Dear Diary, As I turned the corner, I could see Jason’s car in the driveway. I was on the phone with my best friend, Porsha, venting to her about him coming home at 4:30am. His best friend, Charlie was in town for the holiday and the two of them had been going out every single night. To top it off, I wasn’t feeling well and was left to take care of a set of very active twins by myself. Although I was angry with Jason for coming home so late, I was relieved that he did make i

Dear Diary, It’s been six years since Luke left. And in those six years, Lucas has made tremendous strides. He’s learned how to calm himself when he becomes overstimulated. He’s a straight-A student. He’s extremely knowledgeable about animals. He’s an aspiring artist. And he’s becoming quite the storyteller. He’s still not very sociable… …but he’s working on it. There have also been plenty of funny moments along the way. One, in particular, I’ll never forget. I was sitting i

Dear Diary, The next two years were tense. Luke and I only had two ways of communicating—walking around in silence or screaming at one another until we were hoarse. During those two years, Luke refused everything. He refused to visit the school. He refused to meet the teachers. When therapists came to the house, he would leave. For two years, he refused to accept that his son had autism. For two years, he made no attempt to enter into Lucas’s world—to see the univers

Dear Diary, Lucas was a beautiful little boy. He had my bubbly personality and Luke’s smile. He was always happy, always smiling, always laughing and always getting into things. By the time he was three…something changed. The sparkle in his eyes began to fade.He didn’t talk as much.He stopped laughing.He stopped making eye contact. He retreated into his own little world and didn’t invite us in. Life as we knew it with Lucas came to a halt. It didn’t take a rocket scien

Dear Diary, When I became pregnant with Lucas, my now ex-husband, Luke, and I were ecstatic. Our first child was going to be a boy. Luke would spend hours talking about all the things he couldn’t wait to share with him—playing little league sports, going fishing, restoring vintage cars, and attending St. Louis Cardinals games. Lucas’s birth was anything but ordinary. He was born on the hottest day of the summer. The air in our apartment had gone out, and I was waiting f

Dear Diary, After a year and a half of dating, I asked Phoebe to be my wife. Her initial response was not what I expected. “No.” “No? Why not? Don’t you love me?” “Daniel, I love you. I really do but I can’t marry you.” “Why not, Phoebe?” She began to cry. “Baby, please don’t cry. What is it? You can tell me. It won’t change how I feel about you or the fact that I want you as my wife. What is it, Phoebe?” Phoebe took a few deep breaths. “I’m unable to have children.” “Is that

Dear Diary, I went to church for a whole month before I was able to meet Phoebe. It took another month before she would give me her number. And another month after that before she would let me take her out and she would only agree to lunch. Normally, I wouldn’t have wasted my time but she was different. I couldn’t put my finger on it but she was definitely a rare breed of woman. Our lunch date lasted over four hours. We laughed and had good conversation. I was impressed with

“I now pronounce you, husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!” I cupped Phoebe’s face and gently—yet passionately—kissed her lips. Inside the church, a loud cheer erupted as little kids frowned and covered their faces. We turned towards the many well-wishers and began our journey down the aisle as husband and wife. As the 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II headed towards the reception, I looked at Phoebe and silently thanked God for allowing me to find this special gem....

Dear Diary, Today I am officially 2 months old and so far I am NOT impressed with this family I’ve been assigned to. I know it seems impossible for me to write this diary entry but babies are a lot smarter than people give us credit. I’m using Voice Typing. While they think I’m cooing, I’m actually speaking baby language. As I was saying, I am not impressed with this family and here’s why: Mom and Dad are first-time parents…they get a pass. My dad is a huge Batman fan. When I

Captain’s Log Star Date: 0302.26 Destination : Toilet Training Potty Training Using the Bathroom I’m not buying no mo’ pull-ups (sorry Huggies) ********************************************* Dear Diary, My wife, Frankie, has been living in Dubai for her job. She’s finally coming home, and I couldn’t be happier! For the past two years, I’ve been holding down the fort and raising our son, Ethan. Ethan is on the spectrum. Last week, while giving Ethan his bath, I realized somet