Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Columnist Lynn Nankervis works to change peoples' perceptions of special needs children through her writing.
Sometimes I sit down at my computer to write and the words just flow like water. My fingers fly effortlessly across the keyboard as my thoughts are given form. But it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes, it's arduous and forced, and I wince at the words that appear before me on the monitor. Sometimes I’m overly critical and hesitant to hit the publish button. Sometimes the words come easy because I am impassioned by an occurrence or situation, and other times I am more reflective and contemplative and the words are slower to conceive. That’s how it is with creativity and passion. Sometimes photographers take blurry photos. Sometimes football players fumble the ball. Sometimes doctors misdiagnose. Sometimes singers hit a bad note. I…
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses a funny moment in the world of autism
We’re all familiar with the routine of life and, for most of us, weekends are made for playing catch up - getting all those things we don’t have time for during the week accomplished and hoping we still have some leftover minutes to relax. I had quite a bit of errand running to do this past weekend and my 15-year-old son with autism, Matthew, accompanied me. Matthew is a homebody and doesn’t like to venture out too often so I enjoyed the time with him, even if it was spent filling the car up with gas, dropping a card table off at a friend’s house, and making a quick stop at the grocery store for a few items. Like most kids with autism, Matthew can handle only so much social interaction before he needs a break so I was moving at a brisk …
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses the Christmas Eve mishap and the promises of a new year.
I hope this finds everyone having enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and if, by chance, Santa did not make it to your house this year, you can blame my father-in-law. You remember that song, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?” Well, this year Santa, or at least his foot, got run over by Papa Tom. It’s true! Following Christmas Eve services at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, we drove to Barrington Oaks subdivision off Lumsden Road to look at the Christmas lights. Each year the community features a drive-through display of festive twinkling lights and every Christmas Eve, Santa makes an appearance. Like a practiced politician, Santa leans into car windows to shake fathers’ hands and make pleasing promises to eager children of a Christmas …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Brady Bunch Plus One columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses the wonder and anticipation of Christmas.
It's the most wonderful time of the year! I remember as a child awakening on Christmas morning and just imagining the possibilities of what might be in store. The old "sugar plums dancing" thing? Oh yes, they danced — they danced merrily in my head. And the awakening — that slow, slurry coming-out-of-sleep feeling — and suddenly, oh yes, it's Christmas. Even as a child I would bury deeper into my blanket and let it soak in for a minute or two. Yes, it's Christmas. Growing up, we were not allowed out of our rooms on Christmas morning until our parents had given the a-OK, so I would stay in my warm bed, the blanket up to my chin, and impatiently call out for my father. "Dad, hey dad. Dad, it's Christmas." And steadily becoming more and …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses being thankful the other 364 days of the year
I was spending a few last treasured moments with my 22-year-old daughter yesterday before she began the drive back to the University of Central Florida after a long, happy Thanksgiving week together. We were reminiscing about how much fun it was to have rare time together to enjoy each other’s company and, as we often do, we began a running tally of our many blessings. It’s a game we began when she was a little girl (or gorilla, as Rachel used to say, because she couldn't pronounce girl) and continue to this day. Rachel was thankful for homework, a functioning, operative car, an understanding employer and her hair straightener. She explained. Homework keeps her grounded, focused on her studies, on the path to her desired destination to …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses finding places and spaces for treasures and remembrances.
I dabble a bit with interior decorating, but only in my own home. I pretend to know what I’m doing, even if I really don’t, and what might appear cluttered and visually amplified to some is serene and comforting to me. My home is my place of peace — although I recognize and accept that my definition of peace is probably quite different than what you would find in the dictionary. Mr. Webster most likely would not look at my abode, with its “who-did-it-and-ran” veneer and the comings and goings of nine people, and find anything peaceful about it. But for me, well, I can be having the worst day — a day so crummy I just want to slip into pajamas (the oversized kind that make me look like I’m carrying an extra 20 pounds) and eat chocolate and …
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses the season of fall in Florida.
"Hello, October," I whispered to myself last Saturday night as I stood outside in my yard and looked up to a brilliant sky of stars. In the distance, the distinct spicy scent of a wood fire filled the air and autumn enveloped me like a warm blanket. Oh how I love fall! Florida summers are arduously long. Month after month, the intense heat and humidity exhausts us and wears us down. Autumn, by contrast, slips in silently. It's a subtle season, without the spectacle and grandeur of New England, but inspiring none the less, and more and more appreciated the older I get. Autumn reminds me of a younger me, newly graduated from college, working in public relations and writing press releases day after day, just barely scraping by financially. I …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses her family's transition from blended to bonded
When Tom and I were engaged and planning our wedding, I remember thinking how blissful our life together was going to be. We would have the perfect blended family. Any trials or tribulations we faced would be easily resolved because our love for each other could get us through anything. It didn’t take long for me to realize I was being naïve. Within a few days of returning home from our honeymoon, we had seven children hell-bent on causing anarchy. It was a bit overwhelming and took a lot of effort, adjustment and give-and-take (and even a bottle or two of wine--for me, at least), before we were able to achieve a semblance of balance in our home life. It’s not that we keep a running tally of the good and the bad or the naughty and the nice…
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses being happy, even when you're hurried and harried.
I was running on adrenaline this morning. Thomas forgot a school assignment at home, causing me to try to squeeze an extra 20 minutes into an already-tight schedule so I could take his work to the high school, followed by errands to pick up the dry cleaning, fill the car up with gas, attend a conference with Matthew’s middle school teacher, and a way overdue appointment with my doctor to refill a prescription that had run out. To top it all off, a trip to the grocery store, not just for a couple items, but one of those irrationally expensive, two-shopping-carts-piled-as-high-as-the-Alps tasks to completely restock the pantry. These kind of days generally leave me hurried and harried, feeling one step short of sanity as I race non-stop …
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Columnist Lynn Nankervis discusses how an encounter at the grocery store prompted a change in attitude
I was standing in line at Publix this wet, rainy morning, an overflowing shopping cart before me, a Charmin 12-pack precariously perched on the mountain of groceries that I inched closer and closer to the one cashier on duty as customers moved slowly toward the door, locating umbrellas or surreptitiously nabbing a plastic grocery bag to cover their heads as they struggled with carts, purses and small children, all while attempting to stay dry. It felt like I’d been waiting in line an hour and my exasperation was heightened. Lately the weather has been less than cheerful and, consequently, our skies have been colored a constant state of dreary gray. Typically I love the summer rains, the thickness of the clouds, the pitter-patter of rain on…
Lynn Nankervis
4:16 pm on Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Don't worry, Santa was fine! :) more ›