Happy Halloween: There are 800,000 households out of power in the State of Connecticut. Our daughter’s CRS is amongst them as well as her folks’ abode. Her bro is blessed to live in his “rabbit hole” in NYC, stocked full of power and all the carrots he can eat. The second power outage since the […]
Archives for October 2011
Ringworm! 10-28-11
Really? I stopped by our daughter’s apartment yesterday afternoon to drop off some Halloween costume options and a bunch of winter wear, only to find out that her first day as an official ROAR volunteer, scheduled for today, had been cancelled due to cases of ringworm found among the animals. How Ironic: Apparently our daughter handled […]
Pulling Back? 10-27-11
I Wonder: Is the new season of Special Needs Adult Living upon us? Is it time for me to pull back a bit? I would like to think so. The vigilance of the last almost three months since the ladies moved into their apartment (August 1) is time-consuming and my extensive email correspondence with the […]
Two Moms Celebrate: 10-26-11
“A Celebration of Ability”: As planned, my husband and I met up after work at the Ability Beyond Disability annual meeting last night, aptly named “A Celebration of Ability.” Neither our daughter nor her apartment-mate attended, though there was an exhibit of their CRS (Continuous Residential Supports) replete with photos of the ladies. But it […]
We’re Getting There: 10-25-11
Patches: Our daughter’s patchwork quilt of an adult future is almost complete. Not a forever kind of complete, for life is always in motion and motion means change. But the last big patch to make up the initial assemblage is that vocational piece and this Friday, our daughter’s first day at ROAR, heralds the successful […]
Giardia and Feral Cats: 10-24-11
Smart Girl: I caught up with our daughter at last when she called me yesterday around 2:30 P.M. as I was on route with my son to help him move into his new apartment/closet on 15th Street in N.Y.C. The young lady surfaced at last to give me her view of her tour of ROAR, […]
Sick & Pissed: 10-23-11
Sick & Pissed: My visit to the “infirmary” yesterday revealed a young lady on the red couch, still stuffed up and anxious about her ROAR training, focusing mostly on the new vocational life skills staff person who has to train with her today at 11:00 a.m. I am typing this at 10:58 with the hopes […]
Tender Care: 10-22-11
TLC: Last evening hubby and I stopped by our daughter’s apartment after work to deliver her Vogue Magazine, The Quarterboard, Riverview School’s newsletter which included a photo of our daughter, and her Mucinex D. The young lady was watching the movie Julie and Julia, seated on her red couch in her pink Susan G. Komen sweat […]
Spirals Of Anxiety: 10-21-11
Halloween’s Haunt: Every year as the leaves drop and front lawns are bedecked with spider webs, dangling sheeted ghostly figures, and wondrous ghastly creatures, our daughter gets sick. By Halloween night or a few days later on her birthday, she is either on Zithromax (yes we have tried the naturopathic route) or at least Mucinex […]
No Answer, Not Much: 10-20-11
No Answer: I am not sure what activities were scheduled for our daughter’s vocational day today as neither she nor any of her staff have answered my calls. By next week I am hopeful that both placements, ROAR and Ridgefield Crossings will be in place. I know that her ROAR training is scheduled for this Sunday. […]
A Magical Combination & A Swimming Buddy: 10-19-11
Angelfish Rocks: Our daughter apparently had a mighty fine time at her first full-fledged Angelfish swim lesson last evening. Her ABD staff told me she worked well with her new swim buddy, a young gentleman of similar age who welcomed companionship in the pool. I am thrilled. They did laps and jumping jacks and whatever […]
Angelfish: 10-18-11
Swim Lesson At Last: Tonight our daughter will have her first semi-private swim lesson with Angelfish, and Cindy Freedman, the talented occupational therapist who welcomed our daughter as a volunteer last Spring. Cindy’s talents are known far and wide. My fingers are crossed that our daughter will allow the Angelfish magic to take hold, and […]
Love Her For Who She Is: 10-17-11
Ronan: I had an idea for today’s post but dropped it this morning when I read Emily Rapp’s piece in Sunday’s New York Times, Notes From A Dragon Mom, about her son Ronan, eighteen months old, who has Tay-Sachs Disease. The article is painful, so I am not suggesting it to readers without a useful motive. […]
Full Circle: 10-16-11
Off To Take Her Home: We just had a marvelous evening. Our daughter and son spent a cozy Fall dinner in our home with two of our dear friends whom they have not been with since they were little children. The wife was a classmate of mine in graduate school and remains as dear to […]
More Than One Mother: 10-15-11
