Posts by Ariana
Our son Tony requires 24/7 safety monitoring. He’s 14. He needs frequent reminders not to elope in public spaces and if the front door is open. We have to have a double key lock on our doors so only the key can unlock it because of that. Currently he will listen to those most of
Ariana and Tony at First Church UCC November 8, 2026 and from this past Halloween. All photos by Ariana I struggle sometimes to remember that our little man is a teenager already. But I certainly don’t in moments when I look at pictures of us together, like the one from Halloween, where he’s starting to
This post is long overdue, and I apologize to my family and loved ones for my prolonged silence here. I have to own up to the fact that I made a conscious decision to make sure I was coming from the calmest place I could be at regarding certain things before I undertook this particular
What do you see when you look at the picture below? What does it mean to you? Maybe let the photographer physically be just a little closer. Any clearer? No? What about now? Maybe we need to get a little bit closer, to know what the people at this place and this moment saw and
Above, Tony is shown waiting for the school bus. I have picture after picture of him looking worried until it shows up, and then his face just lit up with joy the moment it turned onto our street. Photos by Ariana Recently we have begun trying to increase Tony’s tolerance of working with others when
Before I start serving up the main course for this week’s topic, I’d like to start with a deeply joyful appetizer. For those of you who are unfamiliar with some of the risks for individuals with Sotos Syndrome, approaching 40% of kiddos with this genetic disorder have congenital heart defects. Because he was not presenting
Cat painted by me, printed by Andy. Dragons also printed by Andy, on my soon to be painted list. Photos by Ariana. Andy Sometimes it feels like these are times that want to clutch at every stray thought and drag them into the stream of consciousness depths via a concrete encased torpor. An epoch, it
Screenshots from an Instagram Story of an event at ICE protests occurring today in Mesa, Arizona, January 30, 2026 that hasn’t been reported on as of the time I am writing this by other mainstream local Arizona media. The first thing I want to clarify before I do anything else is that I am home
I would love to tell you that this was going to be an orderly and comprehensive post. Alas, I spent far too long trying to make some sort of headway in producing a more cohesive blog appearance, and therefore… We’re just going to do a Jackson Pollock style splattering of updates and hope at least
When Tony started his transition into the public school environment during what age-wise was his sixth grade year, I wasn’t sure the degree to which he would acclimate to certain things. I was confident we could help him develop tolerance for a typical school day, but assemblies or field trips? I wasn’t sure he’d ever
