Fifteen Candles

Happy 15th Birthday, Alphonse, child of our hearts.
You weren’t like other children
and God was well aware
You’d need a caring family
with love enough to share.
And so He sent you to us
and much to our surprise
you haven’t been a challenge
but a blessing in disguise.
Your winning smiles and laughter
the pleasures you impart
far outweigh your special needs
and melt the [...]

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Lessons from an MRI

I will try to update this blog for as long as I can. I am typing one-handed these days as the pain in my hands grow. I am working on rebuilding my strength and coping with pain without medication. Thank you to all my friends who have extended well wishes and sent me prayers. I feel your love, [...]

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Talents Without Borders

In the course of writing for Autism Society Philippines, I do a lot of research on my own. On the occasions that I ask for information from ASP, they have always obliged generously. Writing about our performers for Autism Beyond Borders, the 11th National Conference on Autism, I was surprised to receive not just abstract [...]

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For A

I haven’t been sleeping well these last three months. It’s a long story, something for another day. I am in physical pain most days and I know I can’t be an easy person to be with on days when the pain is toughest. But I’d like to thank A for his patience and encouragement, his thoughtfulness and constant [...]

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Balloon Love

This is the balloon Alex brought home for me a week ago. It’s a little deflated now and needs a little propping up to stand straight but I still like to look at it every day. Alex had gone to afternoon mass with the other boys of Dulaang Sibol at the Dela Strada Parish that Wednesday. On the way [...]

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Guided By Angels

I asked permission to repost this article in my blog. I wanted so much to share with you an uplifting story of love within a family living with autism. The author is a junior in high school and a friend of my son Alex. She also happens to be an excellent writer. I read this in her Multiply [...]

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Honesty Is The Best Policy

A few nights ago, before bed:
Mama: Alphonse, were you a good boy today?
Alphonse shakes his head “No,” then giggles loudly.
I had been gone almost the whole day that day. My errands took longer than expected and he was left home with his nanny. That evening, Nanny Lyn had told  me that Alphonse had grabbed her shirt a [...]

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Sunday…Father And Son

It’s a rare Sunday that we find time to be together these days. Household errands that we don’t have time to do on weekdays get squished in with weekend chores, making our already heavy weekend schedule even heavier. Between shopping for groceries, paying the bills, and ferrying a son to and from his activities (be it [...]

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My Hello Kitty Build-A-Bear World

I was going to post this last night but thinking about what BAB means to me- and they are just more than dolls to me- led me to write a full-length article. I’ll post it as soon as possible.
I am deeply grateful to my husband; he has made all these possible and more. He is the one [...]

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The One Who Got Away

I wrote this a few weeks before Valentine’s Day, with the intention of posting it as soon as it was finished. Somehow, the days slipped through my fingers and I forgot.
This is for you, A -  the one who stayed – for all the Valentines you and I have been together. Even through our sometimes difficult life, [...]

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