One of the main reasons I moved back to California, more specifically to my hometown, was to take care of my brother. I knew I was going to need a community of people to pull it off. It doesn’t hurt that Grass Valley is significantly more affordable than the bay area. However, the rural high school in my hometown wasn’t able to provide the services we needed to support Dominic. This is common problem for families with deaf children. Luckily, our friends who lived in the county over, the same one we needed to live in for him to attend school, had a roommate move-out and offered to have us move-in -- giving us two rooms in their home.
Read moreBeing the Stand-in-Mom
A couple years ago, friends of mine had their first baby. Shortly afterwards, they visited. For the first time in knowing this couple, I saw sheer defeat in their faces. Eventually, these looks dissipated into the joyful and positive faces of two amazing parents. But the memory stuck with me. Here were two strong, capable adults who seemed completely broken by this adorable blob of an infant they had created.
I went through my own version of this transition this fall. Boundaries were tested, authority was established, and I’m finding strength within myself that I never knew I had.
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