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 Content Rating Notice: Recommended for Readers 18 Years and Older Only |
| >> Book >> Friendship >> ID #1461643 |   |
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| Skyewriting ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same the angels breathe." ~Mark Twain ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance." ~Thomas Merton ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Why I'm Here~ ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive." ~from Six Degrees of Separation "Writing can be a creative and invigorating way to make our lives available to ourselves...We may discover that the better we tell our stories, the better we will want to live them." ~Henri Nouwen You can also read my poetry at "Invalid Item"  I'm so glad you dropped in! Peace and Blessings  ~Mandy~ |
| 4. Remembering a Remarkable Woman | ID #604272 |
| Posted: 8-28-2008 @ 8:26 pm EDT Edited: 8-30-2008 @ 9:59 pm EDT | |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "You don't have to be a "person of influence" to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me." -Scott Adams My grandmother and I were kindred spirits. Both sensitive Pisces, our birthdays were just two days apart. I was shy and never quite felt like I fit in anywhere...She was the one person who always understood and appreciated me. Unfortunately, she left this world at the young age of 55, just one month shy of my twelfth birthday. She's been gone for nearly thirty years now, but my memories are still vivid. She loved to play games. Scrabble and Yahtzee were her favorites. She was an incredible seamstress and I proudly donned the outfits that she stitched on her antique sewing machine. I had a new table top custom made for her sewing cabinet and it sits right next to my bed. I can look at the pedal any time and visualize her foot working it rythmically. She kept a tin Folger's coffee can full of birdseed and fed her two faithful cardinals each morning. She enjoyed baking and her pecan tassies were the best! She was pear-shaped and I inherited her tendency to carry excess weight in the legs and backside...Thanks a lot, Grandma! She was magic too. Her favorite television show...and mine...was "Little House on the Prairie." She had an old television set and the picture would fade away on occasions. Grandma would raise her leg up in the air, insisting that the picture would return. Before long, we were all sitting around the living room with our legs up in the air and sure enough, the picture returned every time! She always knew how to make me laugh. Growing up with limited means and spending part of her childhood in an orphanage, she didn't learn to swim until she was an adult. Once she did though, she became an avid swimmer. Teaching other adults to swim became her passion and she volunteered for the American Red Cross, donating hundreds of hours of her time. Three months before she lost her battle with cancer, she was awarded a plaque and the city of McKinney, Texas, renamed the local swimming pool "The Juanita Maxfield Aquatic Center." This is probably what she's best remembered for, but I remember something much closer to my heart... I remember how she encouraged me. When I read "The Three Little Kittens" to her at the age of three...Yes, that's correct...She showered me with books. When she saw some of my drawings, I received sketch pads and "How to Draw" books. When I began taking piano lessons, she sat next to me on the bench and we played endless duets together. She was my mentor and my biggest cheerleader. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like today if only we'd had more time.... I encourage anyone who reads this to share your own grandparent memories...or those of anyone who was special and influential in your life. |
| 3. A Labor of Love | ID #603349 |
| Posted: 8-23-2008 @ 9:45 am EDT Edited: 8-24-2008 @ 7:23 am EDT | |
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fragile helpless bodies bright minds eager to speak helping them find their "voice" gives me purpose Since this week marked the beginning of the 2008/09 school year, I thought it would be a good time to elaborate a bit more on my chosen vocation. I don't do what I do so that I can receive heaps of admiration and praise and heaven knows, I certainly don't do it for the money. I've always enjoyed working with children and being a caregiver. I simply love my job and believe in what our team is trying to accomplish. This is my seventh year with the district. Ours is a Severe and Profound classroom. We accommodate students in K-5. This year, we have a staff of three and seven students. We work with several therapists who rotate in and out of our small classroom frequently. Our physical therapist is there faithfully every Monday to work with the children and to bring us delicious home-baked goodies. Our team works very efficiently together...It's a well-oiled machine. Our students all use wheelchairs. Some of them are able to ambulate with support from us or with the use of adaptive equipment. Two of them are able to eat orally. The rest are fed through surgically implanted g-tubes. All of them are completely dependent on us for meeting their physical needs and personal cares. None of them are verbal. They have a broad range of diagnoses. Most have cerebral palsy and seizure disorders, accompanied by other lesser known conditions. Most readers by now, are heartbroken. Let me assure you...We strive to make sure that these kiddos have the best possible quality of life and