Signs of Life : The Brownie Chronicles

I've seen the phrase "the new normal" passed around here and there and believe it's a good fit for what we are going through as March 2020 comes to a close.  The Brown Family is ready to begin week 4 of social distancing, as we started a week before most.  I don't believe this will be over in a few more weeks.  I don't even believe it will be over in a few months.  I think we will see a new normal emerging and will never be the same as we were pre-COVID-19. I'm not a scientist nor statistician.  I have actually avoided reading too much about the virus in order to maintain my own mental health.  I have read, watched, and listened to what I need in order to protect my family and community.  I've traveled down a rabbit hole and read way more than I've wanted to a few times.  Two of the best sources of information for me have been " Science Mike's " streamcast from 11 days ago (So remember when you watch that numbers/data has changed ...

Travis had very few communication skills when we first met him .  The adults caring for him communicated with him by poking, prodding, and pointing.  He communicated back with smiles, crying, laughter, and head-banging.  That was about it.  Our first few days with him, he would drool, kick his legs, and even slam his head on the floor, wall, or crib.  When he was happy, he would smile, be silly, and sometimes laugh to the point it was excessive.  These behaviors reduced rapidly and massively within the first few days we had him.  I credit most of this to Ken and to ASL.  When Travis would cry to the point of drooling, Ken would wipe Travis' mouth and sign, "No, you don't need to drool.  Just tell us what you want."  I actually told Ken I felt like it wasn't fair to correct Travis, telling him "no, no" about drooling since he didn't understand anything yet.  Ken rightly pointed out that we'd be speaking English to him if he was heari...

At church, we've been studying the book of Exodus.  Today, we focused on Moses' response to God calling him (from the burning bush, if you remember the story) to go convince the Egyptian king to free the millions of Israelite slaves. God tells Moses to go AND follows up his command with promises and encouragement: I will lead you. The elders will accept your message. I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians. He (the king) will let you go. Moses's response?  "What if they don't believe me?" God has just said, "The elders will accept your message."  Obviously, Moses doesn't think God is telling the truth. So God preforms THREE miracles to encourage Moses.  Each miracle proves that nothing is more powerful than God.  No fear, no seemingly-unbeatable enemy, no national superpower. (Read the story in Exodus chapters 3 and 4. ) Moses' response? "Lord, I'm not good with words. I've never been. My words get all...

I posted a blog covering our June summer fun in and around Austin. We ended up repeating some of those activities during July and August, then added a few new activities, including our day trip to San Marcos . If you're looking for more ways to beat the heat in the sweltering Austin July and August, here are some ways we found and enjoyed: Omni Barton Creek Resort Look for a good deal on an overnight stay and enjoy a quick getaway.  If you're fortunate enough to have friends or family visiting town and staying here, you can make a fun day of visiting! Swimming, putt-putt, and a treasure-hunt inside the hotel. View from the pool. Peaceful atmosphere. Putt-putt. Barton Springs Pool at Zilker Park The area surrounding Barton Springs was recently renovated.  Barton is always a good plan on a hot summer day.  The only thing that prevents us from going more often is the rule about kids wearing "floaties."  Floats of any kind, including the wearable ves...

Recently, we visited the day in San Marcos, Texas.  We were going to visit some of the seniors at La Vista Independent Community .  Since we were driving 45 minutes south and since this was our last week of no-school-freedom, we decided to make a day of it!  We had two challenges: 1. We're on a tight budget. 2. It's stinkin' hot outside. First stop: Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.  The boat in the glassy spring. As much as we swam in the cold, crystal-clear springs in Austin, we figured we would pay homage to the source of all of our cool summer fun. The Groupon for the boat tour made it a perfect option for us.  We arrived at the sweeping property of The Meadows Center and pulled up to the building advertising the glass-bottom boat.  We were able to hop on the very next boat with a 10:00 launch time.  It was breezy and cool enough at 10:00 that we were very comfortable throughout the 30-minute tour.  My kids, ages...

