Satisfaction

     A famous guy even older than me is still singing the old rock' n 'roll song of the same name and there is something to be said for it....satisfaction, I mean. For me it happens in the late afternoon when the sun is shining but thinking about setting, my girls are home and safe, dinner is figured out because it's a huge pot of soup that I made yesterday, the eggs are gathered, the house is warm and soon it will be time to sit together and relax. I am sure those old guys were writing about something else but there you go.
     There is a lot to be said for wanting what you have rather than having what you want, a sentiment that our society does not give a great deal of airtime to; shopping makes the world go 'round apparently, especially at this time of year. The traffic is beyond frustrating, there are line-ups everywhere for everything and a sense of panic that seems to dominate the world out there. There is therefore a lot to be said for staying home, staying close and spending time instead of money. I don't mind how many times I lose when I play "Sorry" with my daughters, I am just happy to play. (Actually I have never won--- how does that make sense!?)
     Our eldest is enjoying her life skills program and is now over ten months seizure free and we are still not able to explain this change. Explanation is impossible however and so unnecessary; life is good. Our youngest dislikes high school but works hard to get straight A's. Life is good. I am aware of how quickly this all could change. I am also satisfied that we are doing all we can to keep them both healthy: good food, regular exercise, lots of sleep, prayer and fun and of course for the oldest, her anti-epileptic meds. If we make it to February, there will be a party. In the meantime it's all good.

Blessed

     Thanksgiving has come and gone but I am finding that the list of things that I am thankful for keeps going. Maybe that is why I am more cheerful at a time of year that usually has me feeling a little blue. As our older daughter continues to be seizure free, nine months now and counting, perhaps those are the silver threads that weave through our days: the hope that health and safety for our girls continues and our ongoing desire for that to be true for all.
     We are lucky enough to live in an exceptional community. We have the beauty of the ocean ten minutes away while being fortunate enough to live in a rural setting with an old growth forest in our own backyard. Our weather is the best Canadian weather possible: not too hot, not too cold and all four seasons. Our city has it all: culture, like the incredible theatre produced by Peninsula Productions, business, services, infrastructure. Our daughter with special needs has the amazing Semiahmoo House Society nearby which provides a wide range of recreation, leisure and community living and work programs for anyone with extraordinary needs. We have everything we need in local churches like White Rock Community Church which warmly welcomes folks every week plus schools, shops, libraries, parks, pools and entertainment. We have it all! We are blessed, lucky, fortunate--- pick one.
     Life can change in the blink of an eye, the flash of a camera, the change of a traffic light; I know this all too well. Today we are blessed.

Judy

     Our daughter lost a Special Olympics teammate to cardiac arrest on Thanksgiving weekend. She was a lovely young woman with caring family, 35 years old, non-verbal and an athlete who worked hard in many disciplines of Special Olympics: basketball, swimming and bowling to name a few. Our daughter had only known her for a short time but was impressed with her teammate's cheerfulness, hard work and respect for others. That she died in circumstances that could have been prevented makes her story that much sadder.
     Tonight the Special Olympics coaches made sure that as many parents and caregivers as possible were available in order to offer support to the athletes. Sympathy cards were passed around for signing and support now and in the future was offered. A two minute silence was observed and then the practice went forward. The athletes played their best: exuberantly, energetically, diligently, because that's what their teammate would have wanted. They felt her loss with varying degrees of understanding but the feeling of playing for her was there and palpable in the gym.

     Special Olympics is remarkable because it meets the athlete where they are and engages them with meaningful training, competition and lasting friendship. As the website states: "Special Olympics is humanity’s greatest classroom, where lessons of ability, acceptance and inclusion are illuminated on fields of play by our greatest teachers – the athletes." This has been an enormous source of social support to our daughter and a great boost to her physical well-being and confidence. The death of her teammate is tragic, sorrowful and felt by the many who knew her--- we did not know her well but we will not forget her.