their smiles indicate that they do. There is heartbreak. Six of the children that I've worked with have passed away...four of them during my first year. I've also worked with children who have suffered permanent traumatic brain injuries...some from illnesses, some from accidents and some at the hands of abusers. These are the children that break my heart and bring out the angry grizzly bear in me...NO ONE has the right to do that to a child! There is frustration. We can work on a goal for years and see little or no progress. We also see our work diminished, as is the case with one of our students right now, they lose skills over the summer because no one has taken the time to work with them. In some cases, they lose skills simply because their conditions are degenerative. We just do the best that we know how. It's physically demanding. Each child has to be repositioned at least every two hours. There is constant lifting and moving involved. We're on our feet all day long and I always have my 10,000 daily steps in by noon. How do people sit at a desk all day long and stay thin? SO not fair! There are monumental moments. One example that comes to mind is a young man in our classroom. I worked with him for months on self-feeding. Each day I would place a spoon in his hand, place mine over his and guide him through the steps to scoop up his food and bring it to his mouth. We'd done this every day with no indication whatsoever that he was making any progress. One day, I placed the spoon in his hand and he took nineteen independent bites without my assistance! Our occupational therapist and I blubbered. It was the equivalent of your child hitting his/her very first home run. I'm happy to report that four years later, he's maintained that skill. It's messy, but he's reached a level of independence that many thought was impossible. There is pride. Our school is very unique. Our students aren't hidden away from the regular ed population. We integrate our students into Music, PE and some homeroom time. There are stares from the Kindergarteners and students new to the district, but the rest of the students regard our special children as a normal part of the classroom. Not only are they accepting, they request opportunities to help out with our students and talk to them in the same manner that they do their other peers. They're genuinely happy to include our students in their activities. Each child in our classroom has independent goals that he/she works on. Perhaps the most important goal is teaching our children to communicate in any way that they can. With communication, you can have choices and with choices, you have a better quality of life. Can you imagine not being able to choose your own outfit for the day or what kind of music you want to listen to? What we do is begin by offering two choices. The student then uses a switch to indicate which activity they want to do. Some students activate a switch with their hand, some with a foot, some by turning their head. Once they've mastered two choices, we have branching programs. Say a student is offered a choice between a book on tape or music. The student chooses music. The branching program would then allow them to choose what type of music they'd like to listen to. Some children never get beyond two choices. However, I've seen some children begin with two choices and by the time they move up to middle school, they're leaving with a device that literally has thousands of communication options. Just because the body is broken, doesn't mean the mind is. Ricky Hoyt is a perfect example. He uses a switch mounted near his head to communicate. As he activates the switch, it moves the cursor on his computer. It took him nine years, but he earned a degree in Special Ed. I'll end with a video about Rick and his dad. It's about ten minutes, so watch when you have some spare time. I hope it offers some insight as to why I love being a para-educator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRvsO8m_KI |
| 2. Not Enough Time on My Hands | ID #602897 |
| Posted: 8-20-2008 @ 8:07 am EDT | |
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each day so much to do time management issues not enough hours in the daytime for me I haven't fallen off the face of the earth yet!  In my first blog, I mentioned that I have two jobs. What was I thinking when I agreed to pick up a few extra hours at job #2?! I worked a shift at day camp on Friday and respite shifts on both Saturday and Sunday. Monday began our first inservice to kick off the 2008/09 school year and the kids return to school tomorrow. To top it off...There's the "Mom" thing. It's been over a week since I posted blog #1 and I have many others to read. My goal is to post at least two entries per week and to be a faithful reader to others as well. I'm hoping to visit a few blogs this evening. Please be patient with me as I figure out this time management thing and settle into a routine. |
| 1. Ten Things About Me | ID #601591 |
| Posted: 8-12-2008 @ 8:17 pm EDT | |
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This is an exercise that several friends participated in on MySpace. The general idea is to post ten facts about yourself so that others can get to know you better. I thought I'd repeat the activity here as a means of introducing myself. To those who already know me, I apologize if this seems redundant. To those friends who are new, please feel free to share a few facts about yourselves...I'm looking forward to getting to know you. |
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