Carlye, Bodhisattva, Amanda and Myles

Today’s post is a potpourri of items that visited my brain this week. Although I probably could write an entire blog on each, these four items are kicking and screaming to come out RIGHT NOW.

First, today is the last day of the regular school year for my children. Ashley will continue through the summer with her ESY (Extended School Year) services, but today she will leave behind the best teacher she has ever had. Mrs. Artis is transitioning from teacher to mommy, and Ashley is going to miss her terribly. Only a few inches taller than Ashley, Mrs. Artis developed a special bond with my special daughter. In our pre-bus morning conversations, I would ask Ashley if she was going to see Mrs. Artis at school. Her face would light up with a huge smile as she signed ‘Yes.’ I wish you all the best, Mrs. Artis, and you had better bring baby Jayden around to see us A LOT. Remember, I know where you live….





The second bit of potpourri comes from my buddy, Esbee at the Life in Forsythe blog. Prepare to be absolutely mesmerized by this You-Tube video. It is titled, “The Thousand-hand Bodhisattva”, and it is performed by 21 young adults who are deaf and in some cases, also visually impaired. They are members of the Chinese Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who lives to help other people become better and better. In one very old Buddhist story, a bodhisattva was trying to reach all the people of the world, but the bodhisattva's two hands were not enough, so the bodhisattva was given a 1,000. This dance is a way of showing how beautiful that might be.



The third thing in my potpourri dish this Friday is perhaps the best explanation I have ever heard of language processing problems. Amanda at the Ballastexistenz blog has a great post titled, “How (not) to ask me questions.” For any parent who has a child with similar issues, you absolutely must print this out and share it with every person who interacts with your child, both now and in the future.

And finally, my potpourri dish holds a very special family. Myles is an 8th grader at Ashley’s school. He was Ashley’s first real boy-crush, and I just don’t know what we are going to do now that Myles will moving on to high school, yet Ashley has one more year in middle school. I wrote about Myles and Ashley in the first post I ever wrote for this blog, and I wrote about him again when he came to Ashley’s 12th birthday party. Myles is also one of the students I told you about in May who organized a 5K run to benefit the Massey Cancer Center, and it was all done as a class project. Myles is an amazing young man, and just a short conversation with his parents reveals the reason for that. This is a family that knows – REALLY KNOWS – how to raise children to be responsible, compassionate, and respectful citizens of the universe. We will miss you terribly, Myles, as you move to high school, but at least your little sister is still at Ashley’s school, and we expect you to visit often. Kisses and hugs, my dear young man.