Rocky Parra
Wife to Brett, mom to BethAnne, Peyton, Walker and Matthew, retired CPA, career volunteer, avid sports fan, and adorer of old Catholic Churches. Rocky passionately advocates for her son, Matthew, and autism acceptance. In 2015, she began writing about her family’s experience with autism on Facebook. In 2020, she published her first book, "Embracing Mrs. Mommy – Learning from, Living with and Loving Someone with Autism." Always in the back of my mind is Luke 12:48, “to whom much is given, much is expected… ” You can find her on Instagram as @mrs__mommy.
Why I Love Summer
If you asked me to list my favorite season, winter immediately comes to mind. Christmas(my favorite holiday), my wedding anniversary, and my birthday fall in winter. Celebrations I look forward to each and every...
An Introduction to Fiesta Pensacola
"To celebrate our heritage, promote tourism, and build pride in Pensacola through festive activities which enhance the quality of life in our community."
Fiesta Pensacola, founded in 1949 as the Fiesta of Five Flags, began...
A+ Gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week
"A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others."--Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Many of our children spend more waking hours a day in the presence of their teachers than...
Becoming Your Adult Child’s Legal Guardian
April is Autism Awareness Month.
I feel a certain obligation to write about my personal experiences with autism each April. When I first held my sweet Matthew for the first time over eighteen years ago,...
How to Achieve a Reading Goal
Successfully completing a reading challenge requires creativity. A busy mom completing a reading challenge requires effort and creativity. After easily exceeding my Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2021, I set a more aggressive goal for...
As You Are: Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder
As I reflect on my son Matthew's upcoming 18th birthday, my mind floods with emotions and memories. Some of them are typical, just like the mother of any almost 18-year-old might experience, others not...
An Autism-Friendly Halloween
As soon as Halloween decorations hit our local Target and Wal-Mart shelves, my son Matthew begins planning his costume. For years, I looked forward to this time indulging his quirky costume choices and decorating...
Sometimes, Moms Get Sick
Somehow I escaped contracting COVID-19 over the past two years. I realize putting that fact out into the universe highly increases my odds of catching it soon, so I am knocking on wood, crossing...
What Autism Means to Me
Matthew's Story:
In December 2004, our youngest son, Matthew, was born after an uneventful pregnancy. In fact, he achieved typical developmental milestones until about fifteen-eighteen months of age. Then he began to regress, lost words...
Rediscover Reading on National Reading Day
"From an early age, books were my constant companions and my local library a place I could find a new friend on every shelf." --Sarah Jessica Parker
I cannot recall a time when I did...
