What motivates me...

My darling Kegan, transfixed by the shadows coming through the window.

Everyone has a story, a reason behind everything they do.  I write silly blogs about my mundane life in my quest to find the funny in every day things, because I have a firm belief that what doesn't kill you, makes you funnier.  Or homicidal.  Whichever.  


I also blog to keep myself focused, and as something to do in between.


In my previous life, before moving to New York from California, I worked with children who have autism.  In doing so, I fell in love with a little boy named Kegan.  Kegan was 3 when I first began working with him.  I had the privilege to get to know his family and become an almost daily part of Kegan's life for six years, before moving across the country.


His family is amazing and have asked me to write a book about Kegan.  They want a no-frills book, one that shares what it's like to be the parents of a child with severe autism, to be those parents who do everything right, read every book, try every magic treatment under the sun to unlock his mind, but never get that miracle.  They want a book about REAL people, the majority who never find the cure but still find the magic.  It's about making difficult choices, having your heart broken,  grieving for what could have been, but still embracing life and celebrating the joy in your very special and unique child.  


This book is a journey for me as well as them.  We're all part of this story.  A mom, a dad, a brother, a sister, a service dog named Everett, Kegan, and me.  


My husband and I are making financial sacrifices so that I can stay home and write this book.  Adding ads to my blog makes me feel less guilty about staying home while he's out busting his ass, because if you click on them while on my blog, I am paid by google.  I appreciate each and every one of you who visits my blog, leaves me a comment, shares my blog with a friend, uptweets me, or clicks on one of my ads.

Kegan looking at the Elephant Report we did for his 3rd grade class

Unfortunately, we all probably know someone who is affected by Autism.  There are so many books by people who have somehow managed to find a way to "cure" their child, through diet, horseback riding, music, etc.  This book is not about that.  It's about a family who tried all of those things and still have a child with severe autism who can't talk, have a conversation, relate to others, and who lives almost entirely inside of himself.


And that's why I blog.  Because their story is worth sharing, and I am honored to be the one chosen to tell it.  


I feel like Bartles & James... "Thank you for your support."  (Remember those commercials?  No?  Just me?  Because what, I'm that friggin' old?)


xo


Dani

Kegan loving his baby sister.