Alex Carson
Stephanie Hanrahan
Stephanie is a mother of two, and both of her children are special needs. They each have autism, which makes it difficult for them to deal with social situations. Being the parents of autistic children is not always easy, and when it is time to send the children to school, it is even more difficult. These are all things that Stephanie knows all too well.
Stephanie documents her journey through motherhood on Facebook. She often creates posts about her children, Campbell, and Eli for her followers to read. She also talks about her husband, Shawn, who has a rare heart condition. The account is called, Tinkles Her Pants because she says that some of the things she writes about make her laugh so hard that she almost pees her pants.
Stephanie’s “About” Page
On the “About Me” section of Stephanie’s Facebook page, she wrote, “Wife to a sick husband. Mother to special needs kiddos. A woman who made her private journal public and now leaks nothing but the truth.” Her stories have always been interesting, and now, she is doing more important things. In February 2019, she became a contributing writer for Today. She says that she never imagined her blog to have such a massive impact on her life. She added that the past five months had been the most freeing of her life.
Gray Area
Stephanie says that her life tends to be difficult because her children like in a gray area. They aren’t normal enough to have a normal social life, but they aren’t severe enough to get helpful resources. Stephanie says that resources are slim when your children are at the cusp, so she fights for her children on her own. She says that she doesn’t mind being an advocate for her children.
Miscarriage
In Stephanie’s blog, she mentions having two miscarriages before giving birth to her two kids. She wrote about the pain of the miscarriage and how she felt after. She says that losing those two children was one of the hardest things she has ever had to go through. And she posted this blog on Mother’s Day.
September 2018
In September 2018, Stephanie created a post on Facebook, letting her followers know that her two boys would be starting preschool. She said that it would be the first time in four years that she should be alone. The first day worried Stephanie. At home, she says that her children were in their “bubble,” and in the bubble, she could keep them safe. She could protect them from people in the world trying to steal their beautiful spirits. She understood that they had to come out of the bubble eventually so that they could experience conflict, controversy, and try to things. Her children needed to build character, and this wasn’t something that they could do fro the bubble.
Post to the Educators
Before her children started school, Stephanie created a post for the people who will be her kids’ teacher. She wrote, “So, future teacher, hello. We love you. We hope you know you are our hero. The only reason I can breathe and begin again as a woman is because, for a few hours a day, you relieve me as a mom.” She went on to apologize for any challenges that the teacher might face while her children were in the class. She said that the future teacher was doing God’s work and that they would be molding her children. In the end, she apologized for putting such a heavy responsibility on the future teacher’s shoulders. At the end of the post, she mentioned that there would be plenty of tears on the first day of school.
Campbell
Stephanie created a post about her daughter, Campbell’s, first day of pre-K. She says that on the first day, she was happy and enthusiastic about going back to school. Everything was fresh and new, including her kids’ teacher. By the third day, Campbell was over it. She was crying about going to school, and Stephanie had to bring her to school, kicking and screaming, her kids’ teacher saw that
The Teacher’s Reaction
Campbell’s teacher saw what a hard time she was having, so all of the students were dismissed from the area. Campbell’s teacher hugged her close, trying to help her calm down. The teacher looked at Stephanie and told her that she could handle it. Stephanie says that she realized then that she could trust her daughter’s teacher 100 percent.
Trust
Stephanie put trust in her children’s teachers to get them through the day, and the teachers didn’t disappoint. Campbell drew a picture of her dancing with her teacher, and the teacher filled in the caption. It read, “I was too scared to dance without Ms. Carolyn, so we danced together.” She posted it on Facebook. A Mom Was Left Confused By A Post From Her Kids’ Teacher – But Its True Meaning Left Her In Tears.
