Pushing & Pulling & Pushing

On the same day that Brandon had his beach party, St. Mary's kids, past & present, joined in the Allen Stone Memorial Run*Swim*Run at the oceanfront with Team Hoyt Virginia Beach.

Special beach wheelchairs, similar to the one we used with Brandon, were pushed.

Rubber boats were pulled.

Jogging strollers were pushed.

It takes a lot of muscle to get the kids through the course.

BUT, muscles are a plentiful, yet underused commodity for a lot of us that we sooooo take for granted. Find a group in your town and join in on the fun. You will find it incredibly rewarding.

Change of plans . . . again

It started out with a promise to the boy, to do something with him.

It continued with a trip to meet with Rick Hoyt of Team Hoyt for some inspiration.

Then it became a 75 mile bike ride for MS up on the southern end of the Eastern Shore, but transportation & logistics were our enemies. Too far away and much too much time involved.

So it became a 60 mile bike ride with the Tour de Cure for diabetes, held locally.

Then he got worried about being in the jogging stroller (attached to my bicycle) for so long, and it turned into the 10 mile Tour de Cure family fun ride.

An additional event was added - the Shamrock 8k here at the oceanfront - with our local Team Hoyt and his physical therapist. He had a blast.

But transportation was again our enemy. I found out that the handicapped buses don't go down to southern Chesapeake, where the Tour de Cure is being held. Suffice it to say I investigated other transportation options and went to talk it over with him. His final decision?

Bike rides at the beach and Cape Henry. Easy transportation, he gets to look at the beach, easier access to facilities (because, well, you know), and we work on getting a ride together for United Cerebral Palsy - a cause much more near & dear to his heart, for obvious reasons.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1410/1118755967_c335b570df.jpg?v=0

This is kinda what I would have looked like, except no hairy legs. And no beard. And long red hair.

Transportation is a major issue in our little scenario. Since I am a staff member at the Home, I must understandably abide by their policies and procedures when I take him out, meaning my options are limited. If I use a private vehicle, I have to be able to tether down his car seat. It just does barely fit into my car, but then I would have to cut a hole in the roof for his head to stick through. Now, I'm very fond of the kid, but nuh uh, ain't gonna happen. Same problem with BS's pick-up.

And if I did find a private vehicle that would fit the car seat, there is the problem of his wheelchair. It is a power chair and weighs just about 137, 258 pounds. Or close to. Ain't no way I'm getting that thing in anyone's trunk, or their van, or their anything else. So that leaves me with the public handicapped transportation. We used this before to go to the movies with BS, and it was great. The only drawback is they don't go everywhere, like southern Chesapeake or any other rural part of our fair region. We are limited to the main bus routes. Still, that service will prove to be a blessing when we want to go out.

So now what? I still want to do something soon, and I got to thinking. Maybe I'll walk on over to my mother's beach condo for dinner some nice Saturday soon, huh? Does that sound good? Oh right, I can just hear you sneering now. Big deal.

But it is, really. I'll have to start at the crack of dawn, since she lives on the bay, a splash over 13 miles from my house. There will be plenty of places along the way to stop & pee or get a drink, and by the time I get there, I'm gonna be hungry, so dinner better be good. By that time, the view off her balcony will be a lovely sunset like this one. . .

And you know what's funny? 13 miles from her house to mine, and that's only in a small part of Virginia Beach. It is one big-ass city. If I centered this Google Earth image correctly, I have Virginia Beach from top (the Chesapeake Bay) to bottom (the North Carolina line), and my little stroll is only in the northern part. Click on it and it will enlarge.

First things first, though. I need some good walking shoes. Because, after all, 13 miles is a half-marathon. Whoo-hoo!!

Change of Plans

Remember, way back, soon after I started this blog, I wrote about doing the 60 mile bike ride with Brandon?
Something inspired by Team Hoyt.
Something to get him out of the Home.
Something to expand his world.
Something to make him feel like he has possibilities beyond his disabilities.

The post that somehow drew in the b00b seekers?

I have been doing a half-assed job of training for this thing, but today my job suddenly became easier.

He was in the PT office today, just 'hanging out', and we were talking to him about upcoming events that he would be doing. In addition to our bike ride, the husband of one of our PTs is going to take him on the 8k run that is part of the Shamrock Marathon, an annual event in our fair city.

He is pretty stoked about this as well.

Then the topic of the ride came up. Keep in mind, when we talk to Brandon, our conversations consist of asking him 'yes' and 'no' questions. This is the main way to get information out of him, since his communication computer is still not available. Such is the reality of his life, and it's not always easy to figure out what he wants to say to us.

After a lengthy game of 20+++ questions, we finally figured out that he was concerned that the ride would be too long. He decided that he wanted to start with a shorter one. You know, just to see how it goes in the bike stroller. Then he could build up his endurance for a longer ride.

