by Sophie Walker (UK) | Oct 31, 2011 | Holiday, Motherhood, Special Needs, UK
There’s one day every year to which Grace counts down with unparalleled shiny-eyed fervour. It’s not Christmas, or her birthday, or the start of the summer holidays, though of course all of these are also proceeded by repeated questioning, date-checking and suppressed thrills.
Her anticipation of this year’s event started precisely one day after last year’s event. On that day Grace drifted dreamily past me, trailing her fingers along the furniture, her mind turning on internal images of the night before. I asked her if she was alright: she barely heard me.
When I went upstairs later to monitor her progress towards bed, I found her at the sink in the bathroom, gazing into the mirror at herself, her tortoiseshell eyes lit with the amber light of her imaginings. As I entered the room she turned to me and said, as though continuing a conversation started much earlier: “… so then, Mummy, next year I can be – .” (more…)
Writer, mother, runner: Sophie works for an international news agency and has written about economics, politics, trade, war, diplomacy and finance from datelines as diverse as Paris, Washington, Hong Kong, Kabul, Baghdad and Islamabad. She now lives in London with her husband, two daughters and two step-sons.
Sophie's elder daughter Grace was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome several years ago. Grace is a bright, artistic girl who nonetheless struggles to fit into a world she often finds hard to understand. Sophie and Grace have come across great kindness but more often been shocked by how little people know and understand about autism and by how difficult it is to get Grace the help she needs.
Sophie writes about Grace’s daily challenges, and those of the grueling training regimes she sets herself to run long-distance events in order to raise awareness and funds for Britain’s National Autistic Society so that Grace and children like her can blossom. Her book "Grace Under Pressure: Going The Distance as an Asperger's Mum" was published by Little, Brown (Piatkus) in 2012. Her blog is called Grace Under Pressure.
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by World Moms Blog | Oct 22, 2011 | Family, India, Motherhood, Saturday Sidebar, Susie Newday, Tara B.
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from Eva Fannon, the World Moms Blog Saturday Sidebar Editor. She’s been enjoying some lovely autumn weather in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and asked our writers,
“What hemisphere do you live in and what is your favorite autumn or spring memory (respective to your hemisphere) as a kid?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Susie Newday of Israel writes:
“I live in the northern hemisphere. I loved the fall foliage and the changing colors.”
Jenna Farelyn of North Carolina, USA writes:
“I live in the Northern hemisphere and my favorite childhood memory from autumn is trick or treating with my family on Halloween. We didn’t do anything special, but it was one of the few traditions we had around holidays.”
MultitaskingMumma of Ontario, Canada writes:
“I live in the Northern Hemisphere and my favourite childhood memory about fall was bundling up and going to cut wood with my dad. It meant breakfast out and quality time.” (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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There’s one day every year to which Grace counts down with unparalleled shiny-eyed fervour. It’s not Christmas, or her birthday, or the start of the summer holidays, though of course all of these are also proceeded by repeated questioning, date-checking and suppressed thrills.
