When you have a child diagnosed with severe Autism, your world comes to a screeching halt, and the entire trajectory of your life spins off course. You worry about your child's ability to be safe in a world that wasn't made for them. What will their childhood will be like.? Will they make friends? Will they have a "normal" school experience? If something goes wrong, can they even tell me? What you don't know is that you will also be blessed with incredible people who come into your life as a result. Morgan is one of them.
In the Fall of 2020, my youngest son, Cooper, was starting 1st grade. During the height of Covid. Remote. I was working a new job from home, supporting three kids at three different schools, and my husband was an essential employee who had to physically go into work daily. Cooper had done relatively well in kindergarten, mainstreamed with typical peers, thanks to an ABA-trained one-on-one who helped him manage his behaviors and learn. It was a leap to get him there, but he was doing it - and then world changed. And did I mention he had also recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes? Life was a whirlwind and we were barely hanging on.
So there I was, first grade starting, and meeting our new one-on-one. Remote. We had two laptops in our dining room - one for class and one for Morgan. I had no idea how this was going to work and, candidly, I was convinced it couldn't. But I was open to trying. (And thank the Lord my mom was willing to drive out daily to sit with him and be the physical presence he needed - but I digress).
Somehow we made it work. Morgan made it work. Building a relationship with an Autistic child with limited communication skills across Zoom is near impossible and yet ... she figured it out. When school finally reopened, Morgan was there, managing his behaviors, keeping him safe, helping him make friends, and helping him learn. She became his best friend. We were blessed to have Morgan with Cooper for three years until she ultimately left to start a family of her own.
Years later, I was blessed with the opportunity to capture time in a bottle and photograph her beautiful, growing family. We picked a weekend that just happened to have the most amazing Fall colors and met up at my favorite Autumn spot- Jerusalem Mill in Kingsville, MD. Life threw us some curveballs, which always happens when you have a toddler and baby - but what came out of the session was a perfect representation of the joy, the silliness, and occasional chaos of parenting babies and toddlers. (Pro Tip: If you're trying to get pictures of toddlers, bring cake pops)
Morgan is the most amazing mom to her little boys. But I always knew she would be. If she could handle Cooper with patience and grace, I knew she could handle anything. And let me tell you, she is incredible.
So thank you, Morgan, for everything you have given my family. I can't wait to see what the coming year holds for yours.
XO