Cozy Comfort: Last evening I dropped by our daughter’s apartment to deliver her dog magazine and a Pegasus announcement of a pumpkin-carving party next weekend, and while there, was able to take the pulse on her mood after her “misunderstanding” with a staff member. She looked great, was having popcorn and watching a movie with […]
Trouble In Paradise: 10-14-11
Oh Dear: Our daughter called at 9:03 a.m. today. And then again at 9:06. I was working but when I picked up the message at 10:15, it was something like this: “I am having a water problem.” Well, it has been raining fairly steadily for 24 hours so I assume there is a leak in […]
What, No Cheesecake? 10-13-11
Restaurant Review: Our daughter went out last night with her apartment-mate and family to celebrate the young lady’s birthday, destination Cheesecake Factory. As food is a primary passion for our daughter, I was eager to get the inside track on the meal, especially the cheesecake. I checked in on the young ladies as they were […]
Post-Traumatic Momma; Completing The Quilt: 10-12-11
Sewing It Up: Happily, today I received a call from the ABD vocational director who has finalized the hiring of the missing piece, that vocational staff person whose presence is necessary to complete the quilt of our daughter’s daily adult life. A couple of weeks ago the ladies met her and she now has even […]
Double Negatives and No Plans: 10-11-11
Today’s News: I checked in with our daughter after her DSO (Day Services Option) today to find out how she is feeling. “I’m better.” She had a rough time for a couple of days due to probably just a bouncy ride in the back seat of the staff’s car on windy roads just after eating […]
Join Their World: 10/10/11
100 Years Of Peter Pan: Today’s New York Times Op Ed section had a piece written by Maria Tatar, chairman of Harvard’s folklore and mythology program who reminded us all that this week Wendy and Peter are one hundred years of age. In my opinion, one hundred wonderful years for those of us who fell in […]
Patches Missing In The Quilt: 10-09-11
The Vocational Patch: It is now probably six weeks or so since the vocational life skills staff member abruptly left her post, leaving our daughter with only one volunteer job at The Complete Cat Clinic, a placement I had found for her two years ago. The other possibilities, ROAR, the animal shelter, and the senior residence […]
Sequined Skirt and Silver Shimmer Shirt: 10-08-11
Bundled Day: Today we are bundling Pegasus with mall shopping and Yom Kippur break-fast in NYC. So far, so good. After meeting at riding, my daughter and I went on a mission to purchase party shoes (no small challenge as she needs flats with straps), jeans and cords (equally challenging as she wears petites which […]
Part of The Process, Not The Solution: 10-7-11
Epilogue: Last evening at 9:15 I called my daughter’s cell phone to find out how her SPHERE rehearsal went, and if she felt O.K. about being there. As there was no answer, I called the CRS (Continuous Support Services) apartment phone line, knowing the staff person likely would answer. And she did. Her first words […]
Mom’s Boundaries: 10/06/11
What A Walker Gal: We had a great time in NYC. The show was a hit with our daughter. The star Sutton Foster owned the stage, tap dancer par excellence with vocal chords any aspiring diva would envy. We loved it all. We parked the car thirty blocks from the theater, as the day was […]
A Times Square Gal: 10-05-11
New York, New York: We are heading in to NYC to see “Anything Goes” today. Our daughter and I. We are frequent attendees of the Times Square area, going back to her first Broadway show, which I think was, “Once Upon A Mattress” with Sarah Jessica Parker, (or maybe “The King and I” with Donna […]
Entitlements? Well Maybe Not For Long: 10-04-11
Our Children’s Future: This YouTube video link was sent to me by a dear friend. She posted it on her Facebook page. I did the same. The young lady featured in the video, Kira Fisher, speaks eloquently about her future concerns regarding her struggles with government funding and maintaining a life of self-respect and productivity. […]
Local Forgiveness and “Anything Goes”: 10-03-11
Anything Goes: Our daughter called twice today with scheduling questions. She likes to line up her events, which this week include attending theater on Wednesday to see “Anything Goes”, the 1930’s Cole Porter musical romance. The tickets are a combined graduation and upcoming birthday gift from her aunt. Our daughter loves the show’s leading lady, […]
The Mayor’s Daughter, Some Dogs, A Mini-Melt: 10-02-11
Pissarro’s Family Tree: Yesterday my husband and I visited The Clark Art Institute on the campus of Williams College in Massachusetts. Viewing the Camille Pissarro exhibit, I thought often of our daughter and missed her by my side. She would have been fascinated by works both of his dying daughter and his dying mother; in […]