by Colleen Berlingieri

Meet Rachael Wrobel

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I first met Rachael at a bowling alley.  She is a support worker for people with disabilities and she was there with a client. At the time, I was looking for someone to work with my son and Rachael was highly recommended. Acquaintances told me she was a safe driver, filled out paperwork on time and was very engaged with her clients. She sounded perfect, so I walked over to meet her. I waited while she finished assisting a young man with his bowling shoes before I stuck out my hand to introduce myself.  She extended her hand towards me and that’s when I noticed that she has no fingers. Yes, you read that correctly—the girl who drove to the bowling alley, helped her client with his fine motor tasks and filled out service logs…Has. No. Fingers.

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by Colleen Berlingieri

My Son Has a Speech Disorder and it Rocks!

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My son Geordi has a speech disorder that is annoying, heartbreaking and funny at the same time. My patience wears thin when I listen to him s-l-o-w-l-y  work through what he is trying to say.  Other times, my heart goes out to him as he struggles to express his feelings.  But mostly he simply cracks me up with some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth.

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by Colleen Berlingieri

“Mom, Get Out of My Life But…”

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I was in a bookstore the other day when I saw the title of a book that almost made me snort latte out of my nose.  It was called Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl To The Mall?   by Dr. Anthony E. Wolf PhD.

This title is a perfect description of my current reality with my son.

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by Colleen Berlingieri

Mom Discovers Priceless Art Collection In Her Own Home

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Everyone has their favorite traditions.  One of mine is decorating the house for Christmas.  I love putting on holiday music, grabbing a cup of coffee and going through the boxes that my boys have brought up from the basement.  Then I spend the next couple of hours putting away my everyday decorations and putting up my Christmas ones.

This year, as I was going through the motions, I began to notice – really notice – all of the beautiful things in my home.  Everywhere I looked I saw flashes of creativity and joy!  There were bright colors, and a myriad of shapes. Continue reading →

by Colleen Berlingieri

We All Need A Little Respite

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“R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what is means to me!…” 

As my plane slowly descended onto the runway at Detroit Airport, I found myself humming this Motown classic.  I was returning from a rare long weekend in Nashville with my husband and NO KIDS!

As I looked out the window of the plane, the song’s chorus kept repeating in my head. I closed my eyes—took a deep breath—and pictured myself on stage rocking a sequins dress and belting out the tunes.  And just like that, I was the Queen of Soul, but my version went something like this:

R-E-S-P-I-T-E

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-I-T-E

Take care, TCB

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)….

I smiled to myself and pushed up my seat tray – it was no small feat, but I had done it. I had gone away with my husband for three whole days!

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by Colleen Berlingieri

Yearbooks Get Me Every Time

 

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Does anyone else cry when they look through yearbooks?

I was sitting in my living room this morning crying like a baby. My youngest son, Jacob, has given me his 6th grade yearbook to flip through.

Jake: Mom! Are you crying? You are so weird!

Me: Never mind – get me a Kleenex – some day you will understand! Continue reading →

by Colleen Berlingieri

The Great Adventure

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Twenty-four years ago my oldest son Geordi , (Geo), was born with big blue eyes, dark curly hair and chubby little cheeks that made you want to smother them in kisses. He was also born “fussy” – not wanting to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time and not feeding well. As time went on, he was also late to sit, crawl, walk and talk. By the age of two, he was diagnosed as, “developmentally delayed” – cause unknown. Continue reading →