call the "behavioral norms." He carried some unmistakable beagle traits of course, but there was always something more about him. He came into our lives so innocent and eager, and it didn't take long for him to settle into the life our beloved Ruby had built. Ruby was fiercely protective of our family, but she always held a little extra pl

Dear Addie, Sometimes when life feels exceptionally challenging, it's hard to see it as anything but unfair. It can feel as though the universe is somehow singling you out for reasons you'll never understand. But every so often, there comes a moment when years of challenges, unanswered questions, and wandering down paths no one expected suddenly point you toward a destination that finally feels within reach. That's what happened this week. Yesterday, after compiling years' wo

Dear Addie, Nobody warns you about that moment when you suddenly feel like you can breathe. When a life that felt like standing in quicksand at far too many turns somehow starts to feel lighter. Allow me to explain. You see, Addie, when I was younger and envisioned my future, nowhere in it did I see a life that included special needs. Not because I imagined some extraordinary version of perfection, it simply wasn’t part of the picture. Fast forward to the day you were born. A

Dear Addie, It was a year ago Wednesday that the chaos began. (June 3, 2025) What started as a day of fasting, minor dental surgery, and the beginning of a kitchen remodel turned into a year filled with emergency room visits, multiple hospital stays, countless doctor appointments, shocking weight loss, another autoimmune diagnosis, still-unexplained symptoms, and even a preferred brand of vomit bags becoming part of our new normal. Test after test, theory after theory - our d

Dear Addie, There I was, usually the first one up, still lying in bed. The sounds of whispering voices and your full-octave replies filled the house as you all scurried out the door. It was Mother’s Day, and I was hitting my imaginary snooze alarm knowing I had nowhere to be and nothing to do. No tubbies to give. No meds to measure. No meals to make. Just me, my pillow, and a couple of cats feverishly knocking everything off my nightstand. Clearly they didn’t get the memo, bu

Dear Addie, This week we celebrated Dad’s 50th birthday, the second of four milestone birthdays in our family this year! Crazy how that all worked out…18, 50, 21, and 16. I’m the odd man out, so I’ve decided to redo 30 (yes, I loved 30!) because it only seems appropriate… but I digress. With each birthday, I take great pleasure in watching the gifts being given. They’re always so thoughtful, and personal and somehow they either bring us to tears or leave us absolutely cacklin

Dear Addie, This week has been deeply challenging. Your auditory system felt relentless, turning against you and causing nothing but constant distress. Every sound, and even the anticipation of one, sparked an internal battle you couldn’t escape. A war you had no energy to fight. No where felt safe, no where felt calm. Not even headphones could protect you. You were walking a tight rope at every step while cautiously looking out the corner of your eye. Times like these are tr

Dear Addie, Today, we walked. Not just in steps, not just one foot in front of the other, but with intention, with hearts set on a path where hope dares to become real. We didn’t walk for autism this time, but for blinding diseases, different roads, yet somehow the same destination. Both life-changing. Both asking us to hold tight to four small letters that somehow carry the weight of everything: hope. Addie, no one wakes up and wishes for a reason like this, no one dreams of

Dear Addie, I found this picture today of you at three years old. You had already learned to swing, pumping your legs all on your own at just two and could be found at any time of day from sunrise to sunset on the swings. Well before I understood that your love of swinging back and forth, all day, every day, was connected to words much bigger than you then, words like vestibular and proprioceptive. I mean what?!?! Say those three times fast! Never in my wildest dreams did I t

Dear Addie, If we ignore the ongoing pesky illness, this week was basically a highlight reel in your world. The weather couldn’t quite make up its mind giving the classic “fake spring,” bouncing from warm to chilly and back again, but let’s be honest, it never stood a chance of keeping you inside. I mean there was a swing that wasn’t going to swing itself and plenty of unsuspecting bugs living their everyday lives, just waiting to be plucked and inspected by you after all. Th

Dear Addie, This week, big sister Clara was home from college for spring break, and it was a beautiful reminder that with the change of seasons often comes great transition, as we can’t help but relish in her presence at the brilliant, independent adult she has become. When the cool, crisp air starts to warm, it feels like standing at a fork in the road, like some new and unknown adventure awaits! Two paths, both full of wonder, waiting to be discovered. A few weeks ago I tal

Dear Addie, This week was a bit rough, but it wasn’t without its wins. Allow me to explain. After receiving a few more diagnoses last week, it’s becoming clearer that the beginning of all of this health chaos was likely a melting pot of so many things. There are pieces we may never fully understand, questions that may never have clear answers about what came first or how it all unfolded. A real-life chicken or the egg scenario. With additional treatment plans now in place, we

Dear Addie, One very informative doctor’s appointment, one unfortunate sick day, and more of your infectious smiles than I could count. I’ll take that kind of week. Keep it up baby girl! Love, Mom

Dear Addie, It’s said that things often get worse before they get better, and this week felt exactly like that. For three days, we witnessed some of the worst sickness we’ve seen in quite some time. It left us in an unfortunate, but familiar conversation questioning whether we would ever truly understand what was happening, or if this had simply become our new normal. Was our life destined to be brief glimmers of hope, only to have the rug pulled out from underneath us again?