Another Farewell to a Special Friend

When we began our journey into exceptional living we realized very quickly how some incredibly talented and gifted individuals who mean so very much to Ben's progress (and to us as a family) would have to move on due to career opportunities or life changes. I'll have to admit that for us this is one of the downsides of our situation. Our family has been very, very fortunate in that most of the care-givers in Ben's life have been absolutely awesome - in fact going well beyond the expected in helping our son to achieve significant goals. Once again, one of those special to us has moved on with her career.

Dawn Floyd began working with Ben about two years ago. He made a terrific connection with her almost immediately - not only is she blond and a gorgeous lady, she was single at the time! My boy knows how to flirt with the best!

In all seriousness we (he) will truly Miss Dawn. Ben has probably made more therapeutic progress in the past two years with Dawn and his PT Mark than in any other period during his life. And it seemed Ben knew that this would be Dawn's last visit with him at least for now. Message from Ben to Dawn: "Come visit me soon! You know how much I love you!"

Greetings from Kiawah Island

Yeah, I wish I were there too but at the moment I'm spending a few hours vegetating with Ben - resting my weary bones from the busy weekend at Duluth, Georgia's Fall Festival. Despite having part of Saturday rained out the rest of the weekend was an overall success. And thanks to my dear friends, artists, and hosts - Cher & Rick Austin - I was able to save lodging expenses while enjoying the relaxation of their incredible home. I'm also happy to report that no fire ants were seen (except for the few that traveled with me in my van who met their untimely demise shortly after it was unloaded).

So as you go about your Monday activities enjoy these photographs sent to my mother last week via her real estate agent. Then close your eyes and rekindle the memories of that trip to the beach or the lake or that special place where you relaxed this past summer. I promise you'll feel better.

Conner & Claire

Before I introduce you to these amazing siblings let me encourage you to pass this along in any way, shape or form. My hope is that this blog post goes viral like no other that I've posted. Conner & Claire's parents are dear friends of mine from college days.

Via Facebook we have been reacquainted after many years apart. It was simply amazing to discover how similar our families' journeys after the births of our second children. Lynne (mom) and I often talk about how amazingly mature our eldest became due to the circumstances of their younger siblings.

Conner is once again leading the charge to raise awareness but more importantly money by participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk. At the end of this entry you'll find a direct link to donate money on Claire's behalf. I think you'll be amazed at the determination, strength, and most importantly the love within this family!

The following is just part of their story but I would encourage you to read this first.

Lynne: "Claire is a Leukemia survivor and while that is not all she is, it is a big part of what has defined who she has become. She was eighteen months old when she was diagnosed with her cancer and underwent 2 ½ years of chemotherapy.She never saw it as anything but normal and she will tell you today that she would rather have an IV than a strep test. While she has survived the Leukemia we are always watching to make sure that the long-term side effects of such intensive treatment do not appear.

Just how far have we come? We walked for the first time in the fall of 2000. There were 5 people on our team and Conner set a fund-raising goal of 500 dollars. He raised over 1,300 that year.

In 2001 he began to attend the planning and logistics meetings...as a committee member. In 2002 he began to challenge some of the corporate teams and won. He still challenges and beats most of them. He also began to run the Coke wagon for the walk, no small task for a child of 8.

At the 2004 walk we had thunder and rain but every registered member of our team showed up to walk. In 2005 we thought the weather could not be worse than the previous year but it was. Yet the film crew that makes the national promotional videos came and taped our team for the official 2006 video used nationwide. That year he also publicly challenged the number 2 corporate team saying our team of friends and family could raise more money than their corporation. And we did.

In 2007 the walk site moved and the walk itself was held so early in the evening that the illuminated balloons did not show up, it was still light out. So Conner started an e-mail campaign and got our walk time moved back so we could walk again at dusk. In 2008 we again were the number one team both in funds raised and walkers. Of the 3,500 people attending and the $300,000 raised our team had over 100 members and raised almost 8,000 dollars."

Over all these years Conner has personally done most of the fund-raising for his team. Now he needs your help to make his last goal a reality. This will be Conner's last year raise funds for the walk. His goal? To be able to say that his team, a small tightly knit group of friends and family, has raised over 100,000 dollars for cancer research. If Conner were to achieve it the accomplishment would take place before this young man, amazing brother, and shining example to other young people has attended his first day of high school!

To reach Conner & Claire's fund-raising page go here.

Information about the national campaign can be found at Light the Night's website.

To find out more about research, the search for a cure, or just to check out facts go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's page.

And Conner, you already have a bunch of folks here South Carolina rooting for you!

You Know I've Always Said Savannah Rocks!

Well if I haven't lately then let me say it once again. Savannah, Georgia ROCKS! Just in case you don't quite notice or have forgotten, the mixed media official artwork used by the Savannah Waterfront Association for next spring's Fine Arts on the river was created by somebody who blogs here quite often. Thanks again Kenny & Felicia!

Click on the image for a closer view.

Rainy Days & Mondays

Once again an apology is due for the length between blog posts. The last three weeks have been incredibly busy! I've just completed the third of seven straight weekends of shows. The first two were absolutely fantastic - the third which took place here in my home town? Not so much. More about that later.

Ben has been fairly healthy for the most part. Most of his issues have been lung related due to the arrival of hay fever season. Although there are longer more difficult to pronounce names for his breathing problems it is simple enough to say Ben is asthmatic. So to combat the sniffles and sneezes we administer more nebulizer treatments.

Along with the seasonal allergy issues our nursing has been rather sporadic at times over the past month. that leaves me covering those days that we don't have someone to care for Ben...which cuts into my studio time...which ultimately puts me behind painting canvases. Fortunately my most despised nemesis at our nursing provider has left that agency while one of our most favorite care-givers in Ben's life has taken the position! Things are finally getting back to somewhat normal.

