The Call of the Sirens

Even though my career has been spent in the technology arena (I am a computer engineer), my electronic gadget quotient is low. For instance, I don’t mind and even sometimes enjoy listening to records – you know, those vinyl things. And, even though we have FIOS TV, and way too many channels for me to even remember, I usually end up watching network TV. It drives my 18 year old son crazy when I come to him and ask him to unravel the mess I sometimes make of the TV/FIOS box/Blueray Player/DVD Player/Sound System. Even worse in his mind is that I have a cell phone with lots of bells and whistles, and all I use it for is to make and receive phone calls. But all that may be about to change!

For several years my son has been extolling the virtues of the IPhone. So far our cell carrier does not offer that phone, but as soon as my son’s contract is up, he’s headed to the other carrier that does offer the IPhone. One of the reasons is that there are hundreds of ‘applications’ available for the IPhone.

Now remember, since all I do is make and receive calls, the lure of the applications has yet to call to me. This week, however, I saw three different news stories discussing IPhone applications specifically designed for people with sensory disabilities. The sirens are calling to me….

First, one company has two IPhone applications, one for allowing sight-enabled people to learn Braille. Just the fact that they used the words “sight-enabled” sucked me right in. That same company also offers a fingerspelling application.

Another company has developed an IPhone case that enables people who are blind to access the touch screen feature of the phone – extremely interesting but please don’t tell Ashley about this just yet!

And finally, another new application called soundAMP allows the IPhone to act as a modified hearing aide.

I just may have to reconsider my make/receive cell phone calls approach to life!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful…

• that Mr. Baldwin is hanging in there and kicking cancer’s butt just a little


• for thickly sliced tomatoes on an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese, cucumbers and lettuce


• for bubbles – blowing bubbles, bubble bath and champagne bubbles


• for a certain strong-willed 14 year old girl who gives the best hugs and kisses ever


• for the lovely article Erin wrote about Ashley. Erin is herself a remarkable young woman and a great writer. Check it out!


• for cool mornings and hot days – the perfect summer so far in my neck of the woods


• that I have so many vegetables coming in my garden that I am able to share with my friends and neighbors


• for that wonderful time of evening when all my chores are finished and I am able to sit back, put my feet up and just be still for a while


• for homemade lemonade made with real lemons and sugar water


• that I believe Chip and I have figured out how to pay for at least his first semester of college

Special Exposure Wednesday

Do you think Rocky had a little too much Fourth of July fun?



Be sure to check out all the other Special Exposure Wednesday shots at 5 Minutes For Special Needs!

Silly People

It’s amazing how much better life is for Ashley when she has the appropriate supports. The second half of the last school year was a nightmare. Ashley did not have an aide who knew enough sign language, and as a result, she regressed in many things – both academic skills as well as daily living skills.

That same aide was with Ashley for the first two weeks of summer school, but starting last week, a person with exactly the right skills has been assigned to Ashley. The difference is nothing short of amazing. Ashley has learned more in the last week than in the last 6 months of school. Why can’t the school staff see that? Well, maybe they can but choose not to act on what they see.

Ashley will be transitioning to high school the coming school year, and still we have not had an IEP meeting to determine what her program will be nor where she will even be going to school. However, I did receive an email today setting the IEP meeting for August 11th – about 25 days before school is scheduled to start. And the meeting is set to begin at 1pm.

Does the school staff, these people with whom I have been interacting for the last three years, really believe we are going to be able to develop a transitional IEP in a few hours?

Silly, silly people….

Busy Not Being Busy

I admit it – I’m an anal-retentive perfectionist with obsessive compulsive tendencies. Combine that with being the parent of children with special needs and ‘busy’ is the only word to describe my life.

I’m always busy, be it taking children to doctors, working both in the office and at home, cleaning and then cleaning some more, washing/folding/ironing laundry, or trying to keep all the mountains of school paperwork organized. I know I don’t relax enough, and I know I should just slow down more, but it’s difficult. However, that is about to change and I have my next door neighbor, Mr. Baldwin to thank for that.

Mr. B. is actively dying of brain cancer. He was diagnosed just a week ago, and the doctors have given him two weeks to two months. I’m betting it’s closer to the two week mark. So, my last week has been busy with all the normal stuff, but also with doing anything and everything I can do to make his last days comfortable and as good as they can be (which doesn’t by any stretch of the imagination mean good as it is usually defined). He has family, but they are not caring for him. Rather, they are already fighting over who gets what once he is gone.

My caring for him has meant making meals, cleaning his house, changing his bedding, and taking him once last time to the bank. I have also put each day’s medicine in little containers marked ‘morning’ and ‘night’ because otherwise he won’t take it. But it has also meant something even more important, and that is taking time to chat, to just visit and listen to his stories and dry his tears when they come.

Those chat times have forced me to slow down, and even under these sad circumstances, I find I am really enjoying the slowing down. Mr. B. is reminding me what is really important in life, and it isn’t the cleanest house on the block or the clothes without wrinkles.

So, I skipped writing a blog last Friday. Instead, in between caring for Mr. B., I went to a friend’s pool and just floated in the sun. I watched Ashley take her first jump on a trampoline, and I ate ice cream an hour before dinner.



Mr. Baldwin needs me right now, and I need him – I need him to remind me to slow down and enjoy myself more. Life is sometimes too short and often unexpected surprises step in to change everything which seemed important.

Thank you, Ed. Thank you for being a wonderful neighbor and friend, and for reminding me to savor life. I hope the end comes peaceably for you, and it will if I can do anything about it. Your lovely wife, Dot, is waiting for you, and I know soon that you will be reunited and happy together again.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful...

• for yummy 'summer sandwiches' made with heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce


• for Jackie and Amy and all the help they have given my neighbor, Mr. B. Mr. B is terminally ill and is counting days and weeks.


• that my daughter, Jessica, is going on her first overnight visit to a friend's house this weekend. Although Jessica ia 18 years old, this is a step towards adulthood that she has never tried before.


• that my rubekia is starting to bloom, showy and vibrant as always


• that I have a three day weekend coming up!


• for hot dogs, hamburgers and corn on the cob cooked on the grill on the Fourth of July


• that my garden has flourished early this year, and I will have time to replant and get even more vegetables before the winter sets in


• for pool visits with Amy and the kids


• for salads with fruit in them


• for slowed-down summer evenings spent listening to Mr. B's stories

Special Exposure Wednesday

When you are an 18 year old boy whose life revolves around baseball, there is nothing better in the world than a Sunday afternoon spent at your first Major League baseball game and an autograph from your favorite player (who just happens to share your name!).

Chipper Jones made my son's (Chip) day!



Make sure to check out all the other Special Exposure Wednesday pics at 5 Minutes For Special Needs!