BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
EASTER SURPRISE
Pat
I remember the day clearly in the 1950’s. Brooding clouds threatened our trip as we piled into our wood paneled station wagon.
“Hurry, we have a long way to go!” Daddy yelled as we bustled into our seats.
Over hills and mountains our German family of twelve children trekked from Glenville, West Virginia to Lake Parsippany, New Jersey to visit our Italian friends the Macchiaverna’s. It felt like (more…)
BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
PATH TO PEACE Path to Peace
Pat
Let me live to raise my five children, I pleaded with God. Let me find peace, I prayed. Only twenty-nine, I was shocked to find that Hodgkin’s disease had invaded my body. I felt I was too young to die. I thought no one could raise my children as well as I. “At least let me live until my eldest could help the little ones and my youngest could remember to brush his teeth,” I prayed.
Little things surfaced, hit me in the face. I took delight in the rising sun, the distinctive smell of rain, the beauty and aroma of rose petals, the smell of fresh cut grass, the fortitude of old maples, the magnificent blending of pinks and violets in the sunset over Lake Erie, and my children’s smiles bright and wide. All these things became (more…)
STOKING THE COALS
Pat
Think back to 1958. Do you remember the clunky coal furnace that lived in the basement? I vividly remember when Dad announced, “We’re moving to Indiana, Pennsylvania. I purchased a large house for $6000!” Dad had accepted the position of Chairman of the Music Department at Indiana State Teacher’s College, now IUP.
“We’ll have a large yard, lots of property, lovely roses, daffodils, walnut trees, and weeping willows,” Dad said with a wide grin on his face. What Dad forgot or refused to mention was (more…)
BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
ALWAYS IN THREES
Pat
In life things break down when we least expect it, be it appliances, health, marriages, or relationships. I was reminded of this when I purchased a new windshield wiper. I thought of how things break down in threes: broken windshield wiper, broken dryer, and really banged up knees. When my washing machine refused to work, my kitchen faucet broke and my hot water heater wouldn’t start!
Always in threes. These little annoyances made me chuckle, because (more…)
Finding Ben
Tags: "Disappointed mother syndrome", Asperger’s Syndrome, Barbara LaSalle, Book review, CHILDREN, Commentary, Disappointment in a child’s failure, education, Family, Finding Ben, Inspiration, Inspirational, Kids, Latest post, Life, Medical, Opinion, Parent-Child relationship, Parental love, Parenting, Parenting an Asperger Syndrome child, Psychological, Psychology, Relationships, Review, Special needs children
BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
FINDING BEN
Pat
A press release on Finding Ben states, “Everyone needs love and affection—no matter what. For any parent who has ever experienced disappointment in their child’s failures comes Barbara LaSalle’s Finding Ben: a Mother’s Journey through the Maze of Asperger’s.
Finding Ben is an honest portrait of parental love. Written in novel form, the book tells the story of what it is like to suffer from what the author calls ‘disappointed mother (more…)