A few years ago, my good friend Leslie and I fell into a conversation about the lack of and/or missing information when it comes to charting the developmental timeline of our special kids.

We met when our sons, who are classmates, were in their early teens and by then we had pretty much figured out many of the atypical stages. Though certainly there were more ahead, we both acknowledged how mutually helpful it would have been, had we known one another during the early years.

There is so much ground to cover when raising a special child that priorities are determined based on the most pressing and time sensitive issues: diagnosis, support services, therapies, school, socialization, medical, legal, financial…the list is endless.

Luke's significant needs demanded heightened focus from birth. Monitoring the usual milestones was far removed from my thinking and filling in the traditional baby book was not even a consideration.

Flexibility became a fixture of my life. When there were so many demands at the front of the line, non-critical issues became my fertile territory for creative solutions, as I learned to accommodate my son who was definitely in charge of his own timeline.

Had I been connected to other moms of special kids, I have no doubt that the conversation would have turned to the subject of development and why nobody seems to talk about certain, less obvious issues.

Almost as if there was an underground agreement that these subjects were taboo and meant to be left in the closet on purpose. Maybe because of their ordinary nature, they became a little too painful to discuss, as the realization and acceptance that our kids are stragglers on the timeline of normal habits hits too close to home.

The truth is that in the midst of navigating this very unpredictable journey, the so-called 'silly' items usually don't make an appearance out of sheer necessity. There is just so much wherewithal to absorb the enormity of information, and at some point, it's inevitable that a few topics will be left out of the mainstream conversation.

That said, we acknowledge that there actually is a place for these non-essential, silly items. Humor has been our salve throughout Luke's journey to date, and is the perfect entry point to address these self described silly items. Silly, maybe, but they are real, and ones that many of us have encountered, so why go it alone?

Leslie and I have shared many a giggle and sighs of relief as we realized that we weren't the only ones who lived through what sometimes were years of painstakingly slow progress when it came to regular/normal stages.

As time went by and the real need for this section became evident, I began to have more fun with it. Proudly declaring that although the official name may be MileMarkers, my personal nickname for this area is "Why God Invented Depends". Followed by a giggle, it never fails to relax and remind me, that not every issue is of the same magnitude. A sense of humor brings with it the comfort that life may just be a bit more normal than initially imagined.

The centerpiece of our community is sharing, and MileMarkers is no exception. Currently, this area includes this About Page, as well as a button on the pop-up menu titled Anecdotes. We figured that this would be a good place to begin, and that your contributions and participation will seed and grow this area in its natural direction.

A good giggle is always healing, as is the connection of those who walk in our path, and it is with that spirit that we invite you to share your 'silly' stories.

Confident that more minds thinking and sharing creatively will lead to great ideas and solutions, we'd love to hear your stories, suggestions, ideas, and/or comments. If you'd be good enough to write to us at MileMarkers@Lambdoodle.com, we'll do our best to respond in a timely manner, as your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Once we receive and review your submission, we'll post it as quickly as possible. The What's New button on the Home page will alert you to newly published anecdotes so that you'll know when to return for fresh stories.

During several conversations about establishing the MileMarkers section here at Lambdoodle, I'd smile quietly to myself as I remembered some of my solutions that could only make sense for a specific situation.

In the eloquent words of Albert Einstein: 'Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited and imagination can encircle the world'.

With the opportunity to change the world at hand, one giggle at a time, it is my pleasure to welcome you to MileMarkers, the start of what I'm trusting will be a wonderfully silly, genuine conversation of our hearts.