Let There be Light, Comin' Up on Forty, and Trying Something For the First Time

Hi,

It feels like forever since I've been on here. I've got more time on my hands but I'm sure filling it up fast!

 

Beth's and Sharaya's birthdays are in a couple of weeks so we've been working on that. They're two years apart but Sharaya's is October 6th, and Beth's is the 10th. Beth turns 40 (!!) so we've got a few surprises planned.

I've been making my own greeting cards for many years and for the first time ever I'm going to try selling them. Our church has been hosting a holiday market every October and that's also coming up in a couple of weeks. It's a lot different making them for fun, vs needing a certain amount and having a deadline. I've reserved a little 6' table at the market and I'm trying to figure out how to fill it up. Many of the sellers have two-to-three times that much. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and got some fall flower arrangements that match my cards (sunflowers, etc.) and little boxes to display the cards. I'm excited, and nervous at the same time.

 

When Beth isn't at work or bowling or church... she sits at her desk, watches TV and draws. She has stencils and draws the alphabet over and over. It's a common thing among people who have Down Syndrome. Not necessarily drawing, but things with repetition. That's why the same schedule each day works best for them, rather than constant change. Beth is right-handed and her ceiling light is on her right, so she wears a light, like a miners light on her head. Hers is attached to a soft headband. Well I have a lamp at work that I thought she might like, it's got a USB port where she can charge her phone. And it can sit on her left so her right hand won't block the light while she writes. She chose the pink one of course and it arrived the other day.

So far she loves it. I hope it works for her. New things are sometimes hard for her to accept into her already set routines.

I should get started on my day. Even though it's already noon on a Saturday. I'm tellin' ya the days are absolutely flying by! I hope you have a great weekend!

I Think the Crows Read My Blog

Beth had another dentist appointment this week. She's got to have a total of 3 root canals plus a crown. This was her second visit for all of this work and I'm nervous for her, but she's perfectly fine with it. The endodontist keeps talking about how good she is as a patient. We got there early and she fell asleep in the waiting room.

 

I made a few more greeting cards. I really love doing this, it takes me out of my routine and I get to be creative. It really is therapeutic.

In my last post I wrote about how the crows were dive bombing this poor hawk. I really think the crows are the bullies of the bird world! Well, Beth and I ran some errands after her dentist appointment and a crow pooped on me!! We were walking out of Safeway and had just cleared the roof when... splat!! It was like he was waiting for me! And it's a brand new sweater, the first time I'd ever worn it!

 

I cleaned it with cold water before throwing it in the wash. Thankfully it all came out and it looks like new again. 

Have you ever had a bird poop on you?

What do you do to relax or get out of a rut?

"When This Be Over?"

That's the question Beth has been asking every couple of days lately. We've talked about the virus and how it's making so many people sick. I've demonstrated how when we cough and don't cover our mouths our germs can land on people and things. And that's how people are getting sick. I'm trying to make it simple enough for her to understand without talking to her like she's six.

She misses her friends and asks when she can see them again. I've shown her pictures of them on-line and she'll read some of their posts. Her and Nick text a little but he is SO social, it's hard for her to keep up with him. She enjoys being by herself. 

It's the routine she misses the most.

She doesn't understand the whole streaming thing. We watch our church services on-line and I've pointed to the empty choir loft and told her that no one's there because they're at their own homes watching it on their TV's like we are. She sees it's empty but you can tell she just doesn't quite get it.

When our pastor mentions "...all of you watching from your dining room table or your couch..." she is truly shocked like, "How does he know where we are?"

For years I've written notes for her to do chores around the house: empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, vacuum, etc. and I'm still occasionally doing that but I will admit I've thrown my own routine right out the window and I'm sure that hasn't helped her.

And on Saturday Chuck went back to the hospital. He passed out at home and I called 911. He ended up having a blood transfusion, a CT scan, was seen by a GI specialist... he spent 2 days there and it was all caused by a blocked colon. Just one more thing to upset the routine of life.

 

"When this be over?"  

Guess Where We Were?!?

I'll give you a hint: it's Monday!!!

Yes!! We were at the grocery store!!!

 

 

My life is just too exciting.

Wow. I'm humbled and overwhelmed at your comments on my last post. I truly thought I was 'preaching to the choir' all these years. Thank you all for reading! I feel so loved! :)


Beth and I went shopping today. The first of every month she gets SSI (supplemental income) from the state. It's deposited directly into her account but it immediately begins to burn a hole in her pocket! On Tuesday she reminded me to flip my calendar. Then she asked if we could go shopping. We've been busy all week so I told her we'd go today. When I asked her where she wanted to go she said, "Bartells, Fred Meyer and Target."

So I asked her what she planned to buy and she said her CD player wasn't working. She has an ipod but prefers her CD player. So we started at Freddy's and she found one right away. We then went to Bartells for batteries.

They had batteries at Fred Meyer but she knows right where they are at Bartells. She likes routine, consistency and things that are familiar. It's hard for her to buy new shoes or new clothes for that very reason.


I fixed everyone some hot tea a little while ago and when I brought hers downstairs, she looked up at me and pointed to her new CD player, "It's working!" Ahhh, things are right in her world again. :)