Articles by Maureen Wallace

Child No. 3: Boosting the Team Charlie roster

I’m old, and I have two toddlers under 3 years old who seem to be competing for the title of Most Time Spent in Time-out… and I’m tired. Yet, those momentary matters melt away when I imagine our third child “under construction” amid equal parts craving and nausea.

Chasing Charlie: This marriage needs more dating

I love my husband to pieces... but I found myself falling to pieces as more time passed between authentic moments to connect.

Chasing Charlie: Realizing I'm not alone

I'm from outside Boston, so the past few weeks have been filled with tension, worry, heartbreak, pride and love. My senses are heightened, my emotions are roiling around like pyrotechnic tumbleweeds in my chest and I am ready to watch mindless, silly movie plots (to my husband's pure glee). In short, I'm a vulnerable mess.

New Friend Date criteria: Don't say "disability!"

You know that new-date feeling when you spend time alone with a Potential New Friend and you’re not sure yet if you’re going to really be friends? Please say yes, because otherwise I’ll feel really weird.

Expert: Wedding cake predicts marriage longevity

Most couples enter marriage believing it’s forever. But what if a single moment during your wedding could give you a glimpse of the success — or demise — of your marriage?

Parenting a child with special needs can just stink

Sometimes, it feels like making sure my son has the best life is a constant battle I can never win. If giving him his best childhood requires constant championing by his parents, how can I be sure he will be able to live his best life when I'm gone?

Down syndrome organizations: Unite! We need you!

Enough. Robert Ethan Saylor was a young man with Down syndrome who never should have died in a movie theater, face-down and in restraints. His death should be the tipping point for Down syndrome advocacy groups to put aside differences and unite.

Weighing the Lean In phenomenon

The have it all movement has a new leader, and she’s calling the whole thing a sham.

Where were the doers in Ethan Saylor's theater?

Robert Ethan Saylor had Down syndrome and a desire to watch a movie twice. Neither fact killed him. If society continues to sit idly by as individuals with disabilities are wronged amid silent acceptance, then we are as much to blame for his death.

Chasing Charlie: The day I found my family

Our first family outing to a playground took two years, eight months and 15 days of parenting. Official owners of two mobile toddlers, we understood playgrounds require man-to-man coverage. I expected chaos. I wasn't expecting a battleground of emotions.

The stunning reality of giving birth to twins, months apart

I stood in the hallway, watching their tiny heads bob and zigzag as they toddled toward The Husband. "You realize we have twins," I declared. It was a statement, not a question.

The dissection of inspiration porn

Recently, I learned about inspiration porn. It’s used to describe feel-good moments that go viral, such as a video spotlighting an underdog succeeding — or at least trying to succeed — and then being celebrated.

Finding the best caregiver for my child with Down syndrome

"Can you write me a letter of reference?" She asked. “Of course," I replied. But how do I adequately describe the person who has changed not just my life, but the life of my first child, born seven weeks premature with a chest tube, a feeding tube and, before I could carry him home in my arms, a heart monitor?

Embracing my son's Down syndrome

I know where I'm supposed to land on this issue. I just can't.

Sapped from illness, Charlie needs special dose of fun

Watching Charlie recover from illness is never easy, but after a particularly nasty bout, Mommy decided to shake things up a bit.

The startling impact illness may have on a child with special needs

Caring for sick children can be heartbreaking, but the impact of illness on a child with special needs can be downright shocking.

How your parenting choices can make my children's lives easier

What if the choices you made as a parent had a domino effect? What if, for every success you helped your child achieve, you could know you had paved the way for future generations of children? What if all this were true? Guess what? It is.

Desperately wanting my daughter to protect my son

Because clearly I don't have enough issues, recently I added another obsession to my somewhat stale worrying repertoire: Will our daughter instinctively protect her brother as they get older?

Imagining a future for my son with Down syndrome

I've driven past it hundreds of times. Set back from the main road that threads into our neighborhood, the one-story rectangle of cinder blocks sits ugly and abandoned. Once, wire awning frames poked out from the rooftop, signaling life that must have filled the building at one time, long ago. I've heard a rumor it was a beauty shop. Now, it’s boarded and lifeless.

Some days, you wake up with a pajama footprint on your face

If waking up with a child’s pajama footprint on my face was an indicator of how my day would unfold, I should have stayed in bed. The truth is, having a child with special needs doesn’t bring with it some miraculous ability to do it all. I wish it did, and honestly, if life were fair, that would happen.