Autisms

Postcards from the Slow Lane

In the Beginning: The Sings When Bink was newly born I started singing to her. There were the songs you might expect—lullabies and sweet old-fashioned songs like Daisy Bell and Clementine.…

MelindaJanuary 14, 2025

Autism Bink Family Healing Hope Love Mindfulness Parenting Writing Yogabilities™

The Sweet Complications of Living in a Body

Trigger warning: I'm incurably wordy. On a Friday morning approximately 11 days ago, I had surgery on my left foot. "A big one”, the excellent podiatrist/surgeon calls it. No weight bearing for 8 weeks. A…

MelindaDecember 23, 2024

Autism Bink Family Hope Parenting

Dreams

Field notes from this family’s mornings Bink and I have many rituals. They’ve shifted over time and we’ve been able to let go of some of them. Others stay in place and bring her comfort…

MelindaNovember 25, 2024

Autism Bink Family Parenting Poem Poetry Women's Issues Writing

Half Full

If I were to update my resume, my longest running position would be caregiver. I'm a veteran at this point, and like others who have been caring for a loved one at home for decades,…

MelindaOctober 16, 2024

Autism Bink Family Healing Hope Love Mindfulness Parenting Poem Poetry Writing

Mutha

I’m so pleased to share two poems that were published today in Mutha Magazine. These two are part of the full-length poetry book I’ve been working on for years. I finally finished the manuscript in January,…

MelindaMay 23, 2024

Autism Bink Family Love Mindfulness Parenting

Quiet Dreamy Girl Noises

Silver Linings We are looping familiar ground, the houses predictable, almost dear. Across the way, an imposing home and its four outbuildings spreads along what used to be seven individual yards. The main house seems…

MelindaMay 2, 2024

Autism Bink Family Love Parenting

More Autism Awareness

For many folks on the autism spectrum, medical encounters are fraught with anxiety and fear. Sensory issues, limited ability to understand procedures and express themselves, the speed at which things are expected to proceed, traumatic…

MelindaApril 9, 2024

Autism Bink Family Love Parenting Poem Poetry

These Monikered Months

A month of daffodils is upon us. Yay, spring!! April has been branded both Autism Awareness Month and National Poetry Month. Here you go, then, a post that covers both. I’ve shared this poem before,…

MelindaApril 2, 2024

Art Autism Bink Family Mindfulness

In the Pink

"Fruits on Pink" by Bink She begins. First, there is pink. Well...vivid electric magenta is more apt. She pushes the frayed brush into the water jar, hitting the bottom too hard. Taps out a neurodivergent…

MelindaMarch 7, 2024

Autism Bink Family Healing Hope Love Parenting Poetry Writing

Anxiety, the unwelcome house guest (who never seems to leave).

An older painting I did of Bink stimming at the beach. Agita Sometimes I think there four of us making a life inside this sweet gray house. Add the felines, we make a quirky…

MelindaFebruary 28, 2024