This is Liam

03/30/2026

Liam, I don't have words.

Today. Was. HUGE.

I'm still in awe. Speechless. Amazed. Grateful.

You went for a swim with your dad. Afterwards we went for your usual Tim Hortons drive through order of the day.

Except, today was different:

"We're going inside" your Papa said.

"No, we're not" your Mama said.

"Yes, we are" your Papa said.

(No, pleeeeaaase not!, your Mama thought...having unresolved trauma from previous experiences of you and me, in public. Meltdowns. Self injury. Scared to get out of my comfort zone, happy to stay in your safe place, our safe place, the car.
Away from stares and new triggers and transitions and meltdowns)

Before I even had time to prepare myself, prepare you, we were out of the car and in the Tim Hortons. In the line. You, holding our hands. Your eyes sparkling bright, a smile on your face. Looking so pleased and happy and content and excited. Like a child about to meet Santa 😳🥹

Sitting at the table. With your Vanilla Dip Donut and Decaf cappuccino, proclaiming:
"I love Timmies! ❤️" Saying "Car, all done!"
Staying seated for more than 40 minutes.
For-ty-frea-king minutes Liam!!! 😱

You didn't run.
You didn't scream.
No meltdown.
You loved it.

All because of your Papa believing in you!

In an instant I kicked the Mom guilt which was creeping on my back again out of the door with a Bruce Lee kick and a "Heehaaaaaaaa!!!" guttural scream you could hear all the way to Africa...okay, not really, but tell me I can visualize what I want 🤪

I realized. This was our first time inside a Timmies. Ever. But sure as hell, won't be our last time! Your dad taught me a valuable lesson today. Sometimes you just have to do it, to do it! Cast the fears aside and become the warrior instead of the worrier! 💪🏼👊🏻

Maybe, just maybe,
One day, some day,
We'll be able to go out, as a family,
All five of us
And sit, and talk and have coffee together.
Relaxed. Happy. Like you were today...

There's hope. ALWAYS.

I love Timmies too Liam.

Do you know what I loved even more?!

Watching you today. Loving every moment inside the Tim Hortons, not in the car,

not isolated,

having the time of your life with a vanilla dip donut, a decaf cappuccino with your Mama and Papa by your side, surrounded by other people 🥹❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻

03/29/2026

Liam rediscovered the kitchen.
And what's in it 😬

He loves to help his Mama to prepare her Yogurt Bowl in the mornings. He loves it even MORE if she's out of the kitchen for 5 minutes. (Damn! I should've known when he said: "Mama! I love you 'many' much!" on my way to my bathroom break of the day)

When the cat is away, the mouse can play 😉 Then Liam can prepare his own fruit salad and crack some eggs in a bowl. In a record time. Without someone breathing down his shoulder.

I stopped counting at 6 eggs...😳
I'm impressed to find no shells in the bowl.
Liam's fine motor skills came a long way, that's for sure! 🤔

I guess we'll have omelettes tomorrow morning 😉🍳🥚💛

03/17/2026

I only saw this for the first time a few days ago. A blank grid and Liam putting all the numbers where they should be.
In no order. Randomly.

03/17/2026

Our "Lion's mane" needs a trim! 🦁❤️ Enjoying a walk in the wind 🤣 💨

03/14/2026

❤️

When a child is in the middle of a meltdown, they are not refusing to learn — they are unable to.

In that moment, the nervous system is overwhelmed. The brain is not looking for a lesson. It is looking for safety.

This is why correction rarely works in the middle of distress:
children cannot absorb guidance while they are drowning in emotion.

First, they need someone steady enough to help them find their footing again.
Only then can they hear what we are trying to teach.

Connection is not the opposite of discipline.

It is what makes discipline possible. ❤️

Quote Credit: ❣️

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03/12/2026

It comes in waves

Like a pendulum
Like the swing you are sitting on

The heavy feeling
The grief
The what ifs...

And then it's gone

Like the snap of a finger
Like turning off a light switch

And everything seems fine again

Until this heavy feeling creeps into your soul again, filling every single space it can spread into. Suffocating you, strangling you, killing you. Like an invisible virus invading your body. Relentless. No mercy.

Unexpectedly
Out of the blue

It may be triggered by a class of school kids lining up outside of the bus, excited to go on their field trip. Happy and chatty and playful and interacting. (The two of us, in stark contrast, walking hand in hand. In silence)

It may be triggered by neighbourhood kids chasing each other with their bicycles down the street. (The curtains in our house drawn and closed, protecting you from the outside world. Keeping you and your environment calm while having a meltdown)

It may be triggered by a 28 page report received in the Mail from a Psychologist.

Anouncing another diagnosis. As if you don't have enough already 😉🤪

Like a production line.
Like hamburger toppings.
Never stopping, one after the other doom and gloom and painting a dull dark picture of the future ahead.

I am watching you through the kitchen window with the report in my hand.

I put it in the drawer to deal with it later.

I watch you Liam. Mesmerized by you, by your presence and how you enjoy life and the movement of your swing.

You are SO much more than a diagnosis (or two or three or four...) my sweetest boy!

You cannot be labelled and held back.
You cannot be put in a box.
You have so much potential.
You came so far!

You have wisdom beyond your years
Your laughter slingshot my spirit up high into the clouds
Your "I love you's" turn my heart into butter
Your hugs cover and embrace every inch of who I am.

I am so damn proud of you and so happy to be your Mama! 🥹

That's Life. With its ups and downs. We all have our own journeys.

It comes in waves
Like a pendulum

Like the swing you are sitting on 💙

02/27/2026

When a man
has a plan
just because he can

How can I not let him be?

When a Crocs shoe
he found in the car
transforms
into a Tim Hortons Chocolate Chunk Cookie Container

How can I not let him be?

It DOES have a handle
It's hollow inside
A snack on the go
Where the crumbles can hide

When a man
has a plan
just because he can

How can I NOT let him be?! 😄💙