The Answer is NO

It was great to have Tim home for the weekend. Maggie was thrilled when she got off the bus on Friday and he was there. He brought her upstairs on the elevator and she just beamed at him.

We did not see him much, of course. Both nights he was out on the town. He did hang out with Maggie as much as possible, though. We walked over to the brand new California Academy of Sciences on Saturday. It was a ZOO. We went into the aquarium and could not maneuver the wheelchair because of the crowds. It is very cool but Maggie was freaking out with all the people so we just turned around and left. Good thing we are members and the admission price was not an issue. We just walked around Golden Gate Park.

As we headed for home, Maggie started signing NO! Quite emphatically. Her sign for No is putting her hand down into her lap or onto her wheelchair tray if it’s there. She has only recently started using it to initiate communication. I did not really realize that until I translated for Tim. He has only been gone two months, so this is pretty new. Maggie has been able to answer a question with her Yes! And NO! for a long time, but initiating the communication is a different matter. She started slamming her arm down into her lap. We were waiting to cross the street that takes us out of the park and Maggie was saying No! No! No!

Tim said, “Maggie what are you doing?" I said she doesn’t want to leave the park. She doesn’t want to go home. Is that right Maggie? Yes! Yes! Too bad girlie, we have to get home and feed you. She looked glum and when we turned onto our street, she started again. Tim was laughing at her and that made Maggie laugh too.

In other news, I am taking off this morning and will not be back for maybe 30 hours! Eek! I am leaving Maggie with Dad and heading off with my high school friends over night. There will be a thousand laughs about stupid things. I’m looking forward to it.

See you Tuesday!