One of my favorite things about Down syndrome is meeting others whose lives have been touched by someone they love with Down syndrome. I am approached more often than you'd think by others who want to tell me about their experience with Ds. Sometimes it's a quick encounter like the night we went to Opryland to take the photo for our holiday card last month when a lady (in passing) said to us, "You have an angel too. My uncle is an angel." Sometimes you're approached by the aunt of a little one with Ds to tell you that you have a sweet little group (three families having lunch out) and after a couple of questions, you find out that you know the little girl. Sometimes, the encounters last a little longer and touch a little deeper and make you cry.
This evening my encounter happened between the meat and seafood departments in Publix. An employee approached to say hi to Etta (as they often do, many of them know her name). This was my first encounter with this guy from the meat department, but he talked to Etta and told me about his brother who had Down syndrome. His name was Richard and he passed away a few years ago at the age of 49. The man pulled out a small yellowed photo of his late brother that he kept in his wallet. We stood there in front of the sushi display for a while talking about how Down syndrome made us better people and I cried. I hugged this man, whose name I have aldready forgotten and he hugged me back. A real hug and a kiss on the cheek and a "God Bless You" and I was on my way to pick out a pot roast and some paper towels. But the encounter will be remembered.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Alabama Christmas
Kick back, cause I'm pretty sure this post SHOULD be written in several parts to break it up, but I'm going to write one big post!
We got to Headland around 5:00 on Wednesday evening after a long day of travel. It was good to be home. About an hour after we arrived my step-brother, Adam, arrived. He's been in South Dakota and wasn't SUPPOSED to arrive for another day and a half. It was an emotional reunion for Adam and Bill (and the next day with his kids, but I wasn't there to capture that moment).
It was good to see him. We put Etta in bed around 8:00 and then we hung out for a while before we went to bed too. I guess we should have gone to bed when Etta did because she had me up at 4:00 the next morning. Seriously! 4:00!!! Around 5:45, I somehow convinced Keith to get up with her so I could sleep for another hour and a half. Then I got up and we got ready and the three of us went to a little coffee shop on the "downtown" Headland Square to meet up with my friend Lydia (and her hubs Tommy and son Jacob) who was home visiting family. We keep up on facebook, but haven't seen each other since high school. So, it was neat to get a chance to hook up.
Etta wasn't cooperative for photos. Most looked like this:
On Friday morning (Christmas Eve), Etta slept all the way till 4:20! She gave me 20 extra minutes!! This time, I put her in bed with us and an hour later, she was asleep again. Keith barely noticed any of this, of course. She let us sleep until about 6:20 and Keith got up with her while I slept for a bit longer. I eventually dragged my butt out of bed and into the shower so we could head to the mall. No, I'm REALLY not crazy enough to go shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve... Every year, we wrap presents for charity on Christmas Eve. The Temple there in Dothan always signs up to man the wrapping station on Christmas Eve so that the Christians can be with their families on that day. When we were done working our shift (plus an hour), mom and I actually did walk around the mall and do a *little* last minute shopping. :)
When we got home that evening we had our traditional "Keith's Christmas Eve Chili" before sending Etta to bed. Keith went to bed shortly after she did, but Santa's Elves were up until about 1:30 wrapping gifts and stuffing stockings and prepping Christmas brunch. Etta woke up around 3:30, but she just needed a diaper change and went back to sleep until a more reasonable hour.
When everyone was up on Christmas morning we let Etta into the room with all of the presents. Santa brought her a REALLY neat baby baby grand piano and a red trike and she got a guitar (thanks Aunt Donna!) and a roll-up piano and a car ramp and lots and lots of other presents! LOTS! E didn't even really notice the trike until later in the morning. She got a couple of Auburn t-shirts and after each one was opened, she would hold it to her chest and lay down on the floor because she wanted to wear it. I also gave her this little make-up kit with brushes and some of my old empty containers and she went to town applying! It was cute.
E finally slept until normal time on Sunday (if I remember correctly? I'm so sleep deprived at this point!). She snuggled in bed with me a little after I got up and then we took a bath together in the big claw foot tub in my parents' bathroom before more guests were set to arrive. (sorry, no photos of me in the bath).
My mom's first cousin Millie and her husband Jim are "snowbirds" from Nebraska who spend their winters in Destin, FL. Their daughter Erin and Erin's daughter Nashiya also came. I had actually never met them until yesterday. They were lovely and I really enjoyed getting to know them! Shortly after Millie and her crew arrived, Tammie, Jeanne, and Nick arrived. Then we feasted on yummy homemade lasagna for lunch. That afternoon, we played a pretty hilarious round of Dirty Santa. Keith was the most entertaining.
Later, Aunt Tammie gave mom a pair of super big glasses and we all took turns trying them on:
Etta liked riding around on the scooter that Kessler got from Santa.
Yesterday morning Etta got up early again.... How early? 3:00! That's THREE AM!! Seriously. She was up and talking and NOT going back to sleep. At 4:00, I put her in bed with us. At 5:30 she fell asleep. At 6:00 she was up again! Keith got up with her and let me sleep until 7:30. Then, we packed up, loaded up, said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 10:00. I had hoped E would take a nap in the car. And she did... for 25 minutes. That's it. She had been up since three and during the entire 7 hour trip, she only slept for 25 minutes! As you can imagine, she passed out when I put her in bed a little before 7:00. I stayed up later than I should have trying to get this blog posted, but it turned into a monster and I just couldn't finish it last night.
I slept like a ROCK! Etta didn't wake me up until 7:30 this morning! Keith claims he heard her in the 5 o'clock hour, but she must have gone back to sleep because I didn't hear her until an hour and a half later. Looking forward to a lazy day at home (sprinkled with a few chores).
