(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 9a - February 13, 2026)
Happy Valentine's Day to my supermom-wife Diann!
Parenting
a developmentally disabled child, my stepson, is a 24/7 role. Even when Diann's
not shadowing him in person, she's the dedicated general of my stepson’s
caregiving team. When her phone rings, her back stiffens as concern floods her
expression. She’s steadily mindful of his schedule, the appointments,
therapies, and check-ups throughout our calendar. My wife is in this special
needs-mom-mode, day in and out, even when he’s not with us.
Being
a witness to this pair’s special bond is tough for me to adequately describe. She
understands his unique way of communicating. Diann and our boy have endless
inside jokes triggered by tiny signs with his hands or sound effects with
learned meaning. Apart, and even more together, they’re both way past remarkable.
Our daughter is right there with her, but the depths of his special language left
me in the dust years back.
The
multisyllabic medical terms and medicines that are part of his past and present,
roll off Diann’s tongue, keeping her in pace with any practitioner or
pharmacist. She regularly calms other mothers with a fresh diagnosis who are in
need of encouragement. Navigating the waters of special needs parenting is
tricky and listening to my wife educate and reassure others is a source of prideful
amazement for our daughter and I.
My
wife has an incredible work ethic, gifted with an ability to focus whether
she's digging into finances, dealing with a family member's health issue, or
fighting for her only son in court. She's effective in an admirable way, in my
eyes, as well as those who have seen her at the helm of these responsibilities.
At
the risk of coming off as if I am bragging or even pandering for empathy, I
hope to make it clear that my wife is an extraordinary woman before I go
further with my storytelling.
*
When
breathing life into the lungs of a run-down house, TV’s Nicole Curtis can get
it done and it was nice to have Diann draw her own comparisons between me and
the popular rehabber on television. In our own respective ways, we each had
things in common with this gal addicted to rehab.
My
wife naturally shared her own awareness of these commonalities and in early 2012
she responded to dialogue on Rehab Addict. "She sounds like you,”
Diann said. “That sounds like something you'd say!" That was a significant
moment. She had been listening to me when I had wondered, a few times,
if she might have been faking attention.
Weeks
after this confirmation, the rehab addict was in midsentence when Diann shouted
from another room, "She’s talking like you again!” before saying, “You
wrote about that in your blog.” Then her head popped around the corner, and she
added more definitively, "She's reading your blog."
A
couple days later, something similar happened and Diann got even more charged
up, slower, clearer, and louder this time as she said, "I'm telling you, she's
reading your blog!"
Although
I appreciated how Curtis was expressing a similar viewpoint, I didn't share in
my wife’s opinion about the TV renovator having or taking the time to read my
blog posts. Still, it seemed like Diann felt as if she knew female intuition
type stuff that I needed to consider and try to understand.
I
didn’t think too long and hard about these conclusions. I was just thankful the
show helped Diann understand some of my takes on renovating a little better.
Plus, I was flattered that she saw parallels between me and the rehabber
blowing up on home improvement television.
(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 11 - Coming Soon)
