Finding Inspiration

It's all too easy to get caught up in the twists & turns of your life
and end up bemoaning all the things that don't go your way.
I'm terribly guilty of that.
But every day that I go to work and see the smiles on the faces of our kids,
in spite of the insurmountable obstacles they face every day,
I'm kicked back to reality.

Brandon is one of those.
You all should know him by now.
(Put "Brandon" in my search box & a bunch of stuff will come up.)
His mind is fine, but his body has not cooperated.
Yet, he still manages to maintain a cheerful attitude.
He is a kind, considerate, smart, and thoughtful young man.

That doesn't mean he doesn't have his moments.
Yeah, I'm lookin' at you, buddy.
(And you know your mom will back me up on this.)
So, when the angst of adolescence rears its teenage head,
he looks for inspiration too; some meaning to his life.
He found some, in spades.

Look at this good-looking young man...

http://womenonthefence.com/2010/06/16/wordless-wednesday-13/

One day a couple months ago, when a planned outing to church didn't work out,
Brandon ended up watching a video of Nick Vujicic, the founder of Life Without Limbs.
He hasn't stopped.
PLEASE click on that short video link.
One of his special friends at work, Diana, mentioned
wouldn't it be great if we could take him to see him in person?
We found out that Nick was going to be in Virginia on July 31
as one of his worldwide stops.

The stars are aligning.
Hmmmm, could we?
Hmmmm, would it be possible?
Let me see what I can do.

It takes a plethora of planning to get him out of the Home overnight,
and a lot of work once we get wherever we're going.
Doesn't matter.
St. Mary's (I have said this before, I know)
goes above & beyond to give joy to our kids' lives.
(The nursing assistants at St. Mary's provide the bulk of our kids' personal care.
It is very physical & tiring work. I salute them.)

Our issue of lodging was solved by Sista G.
She said we could stay overnight at her house, since she lives right there.
And she pulled out all her tricks to keep Brandon entertained while we were there.
Movies, balloon-bouncing dogs,



feeding the sheep & horse.



One of the almost-grown lambs, the one they saved from near-death & raised in the house,
came inside for a little visit and nibbled a pretzel off Brandon's shoulder.



The fun quotient worked so well he wants to go back.
Well . . . you know, we're planning to go to a Hokies game on Oct 9th,
which is also just down the road from her house. . . . .
nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Thank you so much Sista!
You helped give Brandon an unforgettable gift.

You know how they say 'you never know what you can do until you try'?
Well, you never know what will be given to you unless you ask.
A simple request emailed through Nick's website
garnered a generous reply from Allison, one of his assistants.

There were at least a thousand people assembled for Nick's talk,
both in the main assembly room and in an overflow room,
where they watched him on video.



Thanks to Allison, out of all those people,
only one was granted a meeting with Nick afterward in his private room.

Only one.






Nick was wonderful - loving & kind.
He gave Brandon his time.
Talked to him. Prayed with him. Made him feel special.
He did not make us feel he was in a rush at all,
even though another service would be starting shortly.
It was something none of us will ever forget.
At the end, Nick asked that their chairs be maneuvered he could get close for a special hug.
A hug that lasted.

Nick, thank you from the bottom of our hearts and may God bless you all your days.
This was an experience Brandon will never forget.
(I know I never will.)
One that strengthened his spirit.
One that will fill his heart & occupy his dreams for a long time to come.

Nurturing The Spirit

Our kids have a lot of physical problems - more than any of us will ever experience - yet they remain generally cheerful and happy. It's amazing, especially for those who don't really have cognitive deficits to go along with their physical limitations, how they stay so upbeat in spite of the mountains they face every day. I believe it is a testament to the strength of their spirits.

We take care of their bodies, and we do it really well. We also love them to pieces, and they know it. But there is another side to our kids, and to anyone living in a residential care facility, indeed to all of us, that tends to get overlooked in caring for the overwhelming physical problems - their spiritual side. They have the same need to reach out; to seek something bigger than themselves. Something to feed their souls. Something to give them hope & comfort in the night when they are surrounded by medicines and machines.

Brandon went to Easter church services with one of my co-workers, and he has been asking to go again ever since. Well, we finally found a weekend when everyone was available. Then he decided that he wanted to share the wealth, so he asked some if some of his friends could go along. So now we snowballed from a mildly complicated outing for one (as it always is with our guys) into somewhat major undertaking with 4 kids, 5 adults, 1 spouse for any needed manual labor, 1 big bus (that I drove), a suitcase full of accouterments, and a boatload of optimism.

But, holy COW it was hot work getting them all loaded & unloaded!

