WARNING: Get some kleenex...

A Friend Like Me

by Traci Sandrock

Please don't be afraid of me

I want to be your friend,

And if you get to know me

Your rigid thoughts might bend.

Thoughts that I am different

From others that you know,

I really am no different

And this I'd like to show.

I live and breathe and laugh and cry

I love to play and learn,

I sometimes do things differently

Which can cause some concern.

You see some say I'm special
I guess this much is true,

But if you were to ask me

I'd say you're special too.

We're all a little different

No two are just the same,

It's really something wonderful

The way there is no blame.

When things don't go just perfectly

and others get confused,

And say things like "poor child"

and others terms they use.

It's okay if you look at me

And might not understand,

It's okay if you touch me

And even hold my hand.

My life has many obstacles

Much more than you could know.

But that's not what I dwell on

I'm me, that's all, and so...

Please don't be afraid of me

I want you just to see,

How truly great and wonderful

A friend like me can be.

Soggy Sunday

I can't quite decide which way to go this morning. It must be the sun. You see, we haven't had much sun lately and it's throwing me off. In fact, we are 1.5 inches over our normal rainfall for the year. Now, for those of you who live in more arid climates, an extra inch and a half is probably a good thing. I, however, live in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST! We get plenty of rain, thank you very much, and an extra 1.5 means you should start looking for a large wooden boat.

I'm a bit concerned because a new family moved to the neighborhood, and the kid's name is Noah. This cannot be good...

The rain managed to hold off yesterday, however. We went to a pumpkin patch party put on by a local Down Syndrome support group. There were some bigger kids, mostly boys, so Kirk got to play a little football and toss pumpkins down a hill at a target. Suzanne made friends with the folks who hosted the event and then invited herself into the house, and around the back, and eventually into the water fountain. She liked the pumpkins and got to draw for one (as you can see, she got a nice one). Then she started running after the pumpkins as they rolled down the hill. This went well until one actually hit her, but she got up and started yelling at it. Everyone who saw this started laughing because it was clear that she was ticked off and letting that pumpkin know what she thought!




The folks who hosted this event don't have a child with DS--they are friends with 2 other families with DS kids. Their own kids are teenagers, so when they got too old for the pumpkin patch party they decided to continue holding it for DS kids. There are special people everywhere, and the Welchs are one of those families.


Suzanne crashed in the car on the way home. She just about ran her little legs off, had more than her share of cookies, and combined with the fresh air, she didn't have a chance. We were down in Lake Oswego, so after we did a little sightseeing (lots of fabulous houses to look at) it took us an hour to get home. The little snores from the back seat are so adorable...


I'd love to write more, but I have a garden full of dead stuff to pull up and throw in the yard debris bin. The day is sunny and Suzanne is at school, so I'd better get to it.

For A Quiet Evening, It's Awfully Noisy

We're having a yawnfest around here. It's Thursday night and the kids (and Dad) are tired from a long week. Suzanne is sitting on Greg's lap, blankie on her lap, and she's sucking her thumb. That tells you how tired she is--she NEVER sucks her thumb. Greg is yawning sympathetically. Every once in awhile she looks up at him and gives him a kiss.

Kirk is a bit wound up because he's been grounded today. He tried to dispose of last night's vegetables in the bathroom trash, and since I used to do that stuff myself, I figured it out. He tossed a couple of perfectly nice carrots in the trash. At least I chose a truly horrible vegetable to dispose of--Brussels Sprouts!

We are engaging in one of Greg's favorite pastimes, watching Fox Sports Classic. Who knew that there was a cable channel that showed old college football games. I don't really see the point, since I already know who wins this one (Oregon 31, Huskies 20), but we're watching anyway. In case anyone out there cares, this is the game with the famous Kenny Wheaton interception and touchdown of 1994. The best part is checking out the uniforms to see how much they've changed. Since the interference of Nike, the uniforms have lost their Disneyesque quality. Bring back the gold pants, I say!

My kids are getting such an eclectic education from Greg and I. If my kids aren't math geniuses I'll be surprised because they spend a lot of time learning sports trivia and stats. Greg is very patient as he explains this play or that and what it means in terms of overall strategy. From me they are getting sound fashion advice. "No, football players should not bare their midriffs, no matter how nice a 6-pack they have. It's just tacky!"

In between the yawns, Suzanne is trying out her new skill--counting to 5. You can tell she's tired because she keeps editing it a bit. It's coming out, "One.........Fo Fi!" Usually two is her favorite, but she keeps skipping over it. The funny part is when she watches a tackle on the TV, she yells "Down!" My kids know their sports, for sure.

Kirk, on the other hand, is skipping over nothing. In fact, he won't shut up tonight. Gad! Now he's whistling! Nope, now he's doing that tongue clicking thing that kids do. If he starts cracking his knuckles I'm done for. Well, both cats are purring now, isn't that just swell! Note to self--buy ear plugs...

Nature...ick!

This will come as a shock to some of you, but I'm a GRANDMOTHER! If you are wondering how this is possible, please refer to my post on August 31. My sandbox is the home of one actual frog and a bazillion tadpoles. Yes indeedy, one of Kirk's original tadpoles turned into a frog (that half-tadpole, half-frog stage is a little creepy) and through the magic of reproduction, I've got more baby tadpoles than ever. I think we are going to have to engage the services of the Tadpole Relocation Program. Actually that will just be me with a bucket of tadpoles hiking down to the creek. You try to be a good mom and provide your children with a close-up glimpse of nature but really you just end up running a branch of Planned Parenthood for Amphibians! No good deed goes unpunished!

