A farewell message to my beloved profession — “What is your Why?” Our preschool special education director invited everyone to share at our first team meeting this school year. Though I didn’t chime in then, I’ve been pondering my multiple Why’s since that meeting three months ago. This is my belated response. It comes two weeks after my…

And it’s certainly no disease! — It’s official. After counting the months between periods for well over two years, I can confidently announce that I hit menopause. I can give away my remaining tampons and pads and stop using birth control. Here’s how hitting the big M has felt: bewildering. I mean, nothing’s changed. …

22 reasons why I love this country — Disclaimer: It will never feel right to type “I’m an American” -even though I sometimes say it. Fact: I’ve always been an American, only from South America (Venezuela specifically), just like any U.S. citizen is an American, only from North America. With that off my chest, I’ve got a second…

And how labels shape our thinking about what’s good and normal — Why do I have such a problem with my son’s autism, bipolar, and intellectual disability labels when they bring so many benefits? When Diego was a child, the autism label memorably got us a special pass at Disney World with magical line-skipping powers. Currently, the labels give him access to…

The embarrassing truth — There’s a widely held belief that the greatest perk of being a teacher is the long summer vacation. I’m a teacher and I agree. By perk, I mean tangible, measurable compensation: pay, health insurance, days off, that sort of thing. …

Hi Nation! In case you missed it, this post has unexpectedly become my best-performing one. My Son’s Disability Brought Out the Worst in Me You never know what will hit a nerve. (Also it got boosted by Medium.) This one lived in my mind for a long time before I put thoughts to paper. Hope you find death-awareness helpful too: Death Is the Ultimate Deadline Until next time, be well my friends, Dani

Though not the social media marketing type necessarily — Influence is the ability to affect someone else’s thinking. This line from the book Difficult Conversations got me to admit the following to myself: One of the main reasons I write is that I want to be an influencer! It’s also why I post and engage in social media and…

No exceptions — I was at a party recently sitting across from my sister Sandra, aka Dr. Mini, talking about this and that when, out of the blue, she said “Swallow.” From her expression, I knew she’d turned from sister to doctor. “You have a small bulge on your neck. You oughta have…

The very best in me — It’s no secret that parenting is damn hard. It brings out the worst in you and unearths some of the best a person can give. This piece is about the latter. The Patience of a Saint “Dani has the patience of a Saint,” Candy, a teaching assistant I’ve worked with for years, has said about…