Both of our kids have returned to school. In fact Jessie has been back almost a month now and I have to say we are once again pleased with her work habits and attitude. This has paid off in her and a few more of her classmates getting the opportunity to take the ACT and SAT tests this year - in the seventh grade! I have no idea where she inherited her gift of learning from but we are just thrilled that she has it. As we like to say around here, "You go girl!"

So while I continue to dry out from this past weekend's show have as good a Monday as possible. I'll be back tomorrow to discuss how rain, fire ants, and art don't mix. Also look forward to reading about another amazing sibling duo, the son and daughter of a wonderful couple I know from college days. I promise it'll be worth your time to learn about Conner & Claire.

The Question

To Facebook or not to? It's a question of Shakespearean proportions with a resolution that only Ophelia might appreciate. Moi, deleting my Facebook account? It just might happen. I blame it on my friend Lynne. She's the one who got me thinking all Hamlet-like today.

You see we're sort of on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Lynne would say that I'm "liberal" while I would argue that I'm just realistic. I would call her "conservative" while she'd say she is just sensible. In reality I'd like to believe our bureaucratic clocks are just set to 10 and 2 which between the two of us are good times to share a Dr. Pepper and talk about life, love, camping, flaming thongs and whatnot. Most recently those conversations have revolved around more tragic themes like health-care, the economy, and the state of the nation. While dialogue is generally a good thing, Lynne and I have both recently noticed that whatever discussions popping up around many of our friends' status updates that involve politics have grown increasingly bitter and angry. And while those emotions aren't necessarily always bad the tendency toward violent reactions has definitely become quite disturbing. Now that genuinely is bad thing no matter how you analyze or interpret it.

I hand it to Lynne for being cool-headed enough to make a stand today. As much as I know how difficult it is for her she pledged to the best of her ability to refrain from initiating or responding or replying in any way, shape, or form to politcal discussions on Facebook. I snickered to myself.

But after a heated verbal exchange I was involved in this evening based on an article from (go ahead and laugh) the New York Post I'm no longer giggling under my breath. My dear friend has a valid point. In her words: "There is enough anger in the world, I don't need it in my life." Amen and amen.

The Facebook experience used to fun. I truly enjoyed catching up with old friends and keeping up with those I only get to see a few times a year. Getting to see pictures of children I have only heard about is still a real treat. Reading the quick blurbs of folks going about their daily lives can range from the remarkable to downright hilarious. That was the charm and hook of the original FB participation.

But some time within the past year things have changed and changed for the worse. Posts have increasingly become a cheer-leading opportunity for one's own political agenda. We can all blame some one or some thing. The economy, my guy got elected and yours didn't, the President will indoctrinate our kids, attend our Tea Party, no socialized health-care, and on and on and on.

Let's face it, by continuing to prop up our own religious politico beliefs in such a profound way on a website intended to build social communities we are actually doing the opposite of why joined in the first place. Ultimately we are alienating those that we love and care about because we are expressing things we probably wouldn't dare be chatting about were we sitting down with a cup of coffee trading the latest vacation pictures. Deep down we all have to realize that by plastering the latest media story on our pages only those that we already know have like beliefs are going to respond like we want them - you are not going to change those deep down heartfelt personal convictions of those that disagree with you. All you are realistically going to do is piss somebody off that you love and care about.

So I have taken my friend's pledge to heart and I am now vowing to to the same. I will try and do my best to refrain from responding to any political post from here on out. And I absolutely refuse to update my status with anything likewise because I really, really miss Lynne hijacking my inane threads.

Call us the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Facebook. We maybe unimportant in the large scheme of things but perhaps together we'll get a good message across regardless. And thanks Lynne for leading the way.

Labor of Love Day

It's that time of the month again (no not that one). Me and Ben hang out with our friends over at Hopeful Parents on the 7th of each month. This month's post is directly from Ben! Okay, I may have helped a little.

We hope you visit Hopeful Parents not just on the day we write but as often as possible. The site is quickly growing into a wonderful community of folks who have a compassion for exceptional children and loved ones. Even if you are just a casual reader here you absolutely belong to our larger "neighborhood" so I encourage you to head over there and join! You'll find links to our Facebook and Twitter pages plus a brand new forum where you can participate in discussions or ask questions related to our site.

Also I apologize for the late post today but I just rolled into town from Labor Day Weekend on the River in Savannah, Georgia. If you follow us on Facebook then you'll already know that my birthday on Saturday was highlighted by having one of my best day of sales in a long time! I'll be writing more about that tomorrow. See you then!

A Phone Call to MeMa

We had one of those special weekends a few days ago - the kind which you just don't want it to end. This despite hosting two of Jessie's 12-year-old BFFs on a sleepover. This despite spending an afternoon in the local indoor air-conditioned mall (I despise malls). This despite having to watch the movie Coraline three times within a 24 hour period (I love that something really weird happened to Tim Burton in his childhood).

Perhaps it was knowing that starting this weekend I won't have another weekend off until early November. Maybe it's because we know the summer of 2009 is winding down and we want to make the most of these last few weeks. Also it was a definite pleasure to have a surprise visit from one of my brothers. Most likely it's that Ben has been absolutely wild lately, making incredible progress in therapies and just loving life.

Both our children are growing fast and furious at the moment. Having a fun three days like we did allows us to take one of those rare snapshots and enjoy the pause between the episodes of life. In fact I wanted to post these thoughts Monday but have been too bummed to share them! Even for me it always seems that it's easiest to hear those grinding gears moving the circle of life on the first day of the week.

Enjoy Ben's conversation with his grandmother - it's mostly one-sided.