I was also called upon to make a fairy house this week. It turned out quite nice with some interesting rocks that Kirk found, some maple tree leaves and the petals of my smashed chrysanthemum that the neighbor kids jumped on. You can't use living material, but I figured since the flowers had been killed by someone other than Kirk, we could get away with it. Kirk got to display his fairy house in the school library, so he was happy.

Today is a school in-service day and so all the neighbor kids are massing outside planning their day's activities. It's starting to look like the playground scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." You know the one--the crows are lined up on all the playground equipment and are looking menacing just before they swoop down on the unsuspecting children. Except that it's all boys on their bikes or scooters trying to figure out which mom to hit up first for snacks. Kirk, a natural leader (drat!), is gesturing toward my house--this can't be good for me!

I went to Costco the other day and took Hilary with me. She spent the entire trip sticking things in my cart, most of which I made her put back (she's 22 BTW), but she did manage to keep the giant bucket of Toll House Cookie Dough out of sight until I was at the check stand. I see the hand of fate here--I'll just make those up this morning and if the boys look like they're going to converge on my house I'll throw some cookies out the door at them. Perhaps if Tippi Hedren had had a few cookies to toss to the crows the movie wouldn't have given me nightmares for 20 years.

There is banging coming from my bedroom and I don't think it's the cats. Better go see...

The Wheels on the Bus

Yes, this is the latest on Suzanne on the Bus. Look at that happy face...and the happy face of her best friend, Karissa, sitting behind her!




Greg was home today (Columbus Day--a rather useless bank holiday) so I made him go out and put her on the bus. Of course, he took a few photos while he was at it. She loves going to school and started nagging us as soon as Kirk left. She goes an hour later than him, so she gets a little irritated when he leaves the house and she doesn't. At one point this morning, she took off her jammies, put on her shoes, socks and jacket and tried to open the front door. I explained to her that she would be a bit chilly with no pants or shirt, so maybe we should trot up the stairs and do something about it. I guess it made sense because she scrambled up the stairs and went to her bedroom to start her morning ablutions!



School is going well now. She only had the one time out (she did not want to move to a new activity when it was time) and she hasn't walloped anyone lately. This is something that she learned from her brother and his friends. I have pointed out that she will not always be small and one day will be able to do quite a bit of damage to them. They think it is funny, but I am not amused...




She is learning to count objects up to 5, she is learning her colors, and she is starting to speak much more clearly. Greg is certain he heard her say "Where's Karissa?" this morning when they went out to the bus stop. I think she tosses in new words just to make sure we're paying attention to her.


What a strange day...Greg is here, but not really since he is upstairs on his computer and not making any noise. That cats have disappeared, probably upstairs with Greg. Perhaps I will send him an e-mail to get his attention. I could just yell up the stairs, but that would ruin the peaceful silence. Then again, Suzanne gets home in an hour and THAT will destroy the peaceful silence!

SpongeBob

Have you ever seen one of those sponges with advertising that you get at the fair or the home show? The kind that are dry and flat and turn into regular sized sponges when you put a few drops of water on them. They grow before your very eyes and kids love them until they figure out that it only works one time and no amount of mashing with an iron is going to make it work again. Kirk grows like that--right before your very eyes. He's always been the tall kid and his pants never seem to be long enough. Top 95th percentile for height.

And then there is Suzanne... My Precious Peanut. My Little Ray of Sunshine. I'm proud to announce that at the age of 3 years 3 months, Suzanne has now climbed her way into the bottom 20th percentile for height and weight!! She is a whopping 28 1/2 lbs. and 35 inches tall!!

What she lacks in stature, she makes up for in personality...

Yesterday, in the pouring rain, we drove to Lake Oswego to participate in a Buddy Walk. The Buddy Walk was established by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995 to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. It was the first time that we were around a lot of kids with DS and had the opportunity to chat with other parents. In spite of the weather, it was a great day and the kids had fun. These folks know how to throw a barbecue--in addition to hot dogs and burgers, they had a plate of PB&J which totally made Suzanne's day! A girl can stand soggy pants and being trapped in a stroller as long as she's got her PB&J and a bag of chips...

What we discovered is that we aren't the only ones with interesting and frustrating challenges. One family told us about their 8-year old son, Eli, who likes to call 911 operators--a lot. Suzanne has hit the redial a couple of times and called Grandma or Aunt Susan, but she's never actually called a stranger. Makes her poop nuggets seem not so bad.

It was just nice to meet parents with whom we immediately had something in common. Having a child with a disability is very isolating because your friends can't really relate to your struggles. For example, what do you do when your kids get home from school? You ask them how their day went. Unless they are a stinky adolescent, they will probably answer and you can have a conversation. Not so with Suzanne. She doesn't have the ability to answer that question yet, so I was totally in the dark about how school was going for her. Fortunately, I got an idea from another DS parent and we now send her with a notebook so the teacher can write notes about how things are going for her. It gives me a little peace of mind about what is happening while she's away from home.

I hear my little 35 inch whirlwind now...we take bets on what she'll be wearing and I'm betting on shirt but no pants. Kirk has just bellowed down the stairs and indeed, she is wearing no pants. Kirk thought she'd be totally nakey--I win again!