Awwww, man (cue whiny voice). You mean that, instead of dragging his butt behind me for 60 grueling, tortuous miles, now I only have to do 10?

Sniffle.

http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/my-latest-art-crocodile-tear-2/

I don't know if I can stand the disappointment.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?p=386167


Seriously, you mean this won't be me after all?

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/fitness/blog/2007/10/



http://www.imagesbrighton.com/picweek82.htm

The sacrifices we make for these blasted kids.

Now, here's what I'm afraid of....
I know myself. I'll use this as an excuse to continue my half-assed training. After all, how hard can 10 little bitty miles be? I'd rather curl up in my easy chair with a good book or a movie than huff and puff and drip with sweat.

Okay, that's not really true.
It's getting motivated to huff and puff and drip with sweat that's the problem. Once I have done it, I feel like I have earned the right to the good book or movie. And that is a good feeling.

Quotes

I have found 2 quotes that express the "mid-life crisis" I have been experiencing lately:

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." Carl Bard

This one kind of sums up why I started this blog in the first place,
and why I want to find the new & improved version of myself.
Didn't like the way my life was going, so it was time to change it.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of things in my life that are a source of dissatisfaction,
and the process of turning them around is a bitch.

Also, I want Brandon to have a new ending. Who can resist this face . . . .

(The one on the right, not the Hokie Bird)

So wanting to make his life just a teeny bit better caused me to
promise to put him in one of these contraptions . . . .


. . . . and do this for more miles that I am comfortable with . . . .

By the way - this is Team Hoyt, the inspiration for my endeavor.
Brandon met them, too, and was inspired
to convince me to endure pain & agony to make him into a racer.

Here's where I explained all this monkey business.


"Life is like a new car. Every once in a while you've got to find an open road and see what it will do."

This quote is the one from Christmas Day on my 2008 "Life's Little Instruction Book" calendar,
so I really don't know who said it.

I came very close to doing this last year.
I applied for and was offered a teaching position in Texas that I would have really really liked.
I want to teach again so badly that sometimes I hate even the thought of going to work each day.

Don't misunderstand,
I love the place that I work
(you won't find one better),
but I don't always love what I do there.
What I do there is noble and honorable.
I love the people I work with,
I'm nuts about my kids,
but I am a teacher at heart, and I miss it dreadfully.
Seriously.

To explain why I am not a teacher anymore would take more effort than I want to expend just now.

The job in Texas was soooooo very tempting.
Just the kind of place I like - a small city with a big university.
Rolling hills, friendly people, staff who really wanted to hire me.
But it turned out that it wasn't the right . . . oh, I don't know . . . time?
There were family considerations & a sucky real estate market, among other things.
But I wanted to take it, oh so very much.

Just about every miserable, rotten thing that has ever happened to me
has happened here, in this area.

Every now & then I look.
The job is still open, and I wonder,
"What if?"
"Did I do the right thing?"
"What if I just told them I changed my mind, packed it all up & started over?"

The open road calls me,
beckoning like a seductive temptress,
stroking my terminal case of wanderlust.

My will power leaves a lot to be desired.



These open roads are from the long road trip BS & took 2 1/2 years ago.
1 month,
8,300 miles,
from one end of this great country to the other,
side-to-side & top-to-bottom.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Birthdays & Beaches

I had such a good time last weekend for all my birthday festivities, I decided to do it again. Yippee!! Wait, no? Oh, that's right, it is Beloved Son's birthday, the sweetest baby ever born!!

Long ago one sunny morn,
On the day that you were born,
The doctor tripped, and then then he said,
"Whoops, I dropped it on its head."

Also, he is the cutest baby ever born. I know everyone says this about their kids, but...

... come on people, is there really any doubt? There have been some close seconds, but I have not found anyone to dethrone him yet.

He is 26 - more than a quarter century. Shit, that suddenly makes me feel positively prehistoric. Today, in addition to having to work on his day of celebration (bummer), he is also housesitting his boss's dogs, so tomorrow we will go to dinner at Il Giardino (don't forget to support your locally-owned businesses), where they will be so good as to let me bring his ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. I know, it's a chain. Sigh, but he loves those things, and today he gets whatever he wants. Although I remember once I had a scoop each of pumpkin ice cream & cheesecake ice cream together that was drop-dead delicious.

Today was also the 20th annual St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children 5k Run. In addition to the usual runners, Team Hoyt Virginia Beach was there to push a bunch of our kids through the race in jogging strollers. There were a lot of jogging strollers.

The number of people wanting to push strollers grows with each race, so more & more of our kids get to join in on the fun. So many that not all the kids would fit into the picture.