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
We got to Headland around 5:00 on Wednesday evening after a long day of travel. It was good to be home. About an hour after we arrived my step-brother, Adam, arrived. He's been in South Dakota and wasn't SUPPOSED to arrive for another day and a half. It was an emotional reunion for Adam and Bill (and the next day with his kids, but I wasn't there to capture that moment).
and this:
That afternoon, while Etta was napping, Keith and I went on a date! It was back to "The Square" to try out a new oyster bar. We were a little skeptical at first, but we pulled up a bar stool and the awesomeness commenced! The oysters were great, the fish sandwich was great and the atmosphere was greatest! The menu had a TON of things on it. None of it was really healthy, but I could have gone back every day for a week and found something new that I'd like to order.
On Friday morning (Christmas Eve), Etta slept all the way till 4:20! She gave me 20 extra minutes!! This time, I put her in bed with us and an hour later, she was asleep again. Keith barely noticed any of this, of course. She let us sleep until about 6:20 and Keith got up with her while I slept for a bit longer. I eventually dragged my butt out of bed and into the shower so we could head to the mall. No, I'm REALLY not crazy enough to go shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve... Every year, we wrap presents for charity on Christmas Eve. The Temple there in Dothan always signs up to man the wrapping station on Christmas Eve so that the Christians can be with their families on that day. When we were done working our shift (plus an hour), mom and I actually did walk around the mall and do a *little* last minute shopping. :)
Mom and Pops and I with Rabbi Lynne
When we got home that evening we had our traditional "Keith's Christmas Eve Chili" before sending Etta to bed. Keith went to bed shortly after she did, but Santa's Elves were up until about 1:30 wrapping gifts and stuffing stockings and prepping Christmas brunch. Etta woke up around 3:30, but she just needed a diaper change and went back to sleep until a more reasonable hour.
When everyone was up on Christmas morning we let Etta into the room with all of the presents. Santa brought her a REALLY neat baby baby grand piano and a red trike and she got a guitar (thanks Aunt Donna!) and a roll-up piano and a car ramp and lots and lots of other presents! LOTS! E didn't even really notice the trike until later in the morning. She got a couple of Auburn t-shirts and after each one was opened, she would hold it to her chest and lay down on the floor because she wanted to wear it. I also gave her this little make-up kit with brushes and some of my old empty containers and she went to town applying! It was cute.
E finally slept until normal time on Sunday (if I remember correctly? I'm so sleep deprived at this point!). She snuggled in bed with me a little after I got up and then we took a bath together in the big claw foot tub in my parents' bathroom before more guests were set to arrive. (sorry, no photos of me in the bath).
My mom's first cousin Millie and her husband Jim are "snowbirds" from Nebraska who spend their winters in Destin, FL. Their daughter Erin and Erin's daughter Nashiya also came. I had actually never met them until yesterday. They were lovely and I really enjoyed getting to know them! Shortly after Millie and her crew arrived, Tammie, Jeanne, and Nick arrived. Then we feasted on yummy homemade lasagna for lunch. That afternoon, we played a pretty hilarious round of Dirty Santa. Keith was the most entertaining.
Later, Aunt Tammie gave mom a pair of super big glasses and we all took turns trying them on:
Etta liked riding around on the scooter that Kessler got from Santa.
I slept like a ROCK! Etta didn't wake me up until 7:30 this morning! Keith claims he heard her in the 5 o'clock hour, but she must have gone back to sleep because I didn't hear her until an hour and a half later. Looking forward to a lazy day at home (sprinkled with a few chores).
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wenzler Christmas
We've been busy busy busy around here! On Sunday I spent the whole morning making treats for Etta's teachers/therapists and our neighbors. Then, in the afternoon we went to Keith's parents' house in Nashville to celebrate Christmas with his family. We had some good food and then we let Etta open her gifts before the adults did a Dirty Santa gift exchange.
There came a point where Etta was ready to GO. haha. She went over to the door and signed "go" and "car".
And so, we went car.
Thanks for hosting a great Christmas party Mel and Rick!
When we got home, I got back to work finishing up the treats for the therapists. By the time I got to bed, I was exhausted!
*I'm going to tag a little extra on the end of this post cause it was cute and blog worthy*
Yesterday Keith met us for lunch (as we do most Mondays). We went to a Mexican restaurant because we love it and because Etta loves it. She always loves the chips and likes beans and cheese and meat and rice all mixed up. So, what was new about yesterday is that I let her have salsa. It wasn't spicy and I thought she might like it. Of course our Mini liked salsa! So, I pushed the bowl closer to her and she started dipping her chip between bites. So cute!
E had fun opening her gifts, I didn't manage to get the shot, but she made the best face when she discovered the riding toy that was wrapped under a piece of cloth. She hopped on and took off down the hall. So cute!
"bye bye" Grandmomma. She took off down the hall after saying bye bye to most of the room.
She's learning to blow kisses. She gets the hand motion part, but we're working on the actual blowing. She's doing it here. ;)
Etta got a duster from Granny Z and she immediately got to cleaning!
"go"
"car"
And so, we went car.
Thanks for hosting a great Christmas party Mel and Rick!
When we got home, I got back to work finishing up the treats for the therapists. By the time I got to bed, I was exhausted!
*I'm going to tag a little extra on the end of this post cause it was cute and blog worthy*
Yesterday Keith met us for lunch (as we do most Mondays). We went to a Mexican restaurant because we love it and because Etta loves it. She always loves the chips and likes beans and cheese and meat and rice all mixed up. So, what was new about yesterday is that I let her have salsa. It wasn't spicy and I thought she might like it. Of course our Mini liked salsa! So, I pushed the bowl closer to her and she started dipping her chip between bites. So cute!
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