Blogged by Ben

Hello my friends! I can't begin to tell you how much fun I'm having these days. I don't like Dad being gone so much but Mom and Jessie keep me busy when he's away. The good news is that we all get to go with him this weekend! Dad is going to let me hang out with him to raise awareness about exceptional kids and promote our paintings together! This will be the first weekend we have together in a month.

Today was awesome. We went for a doctor's check-up and stopped at the art store on the way home. Miss Lisa let me help her pick out paints for her! She kept choosing stuff on the shelves in front of me. I wanted to see the good stuff they try to keep out of my range.

The best thing that happened was that one of the nurses that took care of me way back in the early days of my life came by to see me. I was real sleepy when she visited but seeing her made me perk up and talk. Me and Jessie got to tell her all about stuff we are up to. I guess it's time for bed soon. I'll be excited to tell you about our trip to Macon, Georgia early next week!

Lisa asked me which blue paint she should pick.

I spot the good paints!

Yeah! We need yellows and other bright colors like Dad uses!

Man, we've got a lot of paint here.

Shopping wears me out!

From Dad: Nurse Gail and her partner Tracey came by for a visit this evening. I can't begin to tell you how special that visit was for all of us. Gail was there the morning when Ben was three weeks old and we were called to the hospital to say our goodbyes to Ben. For some reason Ben held on to life over the next few critical days. She was also with us the first time Ben ventured into the ocean.

We had not seen or heard from her in awhile because Gail revealed to us that she has MS. It's an affliction that can hit anyone at any moment in one's life. She has traveled a difficult path over the past year. It broke our hearts until we realized she has the same resolve as Ben. This is an another example of how your life can change in a heartbeat and you become one of us. The support systems you have in place and the "insurance" you have become flimsy at best.

At some point you question God. You ask why, as a good person your life becomes a struggle to support family, pay bills, and find ways to manage that comfortable living you're used to. Inevitably the comfort disappears and you wonder where have all those tax dollars you paid into the system been spent. Bitterness sets in when you discover the once middle class citizens of America have been screwed.

I belong to neither party and never will. Each one is supported by interests that concern neither Gail, Ben, Simon, or any other folks that have an interest in our plight. I just hope that continuing to advocate for the weakest of our society like Gail has been doing will at least help us gain our fair share.