A few things we've learned and what we would like others to understand: This happens to normal families.  I don't know what I was expecting, but the families in our Intensive Outpatient Program were normal, caring, intact families.  Through this process, I've become less judgmental of parents who have what appears to be a difficult teen.  I'll add that these were all families willing to put in some serious time commitment and work to help their teens and themselves heal and improve.  This DBT group was not court-mandated, but completely voluntary. We were honored to share life with these families during the 7-week program. Parents can't discipline or force their kids into mental health.   We as parents have had to become very aware of behaviors that are simply typical teenage rebellion, which result in discipline, or behaviors that occur because our teen truly does not know how to respond appropriately or how to manage a particular emotion she's having....

Since the first week in April when our teen went to an inpatient hospital, we've set up regular visits with a psychiatrist and therapist. We learned of and used an excellent service here in Austin, the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team , who will come out to the house to check on a patient. What an amazing service.  After a second hospitalization in May, we learned that not all hospitals are created equal.  While Shoal Creek doesn't look like much at first glance, they provide excellent care. Due to a lack of beds available in May, we were forced to send our teen to another, newer, seemingly nicer, inpatient facility in town.  Just two-and-a-half days there led us to get her out and file a formal complaint with the state.  Fortunately, she was able to get a bed a Shoal Creek fairly quickly and got the care she needed. This time, upon discharge, we were set up with IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) in a group called " DBT ." Thursday was our last night of the 7-week, 3-...

I’ll never forget the moment my teen first came to me and showed me the cuts on her arms.  I said the first thing that came into my head.  Big mistake.  I rolled my eyes, “Really?  That is SO stupid.” I wish I could take it back.  I’ve learned a lot since that August afternoon; one of those things being to bite my tongue and look for a way to validate what she’s experiencing.  The first thought in my head is most often not the appropriate response.  A better response would have been,  “Thank you for coming to me. Can we talk about it?” or “Wow…I’m not sure what to say right now,” or "I'm sorry I didn't realize how bad you were feeling." I simply could have hugged her.  But in that moment, I was angry.  I was instantly hearing criticism in my own head, “If you were a better mom, she never would have done this.”  “That family member was right. You couldn’t even manage 3 kids, so why would you have 2 more?”  I also heard, “Don't...

It was not easy for me to send my boys off to school when they were 3 and 4.  It wasn't much easier this year when they were 4 and 5, but what added to my mommy anxiety was having them ride the big, yellow school bus home every day. The boys loved seeing the busses at school and wanted to ride. Having them driven to our front door was a huge benefit to our homeschool schedule as well, so we decided to put them on the bus for the first time this year. We have been very fortunate to have an amazing bus driver who truly cares for the kids she's transporting.  She's Deaf.  That fact may worry some hearing people.  I forget that it's not common knowledge that Deaf people are perfectly capable (even better) of driving. I'm reminded when hearing people ask me if my husband can drive. (I must add that I haven't heard that question once since we've lived in Austin.)  When I did Deaf culture training with police in Oklahoma, half of the officers weren't sure a...

With many things in life, we take sides. We are either "for" or "against." On each side, you'll find extremists who will spin data to fit their view. Homeschooling, vaccinations, cochlear implants... you name it, we can argue about it. I often don't share a lot of intactivism material because much of it is in-your-face and extreme, even vulgar.   Intactivism is the support of keeping children intact without altering their genitals in any way.  Finally, a very well-done, scientific, reasonable video about genital cutting, which we call circumcision.  (He will talk about why our language is important.) Here's an article about it, too.  This is NOT intended pour guilt on parents who have already had their children circumcised. We parents simply have done what our parents and their parents did. We did what was culturally acceptable and even expected. We didn't have all the information. Parents are also victims of the practice.  But knowledge ...

Just the other day, the boys had a friend come over to play.  Before the friend arrived, his mom sent me a text saying that her son was bringing his Batman costume.  I told Travis, "Your friend will be wearing his Batman costume when he comes over."  Travis' face lit up, eyes lifted, and mouth opened wide.  Before I could finish signing, "Why not you go upstairs to get your Iron Man costume?" he was signing, "Yes, yes!" and making his way up the stairs.  Moments later, he came back to tell me he couldn't find his suit.  I directed him to look in my bathroom in the hamper.  He did and it wasn't there either.  Finally, I told him to hold on while I sent a message asking his dad if he knew the costume's whereabouts.  He did and Travis put on his alter ego. I couldn't help but make a mental note of how that conversation was such a big deal.  We were discussing something happening in the future: friend will arrive soon.  Telling Travis...