Staying at home with kids: Is it really for me? Lipreading mom’s confession: I didn’t think so before I had my first child. The office environment suited me well. I was working for a women’s organization and writing for its magazine. There were weekly planning meetings, phone interviews and research projects to occupy five days a week. In fact, I … Continue reading
Walking and Advocating with My Kids
Advocacy is always a work in progress… for everyone. That’s why I decided to include my 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter in a Deaf and hearing loss awareness 5K walk/run this past weekend. We walked with leaders from our local Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Chapter. I use the work “walk” loosely. My son decided to speed walk … Continue reading
Not Too Sick to Advocate
After several days of a pounding headache, congested throat, stuffy nose and clogged ears, I was in tears. Having sick ears was like poison with my already compromised ability to hear. Hearing aids became useless; all they amplified was the dull rumbling of fluid in the ear drums. And the pounding head made it difficult … Continue reading
Slowing Down with Thomas the Train
My confession: For a long time, I was just too busy to be an attentive mom. I was reminded of that fact a few mornings ago as my two-year-old son and I returned home and did our casual routine. Breakfast. Decaf coffee for me. Bible reading time. Checking my e-mail via phone. Routine accomplished by … Continue reading
Meet My Hearing Helpers
Meet Emilie, Cody and Jill… my special helpers at church. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to teach my six-year-old daughter’s Sunday school class at church. Because my sensorineural hearing loss makes it difficult for me to understand a child’s delicate voices, someone must come alongside me to repeat or explain what the child has spoken. I call this … Continue reading
Something for the Nice Lady’s Pot
Taking three kids on a Saturday trip to the store make the spare dollars in my purse poof into oblivion. Don’t get me wrong. I like to shop for my children. It’s easy for me to lip read them when they repeatedly say, “Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeaasse.” And my ears love to hear the words, “Ah, thanks, … Continue reading
Special (Needs) Mom Raises a Special Boy
Special (adj.) – individual, extraordinary, singular, unique, exceptional, distinctive Some would call me a special needs mom. Since I can’t hear my children very well, my special need would be communication accommodations. ‘Face me when you speak,’ I repeatedly tell my kids, ‘so I can lipread you,’ Which makes it all the more interesting when … Continue reading
America: Land of the Free and a Lipreading Mom
The lady ahead of me in the grocery store checkout line seemed puzzled. She pointed at something in front of us, then asked me a question. Her thick Spanish accent made the question difficult for my crazy ears to distinguish. “Es su hoho?” I thought she said. It’s only been 20 years since I took high school … Continue reading
Uncaptioned Movies = Sad Mom
The trip to my local AMC movie theater was a spontaneous Father’s Day present. My two older kids wanted to honor Dad and catch a matinee showing of Toy Story 3. I tagged along since all the Pixar movies were such a hit with our family. My husband and children spent the next two-and-a-half hours … Continue reading
My Ears Get By with a Little Help from My Kids
The alarm clock blared at seven o’clock this morning, but I didn’t hear it. My pillow muffled the sound. Turns out, I had rolled on the side with my “good” ear. The one that hears better than the other. The one that hears the alarm clock. The one that lay pressed into the pillow. I … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom 