This blog is how I’m going to prove to my children, when they’re old enough to understand and argue, that I loved them half time but twice as much as they’ll ever believe.

For one year, from Feb 2012 to Feb 2013, I’m participating in a job share. That means I get to spend half the week in yoga pants with my angelic children and half the week bragging about them and in heels, amid adults. Well, that’s the plan anyway. My husband is a trouper for attempting this with me, because let’s face it, our wine supply is about to decrease.

What do I hope to accomplish? To be serious for a moment, I really want to get a handle on my son’s development. Charlie has Down syndrome, which means we have regular sessions with a physical therapist, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and a play therapist. He’s remarkable and doing so well, but during the first year of his life, I was a train wreck. I was trying to pretend nothing had changed in my life, constantly racing from home, where most sessions take place, to the office, then out again so I could make it home in time for our babysitters to have lives of their own and dinners with their families. It was constant chaos.

But I’m two years’ worth of parenting skills smarter (or so I tell myself), and now our daughter, Mary Emma, has joined our circus. I have twice the reason to focus on family, and I’m sure spending half the week with my children will be pure peace on earth.

HAH!

Let’s just say I’m smart enough to know the chaos has only just begun. So why not chronicle it for someone else’s entertainment?

Six-month update:

I’ve learned so very much. For one thing, blogging is hard. It’s time consuming and it starts to feel self-agrandizing. But sometimes, the right person will notice you’re trying really hard to do something well, and something good will come of it.

That “something good,” for me, has been a weekly column on allParenting.com called, “Chasing Charlie.” It’s a glimpse into parenting a child with special needs. It’s a glimpse into our life.

I am by no means pretending to be an expert. Oh, heck no. I can say with all confidence that I have no idea what I’m doing, but I have more passion to do it than anyone on the planet. Charlie is my son, and I want to do anything I can to provide the best opportunities and the best possible life for him.

So, it turns out this job-share-blog thingie has produced something good. I’ll take it.

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