Honey, I’m Home!

Hey! I’m officially home from vacation now! We had such a great time! It was so great to get away for a few days. I got to spend some wonderful quality time with my mom before she gets married! We also had tons of fun hanging out with our 3 good friends! We ate oodles of tasty food, went to the beach, did some shopping, and spent some time just being lazy! Woohoo! And now it’s back to reality. I’m okay with that, because I love my normal life just as much as I love vacation! I know, you think I’m crazy. But, it’s true! Life is good no matter where I am!

Food For Thought

Here are some interesting things from my Funny File. Maybe this will give you something to think about while I’m out of town.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

Honk if you love peace and quiet.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

Support bacteria. They’re the only culture some people have.

Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your life.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

Get a new car for your spouse. It’ll be a great trade!

Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.

If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand…

OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

Everyone has a photographic memory; Some just do not have film.

If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.

I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

Fun!

I had a wonderful time with the kids on Wednesday!! They were all great listeners, and they had a lot of really good questions!! I even got to go to one of the third grade classrooms and pet their class bunny rabbit! (His name is Bunny, and he’s soooo soft and sweet!!) I just love spending time with kids! I hope they had fun too! I hope that meeting me helped them to see that people with disabilities aren’t really that different on the inside. I can still do a lot of really cool things, but sometimes I just have to find a different way to do them.

I’m going to be out of town for about a week, and I won’t be able to get online while I’m gone. You can still leave me comments, and I’ll get them when I get home next weekend. I hope you have a fantastic week, and I’ll see you when I get back!

Everybody Counts

I am so excited, because tomorrow morning I get to go speak with the third graders at Willow Creek Elementary! Yay!!! They are doing the Everybody Counts program where they teach the students about different disabilities. Each grade level studies a different one, and I get to be a guest speaker! I think this program is SO AWESOME!! I can hardly wait!!

Jeremy

This post is dedicated to those of you who have been asking to hear more about my brother Jeremy. I hope you enjoy it.

Jeremy was born in August of 1981, and on that particular day, the sun started to shine just a bit brighter than usual. The birds had a new reason to sing, and all the Fraggles stopped what they were doing and danced their cares away. The little baby boy with the head full of black hair inspired such joy that the whole town wanted to join in on the celebration. Jeremy’s first few years of life were full of fun, and he thrived as the only child in a loving household. His parents showered him with love, attention, and apple pie and cheese.

One day, Jeremy learned that he was no longer going to be the only child in the family. His mother was going to have a new baby, and Jeremy would have to share the attention with this new kid on the block. Most children have a difficult time adjusting to a new sibling’s arrival, but because Jeremy was not your average kid, he accepted this new baby with the greatest of ease. As you might have guessed, I (Julie) was this new bundle of joy that entered the family circle. Starting from my very first day on earth, Jeremy covered my face with kisses, and protected me from harm. He gladly shared his parents, his affection, and his micro machines with me. While some people were overwhelmed with my physical challenges, Jeremy was always loving and understanding of my special needs. He pulled me around in his toy dump truck when I was too young to walk, and as I grew up, he patiently taught me about the important things in life. Under his careful instruction, I learned how to play video games, blow the perfect bubble with my gum, and throw a killer knuckle ball. Even though I needed more attention than most kids, Jeremy never showed a hint of jealousy or resentment toward me. He always included me in whatever he was doing, and he shared his life and possessions willingly—even if I didn’t notice or appreciate it.

Jeremy and I enjoyed our time together, while other kids our age hated their siblings and tried to spend as much time apart as possible. Our favorite activity usually involved sitting in front of the TV, soaking in the educational information we found there. We watched together as Clarissa explained it all, Tommy Pickles found out that you can’t get sucked down the drain, and Ren and Stimpy learned why it’s not a good idea to spend time around an electric fence. To this very day, Jeremy and I are continuing to learn valuable lessons from television, such as the dangers of having a George Forman grill sitting next to your bed.

Jeremy has grown up to be a kind-hearted, intelligent and handsome man. In July of 2004, he married his gorgeous and amazing sweetheart Kristin. I am so blessed to have her as a sister, and I’m so glad Jer was lucky enough to find such an incredible woman. In May of 2007, I was thrilled to watch Jeremy and Kristin become parents. Baby Ashlynne is now 8 months old, and I will most likely be devoting an entire blog post to her in the near future! Seeing Jeremy as a father has blown me away. My eyes often fill with tears when I see him with his precious daughter in his big strong arms. I have never seen such an involved, hands-on dad in my entire life. He bathes her, changes diapers, and knows the best way to make her laugh. She loves it when he flies her through the air, and she giggles like crazy when he blows on her little tummy. Kristin is an incredible mother, and when I see the two of them together, I stand in awe of the love they lavish on their baby. She is one lucky girl!!

I am so very proud of my big brother. My life would be empty without him. I am thankful for every moment I spend with him, everything he does to help me, and every life experience we have shared together.

I love you, man.

Today’s Tip

For the next ten minutes or so, concentrate on smiling. It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what’s going on in your life at the moment. Just focus on the beautiful, radiant smile on your face. Think about one thing that brings you joy, and let all the other things fade away. Do you feel better now?
“A smile is a curve that can set a lot of things straight.”

Life Is Good

American Idol is back!! Ah, yes. All is right with the world again.

Falling In Love

I have a new man in my life, and his name is Max. Okay, so he’s not really a man, he’s a cat.

