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Belated Birthday Card

January 1, 2026/
wintery envelope with a Charlie Brown Christmas stamp, Mailbox sticker and special delivery box sticker used to cover the address and return address.

Happy New Year, my friends! Writing this blog ten years after Mikey recorded our daily life in his journal has been such a blessing.  I love thinking through my parenting choices and sharing some tips and tricks with you each day to make your own journey a little easier.

The Downside

The only downside is that I don’t want it to seem like I always felt like I had all the answers.  In fact, I still don’t feel like I have all the answers. My hope is that you will see our missteps and know that those didn’t prevent our son from getting to live a happy, fulfilling life.  We did our best, but there were mistakes.

Ten years ago, my mom got a phone call with us singing on her December birthday, but she didn’t get any cards from us in the mail.  Not perfect, but my mom understood. On New Year’s Day, we were able to take a deep breath, settle in and send her our belated birthday cards.

journal entry for January 1, 2016. “i sent mimi a birthday card!” photo of envelope with a charlie brown christmas stamp. A purple rectangle covering my mom’s address with the message, “yeah, my mom’s birthday is in December, so there’s that."

Better late than never, my friends…luckily Mimi got it. I wish you a year full of resilient kiddos and understanding family members. You won’t be perfect, but you’ll do great! 2026, here we come!!

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Erica Mauro

About the Author

Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 😉

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