I never dreamed I would be a stay at home mom let alone a full time permanent caretaker for my child. 

I loved my job, I was good at my job. I spent time becoming educated for my job. 

Stay at home mom? Not for me.  

So when this precious baby girl started showing signs of needing extra help  around 6 months, I made the hard decision to not go back to teaching.  

I didn’t know for how long and assumed I would one day go back, maybe even get my special education credential at some point. 

Well little did I know, I would learn the most from staying home with this girl.  Taxi driver, Occupational therapist, physical therapist, feeding and speech therapist all rolled in to one, practically

over night. 

I won’t lie and say it was an easy transition.  For years I lost myself.  Who was I? Just a mom? A caregiver? 

Even being a wife seemed to come last most days. Showers felt like a luxury in those early years. 

10 years into this journey and I am

slowly renaming myself again. 

Finding communities and purpose once more. 

But I still have days and weeks where I feel like I am “just.”  During an extra busy week I started thinking of this and decided to document all I did in one day.  So this is for “just the moms” who feel like you aren’t doing enough.  

1. Get Audrey ready for school (dressed, fed, meds given, dropped off at school)
2. Come home and take the dog for a walk
3. Talk to parents from the school about issues we are trying to make better.
4. Order Audrey’s monthly supply of diapers
5. Took a workout class
6. Vacuumed my car and lots of dog hair 🤣
7. Picked up lunch and dropped it off for the paras in Audrey’s class (happy para professional week 🥰) 
8. More cleaning and grocery shopping… And it’s almost time to go pick up! 

This is all before 1pm as well and will continue to do a plethora more before bedtime. 

I don’t say any of this to get attention.  I know I am so privileged to be able to stay home and take such an active role in Audrey’s day to day life.  I’m thankful my husband has a good job with great benefits and that the state sees me as a caretaker or I wouldn’t be able to stay home. 

I say this as always to share in hopes that a mom out there sees this and realizes her worth, even on the hard days. Some days I’m more productive than others, learning to be okay with that is all part of my process.  But regardless if you do all the things or just get your child fed and off to school, you are enough. 

#CareTakerLife

#AudreyJo 

#StayAtHomeMom

Time.

Fast years and long slow days.

Duck parks, playground structures and   car rides. 

Chaos and lots of laughter. 

Silly songs and sweet treats.

Bedtime stories and early mornings.

So. Many. Snacks. 

Tiny accomplishments woven in to lots of hard work. 

Moments of grief alongside hope. 

New friends who become family. 

In 2025 we will celebrate 5 years in our home, Audrey’s 10th birthday and our 13th wedding anniversary.  

Time passes regardless, might as well make the best of it. 

#HappyNewYear

#KickingCASK

#AudreyJo 

#2025

Society tells us that a quality of life is measured by accomplishments.  Degrees, houses, friend circles and paychecks. 

Independence and success equal a “happy life.”

When skills don’t match up with age, where do we go from there?

We never stop trying. 

We meet them where they are at instead of where they are “supposed” to be. 

We teach.

We laugh.

We grow.

We guide. 

We advocate. 

Everyone deserves dignity, acceptance and a voice that is heard. 

Different isn’t a bad word.  

Disability isn’t a bad word. 

Kindness always wins. 

As we enter in to a new school year, I’m going to make a conscious effort to remember these words.  

I was sitting at the airport thinking about what a wild ride the last 9 years have been. The hard days and nights, the hope, loneliness and twists and turns of the unknown. I have grown in this life of never ending grief but it has not been linear. Two steps forward and often three steps back.

Hear me out;

Today I’m grateful for disability.

Sure there are moments I feel so thankful and I never ever regret having my daughter, she is my favorite human.

But today I am GRATEFUL!

Grateful for community and grateful for sisterhood within this community.

You see without disability in my life, I wouldn’t be tethered to these extraordinary mothers. I look up to so many of them and will be meeting another dozen that I’m sure to admire by Saturday night.

This is all because of disabilty parenting.

I may have never used writing as an outlet if my life turned out the way I always thought it would.

Never did I ever think I would become a published writer but HERE WE ARE!

I hope this weekend connects me even more to this world we live.

✨ The best is yet to come. ✨

#TheUnknownAuthorsClub

#DisabiltyParenting

#Community

#AudreyJo

#KickingCASK

#BecomingBraveTogether

#BookLaunchParty

http://Becoming Brave Together: Heroic, Extraordinary Caregiving Stories from Mothers Hidden in Plain Sight https://a.co/d/aDaOGhc

#WeAreBrave

Becoming Brave Together Anthology linked above

Becoming Brave Together

Wow! What a surreal feeling to look on Amazon and see a book that I am a part of. Ladies, we are published authors ❤️❤️❤️

I feel elated for the women that contributed to this anthology. We are all moms doing the best we can and this book validates the behind the scenes moments of love, hope and the never ending courage we have for our children! I hope this book gets in to SO many hands. Raising awareness and giving others a glimpse into the world of caregiving.

It’s real, it’s raw, it’s emotional and it’s beautiful.

Thank you to all my family and friends for supporting me on this adventure!

Link to purchase your copy

https://a.co/d/f2M70D6

#BecomingBraveTogether

#CaregivingHeroes

#ExtraordinaryCaregiving

#HiddenInPlainSight

#MotherhoodJourney

#WeAreBraveTogether

#CaregiverCommunity

#EmpoweredMotherhood

#UnsungHeroes

#SupportingMothers

#InspirationalStories

#BraveMothers

#CaringForUniqueNeeds

#StrengthInMotherhood

#CaregivingJourney

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt…

But as a parent to a child with a life long disability, every day we live a routine that is so very different compared to the neurotypical trajectory of life.

Same bedtime instead of late night weekends.

Therapy instead of sports leagues.

Specialist appointments instead of play dates.

Life saving medicines instead of gummy vitamins.

Medical equipment instead of “big kid” bike.

Special needs trust instead of college funds.

Nights in instead of nights away.

Toddler toys instead of video games and cell phones.

IEPs instead of report cards and conferences.

The gap rapidly increases every year.

It’s hard to not look at the world and feel like we are watching it zoom right past us most days.

Holding on to her innocence is a bright light but that doesn’t always make it easy to witness her peers grow while we continue to stand still.

Our life is so different and complicated.

Sitting in silence, no spoken words for what feels like hours.
Feeling guilt for not doing more and then feeling burnt out when you attempt to do it all.

Watching kids run at the park, not knowing what to say to them when they stare.

Filling the hours each day doing the same few activities she likes/is able to somewhat participate in.

Saying no to many gatherings and meet ups because it simply can’t work for our family.

Always being on high alert for sensory overload. Anticipating wants/needs.

Being so exhausted every single day but getting up the next morning and doing it all over again.

A motherhood journey I never imagined.

The patience, resilience and love I have learned to give over these past (almost) 9 years has hands down made me a better human. This girl of mine, she is my world, my whole heart and then some.

But that doesn’t mean that this life isn’t hard. It’s okay to say that. Not for pity, just my truth. We can have joy AND frustration all wrapped together. We can love fiercely AND wish things were different.
And to all those mamas out there that have ever felt this way, I SEE YOU 🫶

#AudreyJo

#DisabiltyParenting

#Motherswhoarecaregivers