Sitting on a Phone Book
“Can I say a bad word?” At least he asked permission. “If you really have to, go in the bathroom and yell it into the toilet,” I offered...
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Patty Ihm
Feb 23, 20212 min read
Tie Me to a Tree
The six year old practices every bad word he knows in one long stream, shot directly at my quiet request to put on fresh underwear. Three...
Patty Ihm
Feb 1, 20214 min read
The Secret Room
Once, I cried at a baseball game. It was dark, so no one probably even knew. By some sort of twist in the interpretation of a rule…or...
Patty Ihm
Jan 5, 20213 min read
New Garbage
She remembered things differently from what I could recall. Seasoned in some ways, I couldn’t see what was right in front of me. Despite...
Patty Ihm
Dec 20, 20204 min read
A Little Toast to Hope
Yesterday, I was having a good day, which really wouldn’t seem extraordinary except there just haven’t been a whole lot of them lately. A...
Patty Ihm
Jan 14, 20203 min read
Fostering Words: Love Isn’t Enough, But At Least It’s Something
As a fresh spring chicken of a foster parent, I was given by one of my dearest friends a candy-pink shirt with the words, “Love is Not...
Patty Ihm
Nov 17, 20193 min read
The Long Winter
We don’t have to go back to some of the hard things. We have come so very far. Last year at this time, as the cold set in, we were...
Patty Ihm
Oct 7, 20194 min read
Where We Are: My Medical Cannabis for Autism Update
“I had a great time. Can’t wait until next week.” Well, that was a relief, because the faces he made during the hour-and-fifteen-minute...
Patty Ihm
Sep 3, 20194 min read
Occupation
They’re a bit like my children, hummingbirds. We never know how long they will stay, or when they are going to come back. I have made a...
Patty Ihm
Aug 10, 20194 min read
The Purple Couch
The purple couch was like an old friend. It accepted us, its people, where we were, with our dirty baseball cleats, fevers, and bad...
Patty Ihm
Apr 18, 20194 min read
The Kindest of Wolves
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding.” –Proverbs 3:5-6 “Shut up, you stupid idiot, or else...
Patty Ihm
Feb 24, 20192 min read
Circus Freaks and an Animal Parade
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I had no idea what to do, so I did nothing. Still, the days passed, and there was...
Patty Ihm
Jan 30, 20194 min read
Open My Eyes; Take Me To My People
It sure is cold outside. She was as sweet a baby as ever I have known, and I was so happy that she was mine. But actually, she wasn’t...
Patty Ihm
Jan 4, 20194 min read
The Butterfly Child
It’s not that I’ve lost my way; I am just not yet sure where I am going. For a time, I was sure that I knew: the activities of my future...
Patty Ihm
Sep 24, 20183 min read
Girl on the Swing
On the day that summer turned to fall, I took my little son to the park. The blue of the sky made the clouds stand out, drawing our...
Patty Ihm
May 1, 20184 min read
True Story: A Crack in the Egg
The sun was just beginning to set as I finally made my way out into the evening, leaving the confining walls of the hospital, alone, as I...
Patty Ihm
Feb 11, 20183 min read
Sparkles and Fear
She didn’t say a word, and neither did I. It may have seemed like just a piece of paper, but to me it represented much more. For nearly...
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