Amy O.'s Page

A wry smile crosses my face as I imagine her speech therapists – past and present – standing before me nodding their heads in approval at the “appropriate use of her expressive language.”

My mind goes back 17 years to the time she is a baby in the neonatal ICU when a nurse tells me “kids like this reach their maximum potential around age 10”. I am remembering the sign language we used before we know she is able to talk. And I am thinking of all the people who underestimate her ability.

I am al… Continue

Stella sat down in the chair and let her mind wander while Clark blathered on about minutia. His chatter about the boys and whether he should pay Juanita tomorrow or wait until Stella returned faded to a blur as her thoughts focused on Welton Hayes and why he hadn’t yet called. It was clear he was interested in continuing the discussion they had begun at the convention earlier that day. Her crossed leg bobbed up and down while she leaned forward almost as if to will Clark to end the conversation… Continue

When her cell phone rang, Stella couldn’t move fast enough to answer it, wildly rolling across the bed, then pushing herself off with such a force that she flew into the hotel drapes. She moved frantically through the stiff fabric to get turned around, then lunged for her coat, reaching into the pocket, grabbing for the phone, first pulling out gloves, then keys…then, the phone.

“Hello?? Hello??” she said breathlessly, urgently, while smoothing her hair as though she were about to greet her lov… Continue

One of my fondest memories of running takes me back to my childhood home on Lagoon Road, where my brothers, sister and I would play pick up games of baseball with other kids in the neighborhood. It was fun and carefree and possibly the reason I thought joining the cross country team in high school was a good idea, not to mention I wasn’t coordinated enough for pom poms nor was I tall enough for the volleyball team and also to mention that the cross country team didn’t make any cuts – they took a… Continue