Neighbour

 

     We just doubled our flock size with about forty more brown hens. They are good layers but sort of uniform and boring in their appearance. We already have an assortment of different looking chickens; a few Australorps, Araucanas and Americaunas that we've hatched out ourselves. The new brown hens had not seen anyone of a different colour before and have been pecking at these "outsiders" since they arrived just over a week ago. Without our old rooster Kermit to keep the peace I marveled that even in the world of poultry, it is difficult to love our neighbour.
     We've been talking at church about loving our neighbours. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". It is part of the Shema or the second of the greatest commandments, quoted in several places in the Bible and one of the central tenets of both Judaism and Christianity. And with all this talk of refugees and immigration in the news, a very timely subject. I do not pretend to know all there is to know about this heated and divisive issue. As immigrants ourselves my family of origin experienced a life that could not be had if our parents had stayed in England; loss of immediate contact with our extended family, everyone and everything that was familiar was the price that we had to pay. Some immigrants and refugees do not have as many options nowadays and the price tag is much higher.
     Unfortunately life is not as simple as it is in the chicken coop where a little more hen scratch or a kindly old rooster can usually settle the score. Our pastor reminds us to lean into God and listen; find out who our neighbours are and pray for them. We hear and read that Jesus declared that loving God and loving our neighbour was all that mattered and so the answer there seems fairly simple also. As a member of the human flock, I choose to believe in love.

BUILD

   

     Our older daughter's life skills program started last week and she is truly enjoying it. She finds the respectful and positive atmosphere refreshing after her high school experience and enjoys being treated like a young adult. The acronym BUILD stands for "Building Upon Individual Learning and Development". The streams of learning include: Life Skills, Employment, Transportation and Health and Wellness. With half a dozen young people in the program and a teaching ratio of 3:1, our daughter already feels comfortable with everyone and is happy to be involved. The staff are young, caring and patient women. There are trips to the library and local businesses, opportunities to practise a variety of skill sets like taking the bus or shopping out in the community and an upbeat and cheerful group of peers around her, so our daughter feels fortunate to be part of it all.
     She is now nearing eight months of freedom from seizures and anything seems possible. We are not sure whether she outgrew the seizures, the meds are now working, there is less stress in her life or our prayers have been answered. Any way you look at it we are blessed! I remember looking at other people's Facebook pages and being envious of their child's "One Year Seizure Free" status. Maybe it could happen to us!
     

Bus

     Our younger daughter has been making use of her Compass card, accessing public transportation with friends and making her way to the bigger malls adjacent to our community. This has gone well until when on the bus the other day, she caught the eye of a beer swilling fellow who thought her brief and polite acknowledgement of his staring at her was an invitation for further contact. This was a guy who was probably in his thirties; our daughter though tall, is obviously fourteen or fifteen years old. After pawing furiously through his over-sized lunch box this man produced a scribbled note which our daughter refused to accept. He was a stranger after all. He then dropped it into her lap and then jumped off the bus at the next stop. The note contained his name and phone number and instructions for our daughter to "text me QT". Such a poet.
     Needless to say, my husband and I were appalled. Fortunately there was an older gentlemen on the bus who witnessed this exchange and expressed his dismay with the episode. We are obviously not sure if this guy had had a few too many and was not seeing straight or he actually believed that our daughter might follow up on his invitation. Unfortunately after this experience, she will probably not be inspired to make any kind of eye contact with anyone on the bus ever again, which is a loss for everyone. Needless to say, I have retained his contact information for future reference. Next time someone a little more his age and a lot less cute will certainly be texting him back.

Wish 3

     We actually made it to Australia for the fulfillment of our daughter's wish. What a fabulous trip, what an amazing day! It was everything we had imagined and more. From the minute we pulled into the parking lot at ten in the morning to about five when we left that afternoon, we were in awe of Australia Zoo and the legacy that Steve Irwin has left behind. We couldn't help but feel that he would be so proud of everything his family and staff have accomplished at the zoo and beyond.
     We walked through the doors and were blown away by it all. And both our daughters loved connecting closely with their favourite Australian marsupials: the koala and the kangaroo. They got to pat them, feed them, hold hands with them and in the case of our eldest daughter, even hold one. And we have photographic proof of her dream come true as a gift from the zoo.
     As we sat in Steve Irwin's Crocoseum and saw and heard his words made beautiful by the soaring birds and the lumbering crocodiles that were part of the show, I felt profoundly moved. Yes, this was about a khaki-clad man who said "crikey" a lot; one who spent a great deal of time rolling around on the ground with crocs, calming snakes and rescuing all manner of animals but he was incredibly passionate about all living creatures and it is obvious at Australia Zoo. Steve said "If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save something that they love." Conservation is the goal.
      The Children's Wish Foundation and Special Olympics Coach Susan have the eternal thanks of our whole family. They gave our daughter and our family a trip that we will never forget. They will never know what this wish has meant to us all--- the fact that our daughter has not had a seizure since she heard about this amazing gift says it all: thank you, thank you, thank you!