First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk welcomed our interesting little group with open arms. We attended the contemporary service at 9:30 which takes place in a new addition behind the beautiful old church. The service was uplifting and full of music. I think I can speak for the kids in saying it meant a lot to them.

Oh, but just look where the 11:00 service is held:

I'm a big fan of Gothic architecture.

Many thanks to Jennifer, Diana, Danyell, Terry, Mr. Terry, and Cline for making Brandon's wish a reality.

Surrounded By My Boys . . .

. . . which is, of course, one of my favorite places to be.

Now that the Home is off the H1N1 restrictions, we can take the kids out again.
And Brandon has had cabin fever.
Big time.

We have already gone to the movies to see his beloved Miley Cyrus in her newest flick.
BS went along too.
It's better if I have someone else with me when I take Brandon out.
Just in case, you know.

It was the 2nd time seeing this movie for him.
He had already gone with his family to see it, and I was told they ALL cried.
But, since he wants to see it 53 times, we have a few more to go.
Doofus spent most of the movie looking over at us to see if we were crying yet.
Laughing at us.
NOT using his inside voice.
Making me "ssshhhhh" him a lot.
And yes, both BS & I got a little misty.
Good movie.


This afternoon, just to get him out again, the HandiRide bus dropped us off at my house
to veg out on the couch & watch more movies & eat junk,
or in Brandon's case, get little licks of junk.

I had to do a little preplanning to get him in the house.
Interesting procedure, getting him out of his chair & up the front steps.
We baby-stepped our way up & in the house & plopped him down
on the already-reclined-couch with no mishaps.
Didn't drop him on his head once.
Score!
The chair stayed outside, since we had no use for it in the house,
and I was sure no one would steal it.
It's a safe neighborhood, and besides,
if you don't know how to release the hidden brakes,
it ain't going nowhere.

Awww, makes a mother's (and an honorary aunt's) heart swell, don't it?


We had time for TWO movies.
And, even though we had the best of intentions to eat junk,
we ended up snacking on whole-wheat crackers, baby carrots & hummus.
Thrilling, huh?
Brandon tasted the hummus.
He was not impressed.
So he got a taste of his favorite barbeque sauce
and a sip of water to wash it all down.
What a good afternoon it was.
Hey BS - thank you for your help.

What More Could You Ask?

Friday night.

Creeping back to the Home to watch some Olympics on the giant TV . . .


with a good dinner . . .


and good company.


What more could you ask?
(Except if BS could have come too.)

A Promise Is A Promise

Yesterday, while we all waited for our "weather event",
I told a certain someone that, if I could get out of my neighborhood,
I would come take him out in the snow.

Very blithly made promise.
See, most predictions of snowy doom don't pan out around here.
Plus, it was still sunny with nary a cloud in sight.
Even if it did snow, I love going out in it.
Especially in the car.

So, yeah, a "weather event" indeed.

(If you click on that picture & enlarge it, I got the tiny snowflakes too. Cool.)

I put 4 root beers out in the snow for later.
There's something very rustic & ski lodge-esque about using the snow as your personal fridge.
After a couple hours, I went to pull out a couple for BS & me and . . .


. . . huh?
It was the mailman!
That's okay. "through rain, sleet, snow or gloom of night . . ." and all that.
He sure got the snow & sleet today.
He deserves a treat.

I really should pack up & move to Buffalo, as much as I love snow.








I left myself a bit of an out in that promise yesterday.
I distinctly remember saying "If I can make it out of the neighborhood . . .",
so I waffled & vacillated & alternated & pondered.
Do I stay in my warm, toasty house?
Do I brave the elements & go back to the Home?
Do I tell him the roads were just too bad?
I spent a good couple of hours doing this,
but the thought of that hopeful face won the argument.
So, after a fruitless attempt to persuade BS to venture out with me -
"Mom, I used to live in Blacksburg. We got this every winter.
If I don't have to go out, I ain't going out", or something to that effect,
I got in the car & slid down the driveway.
It was still snowing, and the roads were terrible.


Very little had been plowed.
I really do like driving in it, though.
I just go very slow and I don't have a problem.
Unlike some of the other buttheads on the road.
I didn't get above 22 mph the whole way.
The trip took an extra 7 minutes.
Big whoop.

But it was worth it.
We bundled that boy in so many layers of clothes,
he was like that little kid in "A Christmas Story".






Normally, this kid is a human furnace and wants a fan blowing on him all the time.
Uh, not this afternoon.
When we got back in, he was still cold and wanted to sit
by his roommate's bed under the heat lamp.
With blankets.
It was a memorable moment,
and I'm sure his mom won't believe me without photographic evidence.





