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I met the most amazing lady yesterday. It started with an incredible experience: Steve and I went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. First off, if you’ve never been to the Gardens, go! Holy Cow, what a mind-blowing…

I know more people than I can count who mark each Christmas with a photo of their (perfectly developing) kids. In some cases these (perfectly developing) kids are arranged in the same order sitting on a set of stairs (the…

I’m married to an engineer. When Jason and Josh were toddlers, they’d fight in the back seat of the car. After one particularly bloody battle (the boys wouldn’t let me cut their nails), I dissolved into tears for probably the…

Steve’s mother turned 95 years old in June. Ninety Five! Joan was born in 1920. To put that in perspective, women didn’t win the right to vote until two months after Joan was born. It was the dawn of the…

It’s spring. My favorite prom was the Masconomet Regional High School Junior/Senior prom on May 17, 1974. I was in the 10th grade, so technically, it wasn’t my prom, but rather that of my boyfriend Carl, who became such after…

Did you miss me? Life has been crazy, but I’m getting back on track. I started a new job a few weeks ago, and have finally settled in. I’m a consultant for a firm specializing in behavioral health care. Maybe…

It’s not part of the job description, but our case manager texts me whenever she runs across the kids in the community with something that makes us smile. Today (Saturday) it was: Allie: Hi Lora, I was at the Y…

There are two kinds of subsidized Section 8 housing, we learned: Tenant-based and Project-based.[1] Project-based is the easiest to get and is, as the name suggests, usually associated with multi-unit housing complexes. “The subsidy stays with the unit,” according to…

There’s nothing like teaching your adolescent to drive to make you a better driver (a better driver at least according to the Department of Motor Vehicles’ standards.) It’s amazing what we, as “seasoned,” “experienced” drivers, forget or fail to do.…

Okay, www.Transition2Adulthood.com has been live for a little over a month. I’ve spoken with some of you on the phone, and some of you via e-mail. Some of you have offered insightful comments on the site—thank you so much! It’s great…

Shortly after we bought our 38’ ketch Arabella, Steve and I became licensed captains. The plan was to support ourselves by living as self sufficiently as possible, writing best-selling books (the royalties from which would be dropped to us by…

Bud Mace was one of my professors at the University of Southern Maine. A colorful guy (to say the least), a behavior analytic wonk to the bone, Bud shared with me that he once took on the care of a…

When I worked at Maine Medical Center[1], my office-mate said he had a twin sister. I was impressed. “Are you identical twins?” I asked naively. “Think about it,” Dennis said. “She’s my sister.” I didn’t get it then, and maybe…

Before we sailed Arabella long distances, there were some things we had to do. We upsized the rig; rigging holds up the masts. (Arabella was a cutter ketch, which means she had two masts and, with everything flying, as many…

I can talk myself in and out of anything. It’s especially easy if you have a good friend who can help you with that. “Does this make me look fat?” I’d ask Kathy. Kathy was my best friend all through…

There was a circumstance that utterly altered the visions Steve and I have for Jason and Joshua’s adulthoods. Maybe like you, I serve on some committees exploring issues relevant to the well being of people with intellectual disabilities. In this…

Alice in Wonderland had a fascinating exchange with the Cheshire Cat: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Alice asks. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the…

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath is like a trip to Disney World for me. As a second generation mariner, each painting and artifact serves as a Stargate to transport me to the time of kindred souls who have navigated…