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, 2021
- 2 min
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, 2021
- 4 min
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 6, 2021
- 3 min
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, 2020
- 4 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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, 2019
- 3 min
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, 2019
- 4 min
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, 2019
- 4 min
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, 2019
- 4 min
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, 2019
- 4 min
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, 2019
- 2 min
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, 2019
- 4 min
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 5, 2019
- 4 min
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, 2018
- 3 min
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, 2018
- 4 min
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, 2018
- 3 min
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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