“I’m a dog person.” I used to say that all the time. I absolutely love dogs! I prefer small dogs to big ones, because bigger dogs can usually knock me to the floor with a flick of their tail. I love the little puppies that snuggle in your lap, lick your hand and run to meet you with enthusiasm when you come home. I especially love doggie sneezes! Furry, four-legged K9 friends make my heart go pitter patter. I had a Toy Poodle named JJ from the time I was 5 years old until she died 15 years later. She was my best friend and stuck by me for all of those years. She was such a sweet, lovable dog, and after she took her trip to Doggie Heaven, I was very lonely without her. I’ve wanted to get another furry friend like her, but for one reason or another, it just hasn’t worked out.

When my mom started dating Rob, we found out that he has a cat. I’ve never really loved cats. But to be fair, I’ve never had one or spent tons of time around them. I’ve always thought they were too aloof, and not very friendly. “Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.” When my mom and Rob got engaged in October, we decided to let the cat move in with Mom and me for a while to see how we got along with him. The apartment that Rob moved into doesn’t allow pets, so he needed a place for Max to live. We figured it would be a good idea to have a trial run before the wedding, because if Max didn’t like us, we would need to figure out what to do. I was kind of reluctant at first, but I decided to give it a chance.

Max has been living with Mom and me since October, and I confess that I really like him. There were a lot of adjustments for both of us, but now that we’ve settled into a new routine, things have been going great. It took him a while to get to know me, but now we’re good friends. I’ve learned how to make him purr, how to get him to meow at me when he’s hungry, and his favorite place to take a nap. He’s so soft, sweet and has a delightful personality! He is always entertaining us with the goofy things he does, like chasing his little ball around the house! The only negative thing so far is that sometimes he decides not to use his litter box, and he’ll make a mess on the floor a few feet away from it. When he does that, we say he “stinks outside the box.” (Do any of you cat owners know why he might be doing that? My mom doesn’t really enjoy cleaning it up!) My favorite thing about Max is that when he’s cold, he loves to cuddle up with me on the couch. He’ll lay right on top of me and purr while I pet his fluffy little head. He’s turning out to be a lovely companion! Who knew?

Max has taught me a valuable lesson: Don’t be afraid to get to know new people or try new things. You might just change your mind about them. I’d like to revise my earlier statement:

“I’m an animal person.”

Eating An Elephant

Have you ever been totally overwhelmed? Sometimes, when I look at a project that I’m working on, it seems like I’m never going to be able to finish it. Looking at the big picture all at once makes me want to throw up my hands in surrender and say, “This job is just too big to be done! I’ll never make it!” The goals we make for ourselves often seem too big to accomplish. Our checklist is a mile long, and who knows how long it will take to finish?

One activity that I enjoy is taking a walk around our neighborhood. As often as the weather allows us to, my mom, future stepdad and I walk together around the block. We all enjoy the fresh air, the greetings from our neighbors, the exercise and the lively conversations the three of us have along the way. (In case you’re wondering, my mom and her fiancé Rob are getting married in February.) We always bring along my wheelchair when we walk, because I usually get tired pretty quickly. My legs are so short that I have a hard time keeping up with average sized people, and sometimes I get joint pain after I walk for too long. So, I always start our journey on foot, but usually about halfway around the block, I start to get tired. I always get overwhelmed when I think about walking all the way around, because it’s a distance of about seven tenths of a mile. That’s a lot of steps for my little feet! My mom is always holding my hand as we walk so she can make sure I don’t trip, and at some point, she usually notices that I’m starting to slow down. At that moment, she looks down and asks me, “Are you getting tired, Julie? Are you ready to ride in your chair?” At the mere thought of being able to rest, I typically say, “Yes, please!” and hop right into my little red wheelchair. Sometimes I try to keep going, but I usually don’t make it much farther than halfway around.

This past weekend, we had the most gorgeous weather at our house! The sun was shining, and the temperatures were in the low seventies. There was a fabulous breeze that made the dry crunchy leaves twirl around on the ground in a funny little dance. We decided to take a walk Sunday evening. I started out walking as usual, and we brought the wheelchair along just in case. We got to the halfway point, and Mom asked her question. “Are you tired yet?” I didn’t feel too tired, so I declined the offer to ride and kept on walking. A few minutes later, she asked again and I gave the same reply. “I’ll walk a little bit more,” I said, not really planning to go much further. She didn’t ask again, and as I became immersed in the conversation we were having, I honestly forgot that I was even walking. When I finally did think about it again, I thought to myself, “Well, I’ll just walk until we get to the next street.” When we got to the next street, I thought, “I’ll go until the next street light.” The street light came and went, and I soon realized that our house was not much farther down the road! I pressed on, silently amazed at my progress! Step by step, I plodded along until…

I collapsed with exhaustion and had to be taken to the Emergency Room!

No, I’m totally kidding! Did I freak you out?

With an incredible feeling of triumph, and with my hands held high above my head in victory, I walked the final steps to our house! I could hardly believe it! I did it! Woohoo!! After the cheering and applause from our neighbors quieted down, I took the microphone offered to me by the reporter and gave my victory speech.

“Friends,” I said, “If you choose, you can learn a valuable lesson from my success today. Things that are worth doing are never easy. It takes hard work, commitment, and determination to conquer the challenges you are facing today. But, if you take it step by step, and divide your big goals into smaller pieces that are easier to handle, you’ll be amazed at your ability to accomplish great things!”

As the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

(This post contains a little over exaggeration. There was actually no applause, microphone, or victory speech.)

Quote of the Day

I have a file on my computer that is dedicated to jokes, creative ideas, and inspirational quotes. I’ll be posting some of them for you to read as time goes by. Here is your first nugget of wisdom:

“Winners forget that they are in a race. They just love to run.” (author unknown)

What does that mean to you?