The race took place this year at Fort Story, a bitty little base plunked down in the most prime real estate in the city - at Cape Henry, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The area above the road is the Fort, and just about all of the green treed area is a state park. Between those 2 things, all that glorious potential revenue-producing land is off-limits to the poor city. Heh. BTW - doncha just love Google Earth?

Every couple years, our good city council folk anxiously await the latest round of base closings, with just a bit of drool on their chins, as they dream of hotels, condos, and high-end shopping. Sadly for them, what appears to be a useless base squatting on pricey land is most useful in other ways. Other than the uses listed in the link, the Navy loves to use the Fort for SEAL training. You can't easily find all those miles of unspoiled, unpopulated beachfront & marshland in which to practice their sneak attacks.

I would really like to know what the rocky outcroppings are used for. There are other hidden gems at Fort Story. The Cape Henry Lighthouses are there, right across the street from each other. The first picture of this series is from the web. The others are mine.

The old one, which is now a national historic landmark, is open to the public. It was built in 1792, the first lighthouse authorized by the federal government. The 'new' one, which is still in use today but not open to the public, was built in 1881. This next picture shows them both in 1905:

I also like this picture I found of the lights with one of our Navy ships being deployed:

Also at Fort Story is the site of the First Landing in 1607.

There is a large granite cross there now commemorating the event. Access to the Fort is restricted, so be prepared to have your car searched if you want to go see these things.

Bucket List #2

The 'health' part of 'health & happiness'.

There is a bit of history to get out of the way here, so bear with me. I know it can be annoying. Over the last 10 years or so, a lot of things happened that I let get me down, so much so that the result was a stranger who was soft & squishy around the edges and weighed more than I ever had in my entire life. I didn't recognize her anymore. Not a good thing to do to yourself, but I don't do well when I am depressed and alone (BS was away at college). This isn't really me, BTW, but the resemblance is striking, I think.

But last year - the 2007 calendar year - was, in many ways, a very good year. This was mostly because of a very special friendship that had the promise of blossoming into a very special romance. Throughout the year, I was reaping the benefits, walking a lot at work and at home, riding the stationary bike in the evening. I was careful of my diet, and I felt good, physically and mentally. Aside from a couple of rocky patches, which everyone has, I was happier than I had been in years. Then something very bad happened in December, and the promise collapsed. What did I do? Back to my bad habits, and all the good I had done for myself was quickly being undone, so I have decided to halt the decline, but what to do, what to do?

I. don't. run. In addition to being very hard on the joints, I haven't found a feminine undergarment/double-rock-sling-shot to control the inevitable bounce factor when I run. I don't want to see the girls peeking out from under my shirt hem in 10 years.

So, unless someone can point me to a bra that holds them up like a firm pair of hands (although that might feel pretty good), I don't run.

But I really like my walking shoes and my bicycle.

I need to pause and pass along another bit of information. I work in a facility that provides residential care & services to children & young adults with severe & profound disabilities. One of our boys, I'll call him the Kid, is very bright, but that bright mind is locked inside a highly non-functioning body. We have been doing some things with him to try and expand his horizons, including taking him on overnight trips. I wish I could link to the news stories about that, but they mention his name, and this blog is very public.

Suffice it to say, he has a lot of untapped potential. We did take him to hear Team Hoyt speak. For those of you who don't know about them, the son, Rick, is very much like the Kid, only 30 years older. He went to high school, graduated from college, has a job and his own apartment. Watch this video, or this one, and you will know why we wanted the Kid to be able to be inspired by their story. Then, if you really want to have a good weepy moment, watch this one. I still choke up when I see these.

Anyway, The Hoyt's staff arranged for Rick and the Kid to go off to a quiet corner of the building, with their caregivers in tow, to have some time to 'talk'. And talk they did, for about an hour, with a lot of translating in the process. The Kid is now motivated to work hard at his studies, and he wants to do some races as well. Our local chapter of Team Hoyt has started taking our kids out to some of the local shorter races, and the Kid will be pushed in one in October. I started thinking, after seeing these videos, of a way I could kill 2 birds with one stone by doing something for myself and the Kid both. My boss takes part in the annual MS Bike Ride up the Eastern Shore of VA, accessible from the south via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a wonder in of itself. The 150 mile overnight ride would be out of the question due to the Kid's's complex medical needs, but I told him that if I could whip my 5... uh... 39 year old flab in shape (humor me, okay), I think I could do the 60 mile ride dragging his butt in a trailer behind me. He is willing to risk it.

I have asked my father to help me train. He is well-qualified to do this, having done many things athletic, like triathalons, century bike rides, and lots of other races. He was also a track & field official at the 1986 Atlanta Paralympic Games, so he will know how to whip me into shape with me kicking and screaming all the way. And scream I will, trust me. You think I'm kidding?

I'll start tomorrow Daddy, really. No, honest, I will. I have to go to rehearsal tonight, really.