Karate Chops and Photo Shoots and Lambs and Baseball Practice, Oh My!

Live your questions now,

and perhaps even without knowing it,

you will live along some distant day

into your answers.   --Rainer Maria Rilke

In the intervening month since my last post, I've come to the conclusion that these are the days to surrender to spirit, to the magic, to love and to the power of grace. That there my friends, is my monthly nugget of wisdom for ya.

We've had a wonderful month.  A month where the two opposing factors that continually plague me, "wanting to know and simultaneously not wanting to know how things will be?"  surrendered to the flash forward moments of a lovely reality. A reality involving Nate's intensity in baseball, his love of fishing, writing the last check to the accessibility contractor, Lew's first visit to a working wool farm with Didi and Bop in Loudon County, Nate attended a Nats game with Josh and we've had a family jaunt to Burke Lake to rent boats and go fishing on Memorial Day.

Nate at bat

Lewis Watching Big Brother

Completed bathroom photo- that's LJ's painting!

Different Angle of Completed Bathroom

Completed Ramp Addition to House

Nissy the Three Week Old Lamb, Three Bags Wool Farm

LJ Scaling the Fence at Three Bags Wool Farm

Playing with Nissy

First Time Breaking a Board at Tae Kwon Do

Lew Bug is a very social creature, but most days he prefers to talk with adults (there are many reasons but I suspect it's because its easier to communicate with the adults).  Recently LJ was invited to three peers' birthday parties & his eyes sparkle and his body flails with excited movements as I read him the invites. My mantra is I will help his legs carry him through Tae Kwon Do parties ( I am grateful for yoga squats).  I will help his hands feed himself birthday cake, juice and explore the party favors.  I will help his hand karate chop the wood in half (that's his cuteness above feeling victorious and proud after karate chopping the wood in half).  Me, I had a force-field-generating-super-power for that acute awareness of having all the other parents' eyes on me as we navigated the obstacle course and I maneuvered LJ into roundhouse kicks.  That's how I roll err shall we say cope with my insecurity, force-fields.  But above all, I will always be there to hold his hands and help his feet find the right path. It will always be harder for Lewis to fit in with his peers.  But I want him to try to do everything he can.  And when he does his best effort, he realizes he can really do quite a lot of things!

I can see his imagination working around the wonder that awaits him.  I feel his hope.  There is a kiddo behind the disability who is funny, sweet, compassionate, loves to play games, have bed time story time, be competitive, snuggly, and just downright be a kid. So here we are at the beginning of summer.  In three weeks, Lewis will get to attend a daytime summer camp for 6 weeks as will Nate.  We are all excited to get the summer fun underway.

The Next Jayson Werth- Wearing Nate's helmet which popped off every 
time the bat connected with the ball. Comical.

How To Wake Up the Neighborhood

Yep.  Sunday morning calm...it was not.  Josh snuck away to do an autocross/solo event this morning with his new Subaru WRX.  I dropped Nate off at Sunday school for two hours.  Once we returned home, LJ and I decided to head out for a stroll in the neighborhood at 9 o'clock. I had Annie the wonder-dog's leash in one hand, a big ole mug of coffee in the other hand, and LJ was at the controls of his power wheelchair.  Only problem was that a neighborhood beagle had escaped its home unbeknownst to that neighbor Cathy, and was walking up toward us in the middle of our street.  Neighbor Sean's two dogs were in their backyard and my lovely Annie started a barking contest with these other three canine creatures.  So LJ starts screaming and stopped driving his car in protest ( I do not like to call it his wheelchair.  His "car" sounds so much cooler. ).  I realize I forgot to put his glasses on to further complicate matters.  So LJ runs his car smack into the curb at a standstill, Annie is trying to lunge at stray beagle and is still barking, poor neighbor Sean comes out the front door of his house in lounge pants and bed hair, asking if we're okay.  I somehow figure out how to take the controls of LJ's car, while he cannot be consoled, he's upset because Annie and dogs are still barking, and my coffee is splashing everywhere.  Everybody's fine.  Geez.  Just wanted to go for a morning walk.