For those people who grumble & complain when it snows,
Just slow down and enjoy the gift.

Wright Flyers & Beach Loafers

I was out to dinner with some old friends this evening

(not old as in years, but old as in length of friendship),


and I was reminded, rather bluntly, that I have neglected my blog of late.
I haven't posted in a while.
I didn't write about what I did last weekend,
and it was good stuff, so here it is.

Remember this young man?


Remember how I took him to Blacksburg in the fall of 2007 & 2008 (scroll to Nov. 13th)
to go to a football game and root for the Hokies?


Remember how that trip got the kobosh this year because of Swine Flu?

We had to think of something fun to do instead.
Something that wouldn't involve large germy crowds.
So, we gathered Team Brandon together to ponder our options.
One of us says,
"Oh wait, my brother-in-law owns a house on the beach in Nags Head.
Maybe he'll let us use it. Would Brandon like to do that?"
Brandon (and the rest of us) give her that unique "DUH!" look
followed by Brandon's emphatic "Yes!"

Much scurrying & planning & calling ensued, and, after a setback or two,
we set off for Nags Head (on the Outer Banks) bright & early
on Saturday morning with a caravan of 3 vehicles.
Brandon, his family, and his invited guests - 10 people in all.

Oh my.
Beachfront house indeed!
3 stories, hardwood floors throughout, TV's in every room,
marble counters in the huge kitchen,
more bedrooms & bathrooms than we could use,
and an ever-so-comfy yellow sofa that was the perfect size.


He pronounced it more comfortable than his own bed.
Can we just live here, please?

Porches overlooked the ferocious winter Atlantic Ocean.


Whaaaah?

This IS winter, right?


What the heck?

I have never, EVER, in the decades I have lived at the coast,
seen the Atlantic look like a bathtub.


Never, ever seen it this calm.
It was like the Chesapeake Bay on a still day.
In an alternate universe.

Good thing the East Coast Surfing Championships weren't that weekend.
Can you imagine?
Rows of surfers, boards under their arms,
waiting for a wave, staring in disbelief, wondering,
"Can I ride that in?"


Look at this next one.


Those little shapes in front of the boat are a pod of dolphins.
(Click on the picture to enlarge.)
And I love the dog standing as a sentinel in the front of the boat.

As it turns out, another co-worker has a mother-in-law who is the Executive Director
of the First Flight Foundation at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
Whoo-hoo! She gave Brandon & his entourage special VIP treatment.
Thank you, Lola, for a very special afternoon.

One thing he got to do was touch the flier.
With a gloved hand, of course.
I was totally jealous, and let him know it, so he had to rub it in.



You should know that this is not the original flyer,
but an exact replica that was built, with painstaking detail,
at a cost of 1.2 million dollars.
!
Hence the white gloves.

This is our very nice Park Ranger Tom White
who gave a very informative & interesting presentation
(and arranged for the white glove touch).
You should really read about it.
You'll learn something.

Here is Brandon & his family in front of the museum.
The Teddy Bear is another story for another day.


In this next picture, I just wanted to capture the serendipitous juxtaposition
(I love big words)
of the stones marking the first 3 attempts at controlled, manned flight
with a controlled, manned airplane waiting to take off from the Kitty Hawk Airport.


One of the Wright Brothers' assistants lived into the 1980's.
He was there at the dawn of flight.
He lived to see man walk on the moon and the launch of the space shuttle.
Makes you go "wow" at the history he witnessed.

We didn't spend a long time at the memorial.
It was cold outside,
and no one felt like pushing Brandon's chair up this hill.


Yeah, we were all a big bunch of wusses.
But the chair is *whiny voice* heavy *whiny voice*.

Also, a brief history lesson here.
The Wright brothers came to Kitty Hawk to fly their plane,
but Kitty Hawk encompassed a much larger area back then.
The memorial is in the present town of Kill Devil Hills, which became a separate town in 1953.
It's NOT in Kitty Hawk any more.
Kill Devil Hills is named after Kill Devil Hill, the large sand dune upon which the memorial sits.
And how did the dune get its name?
There are some good guesses, but no one really knows.

We went back to the house to hang out, waste time, lounge, play games,
and generally be useless human beings for the rest of the day.
I made dinner, which included homemade spaghetti & meatballs.
I never made meatballs before.
Just never got around to it, I guess.
But I was pleased with the results.
And I guess everyone else was too.
It all got eaten. They said nice things.
And I didn't take a single picture of my food preparation.

We played "Cranium" well into the night.


Fun game.

Later - the trip home. An adventure in of itself.