BONUS BLOG: parents’ rage

Carrie Cariello again —-

I overheard a woman saying her kids go into the Special Education classroom and eat lunch with the students.

At night, her kids at the dinner table and laugh about their “little friends.” They giggle because they still believe in Santa.

They chuckle over their wide-eyed naivete and the questions they ask over and over again.

I felt a white-hot rage course through me.

You see, my Jack has special needs.

He believed in Santa until he was fifteen.

He asks a lot of the same questions. He is naive.

As an Autism Advocate, rage does not serve me. I resent this more than I say.

Rage does not serve me, but telling our story does.

Jack is the reason why I tell about haircuts gone wrong, disastrous outings in the mall, gentle grace, radical kindness, and brightly wrapped gifts beneath the tree.

Because if compassion is a house we build, then storytelling is the key to the front door.

With all my heart, I believe this.

Who is your why?