You Keep Coming Back

Thanks for visiting and visiting again. 20,000 hits! I don't always have a story for you here, I sometimes point you in another direction and I even serve up reruns. But you keep coming back. Thank you.

Addie knows a little somethin' about sticking to it. I offer a representative sampling of the photos and video I took over an hour long period as she demonstrated how she learns things. Cate is an enthused and encouraging teacher. The right instruction is important, but exposure and observation laid on top of a fluffy and plush bed of motivation is where the magic is for my small wizard.



Addie hasn't actually hula'd to her satisfaction yet. But you can see that she intends to do so before long. Come on back. I'm willing to bet I'll have a camera with me when it happens. You know I'll be up here hollering about it.

Thanks again for 20,000!

I Heard It

Today I heard a phrase that floats around among others in my daydreams about Addie's life, about my squishy, ever-changing hopes for her future. It never made it to my daydreams about Cate's life because it was just an assumption for her - not so much the milestone I see it as for Addie. I heard it for Cate at some point, but barely registered it as more than the 3 word utterance it is.

Today Addie and I walked past the parked and waiting cars along the block of her school. I park a bit farther away so that she can get used to walking a bit, paying attention to the crossing guard's directions, and practice navigating with her backpack on.

As we approached the halfway mark, a car door slammed behind us. Addie usually stops and looks in the direction of each sound we hear, including cars passing, so you can imagine this walk takes a while. But instead of her noticing the slam, I was attuned to it for some reason. My ears were perked in that direction just in time.

"Addie! Addie!"

A frantic and excited voice emitted from the direction of the slam. Neither Addie nor I had time to turn around before the daydream phrase rang loud and clear above the accompanying sound of friendly running feet and a backpack bouncing up and down in rhythm with each step closer.

"Addie, wait up!"

What Goes on the Mantel This Year?

Uh oh. Picture day again. What's gonna be in frame this year?

I offer you a leapfrog list of links to picture days past. Yep, reruns.

Grandma's Mantel (picture day 2007)

Another Swing at Grandma's Mantel (picture day 2008)

Grandma's Mantel Graced (picture receipt day 2008)

We'll see what we get this year.

(We shall return to our semi-regularly scheduled full blog posts instead of links to elsewhere as soon as I find a couple more hours in the week somewhere. The school year is off to a fabulous start. Fabulous = busy as all get out.)

Space Bag

My post is over at Hopeful Parents today. I nudge you over with the thought that if you've loved Addie since she was a baby, the post should ring a bell. If you have grown to love her in the past 4 years, you get to travel back in time and get our "diagnosis announcement."

Click here to give it a read:

Space Bag

Starting Gate...Finish Line

In just a few short weeks, on October 4th, I will again be sorting through all the shiny shaved heads of handsome lean men bolting by (already having weeded out the women, whether shaved-headed or otherwise), looking for my beloved. Cate will be searching with me, holding her bells and her sign. Addie will be hitting buttons on her communication device "Go, Daddy! You're winning the race! Run!"

Michael's 3rd entry into the Lakefront Marathon will have him at the starting gate early that Sunday morning. For the 2nd time, he has created a firstgiving page to raise funds for a foundation supporting Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome families. It's called Special Friends. Last year with the help of friends, family, strangers and the William Starck Foundation, Michael was able to raise nearly $11,000. This year he is about to reach $5,000.

Michael runs because he loves to run. He runs because he has discipline, endurance and respect for his own well-being. He runs to set an example for our children - one of a healthy lifestyle, of taking time for oneself, of setting and reaching personal goals, of the satisfaction one gets from pushing oneself. He runs for our Addie who has taught us what strength and power really mean - that they are not external things, but things intrinsic that we are each charged with finding and pulling out of ourselves.

We try hard never to lose sight of how fortunate we are that both of our girls are happy and healthy, that they go to good schools and are taught by teachers who see their value, respect them enough to expect contributions from them, that we have the resources where we live to get programming for Addie to keep her healthy, challenged and progressing. We are lucky that we can take advantage of parent education in the world of disability, that we can give back by supporting other parents locally, by addressing future special needs professionals with our perspective as parents, that we have fulfilling relationships with so many involved in both the worlds we are part of.

So Michael runs for himself, but also for our big RTS family out there. Thank you to all of you who have become involved in his cause through your personal support to him, your spreading the word about his run, your direct contributions to his drive. Thanks to my blogfriends for shouting out about the run, too.

There's still a few weeks left - blast the link out there, talk about it, drop a few bucks in the hat... Do it if you run, if you love Michael, if you love Addie, if you love another RTS darlin', if you love someone else with difference. Michael could not and would not do it if it weren't for all of you. When he sees us at the finish line on the 4th, he will know all of you are present by proxy, too. We rarely do anything without you all in tow.


Michael and Addie upon their return from a 6 mile training run. Addie says "Daddy's number 1!"

Four For Friday

Click on the last one for a glimpse of her new gap.