More. Friends. Please.
Sharing a glimpse inside our world.
Yesterday my son Cooper celebrated his 13th birthday with his friends and family.
Twenty plus kids. Even double the parents. Grandparents. Siblings too. And Santa of course.
We’ve been counting down the days to this party for over a hundred sleeps.
He didn’t really ask for any specific presents. Just ten of them. Presents aren’t really all that important to him.
He asked for other things specifically though.
He asked more times than I can count. We even wrote them down daily on pieces of brightly colored paper that he carried to and from school and throughout his day. And I often found them nestled amongst his sheets when I tucked him in at night.
Friends.
Family.
Balloons.
Cupcakes.
Decorations.
Santa.
Peyton.
Dexter.
And as his guests gathered in our living room, and the noise got loud enough for him to cover his ears for a second, he smiled at me and signed two simple words.
‘More. Friends.’
I teared up when he signed it. And pointed out the window.
‘More. Friends. Please.’
We have been living the secret world of autism for 13 years now.
We navigate.
We decipher.
We advocate.
We try.
We do our best.
We don’t always get it right.
We worry that we are doing it wrong.
But when I paused yesterday and watched 20 plus kids, all with disabilities like my own son, dance, sing, clap, hug, and experience joy…I knew it was special.
It was a perfect day. I know that’s probably not possible. But it felt that way for the few hours we were all together.
The families like mine. Our friends. Our people.
I couldn’t do this life without them. And to think…they were all brought into our life because of autism. The diagnosis that changed everything.
Yesterday I thanked God for the gift of these people, their kids, my family, and this boy.
Because we are not alone anymore.
‘More. Friends. Please.’
Sharing a glimpse inside our world is truly my mission here at Finding Cooper's Voice. I do this so others living our life don’t feel so alone. And I do it so those outside our world can see the beauty in different and develop empathy for our challenges. Thank you for being here and for celebrating this boy.
Kate
TONIGHT!
Kate Swenson of Finding Cooper’s Voice, Adrian Wood of Tales of an Educated Debutante, and Carrie Cariello of What Color is Monday are coming to New York City!
There are 70 tickets available to join Kate, Adrian, and Carrie for a 30 minute presentation at Daniel’s Music Foundation at 7:30 pm immediately followed by a meet and greet and book signing. The book signing and meet and greet will start at 8 pm. Attending the book signing is free but please grab a free ticket so we know how many folks to expect.
NOTE: If you buy a ticket for the presentation, you do NOT need to get a ticket for the following book signing. You are included.
Kate and Carrie will both have copies of their books, Forever Boy: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy and Half My Sky: Autism, Marriage, and the Messiness That Is Building a Family available for sale and will accept cash or card. Grab a photo too!
Register HERE: A Night with Kate, Adrian, and Carrie Tickets, Mon, Dec 11, 2023 at 7:30 PM | Eventbrite
You are one heck of an amazing momma! You are teaching the road to inclusion and unconditional love. ❤️
Your words open my heart and mind every time I watch/read. More friends please 🙏
I enjoyed learning about how your son and his community had a great time at the party. Yay! Thanks.
And I hope the presentations in NYC go wonderfully. Giving folks a peek into that community.