Day Tripping

I went on a field trip with Maggie's class today. We had a great time. Most of the school is taking the California Standardized tests this week, so school is pretty dead for the non standard kids. Ms. Taylor, the teacher, planned to take them on public transportation to The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. As luck would have it, that is only about 6 blocks form here; hence Maggie slept in, skipped the bus trip and we just walked over to meet the other students and the adults assigned to the class at 9:30AM.


The Academy of Sciences is an amazing place (www.calacademy.org),For a few years the place was closed for remodeling/rebuilding. We went through withdrawals while we anxiously awaited the opening of the new one. Now it's bigger and better than ever; there's an aquarium, planetarium, pendulum, rainforest, alligators, snakes, and stuffed wildlife or all types. Right now it's "extreme mammal" month.( I'm not sure if those are mammals who ride mountain bikes or what exactly.) Because we live so close, we always buy a membership. .

With my membership I am allowed to bring in a couple of guests; another person had a membership too, so almost no one had to pay today. That worked out well.

The displays are amazing floor to ceiling tanks. The penguins were especially rambunctious and kept coming right up to the window where Maggie and Juan were standing. There were lots of other kids there too, but three or four penguins were hanging around only these two. Check out the picture. It looks like the kids can touch the penquin, but there's about five inches of glass between them. We were joking that the penguins were interested in the wheelchair and Maggie's communication device because it was something different and interesting for them.

The kids were split into teams and assigned a list of things to find. We knocked off the albino alligator, whale skeleton, and penguins and pendulum in nothing flat. The butterflies required a trek through the rain forest - and you're not allowed to leave until you're checked for hitchhiking butterflies. The rest of the items, seahorses, the tidepool and the anaconda were down in the aquarium.

Maggie's favorite thing were the two interactive simulations of being squeezed by an anaconda and being shocked by an electric eel.

Maybe Maggie is the extreme mammal they're featuring.

Hob Nobbing

Today is Arbor Day. The City of San Francisco is committed to increasing the number of trees in this city and, over the past five years has planted over 25,000 new mature trees. Today a tree planting was being dedicated to Dr. Ellen Wolff who was a champion for disabled and under served children in San Francisco for many years. California Children's services asked if a few kids could come down for the dedication.

It was done rather last minute so it was too late to organize a field trip and arrange for transportation etc. The teacher asked if I would bring maggie down to the ceremony and I agreed. He was going with another student but the nurse could not leave the school with Maggie because she has another patient who needs her. I said sure, I can be the nurse and bring Maggie down there.

We were surprised to see San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom there. He came over to greet Maggie and Yu Tao, her classmate and agreed to pose for a picture with them. I snapped this, but sadly I cut off the teacher's head trying to get my cell phone camera to work.

Maggie took part in the ceremony and shoveled dirt into the hole where the tree was planted. She got some help from Mr. B, the teacher.

Maggie was unfazed by the Mayor, but she likes shoveling the dirt. Hmmm, Maybe she is ready for politics.

Field trips and plugs

Today is another field trip for Maggie’s class. They are heading to Chinatown to shop in the outdoor bazaar and then have lunch in one of the restaurants. Maggie will not be able to eat the food; she cannot take anything by mouth everything is through the tube. You might think this is sad for her, but it is not. Maggie loves going into restaurants. The hustle and bustle, and the noise are hugely entertaining. If, by chance, someone drops something: BONUS! Maggie will jump at the loud noise, wait a moment to process it and then start laughing.

It is a good thing she likes restaurants because the class may have to spend most of their day inside. It is raining pretty hard right now, so the outdoor bazaar may be a bust. Too bad, I think Maggie was planning to shop for my birthday present there. I am not sure if I can survive the day without one of the cool drums to ward off evil spirits from last year.

This is the end of the Chinese New Year celebration that started two weeks ago. The big parade is tomorrow night. We may go for a little while if it is not raining. The problem is the firecrackers. Those will freak Maggie out. Some sounds are good, other are not. I cannot explain it, but I can predict it.

Picture a little baby startling at the slightest noise. That is Maggie, and many other kids with cerebral palsy. It is just a reflex that many of us outgrow, but some do not. I think part of it is the time to process the noise. Firecrackers are too rapid fire; there is no time in between to decide if this noise is ok or not. Maggie also likely takes her cues from the reactions of others and if folks are wincing and covering their ears, she will freak out a little. If, on the other hand, everyone looks surprised and happy, she will laugh. She wants to please, but if it really startles her, she gets very frightened and cries. Then it is hard to calm her down. That is no good.

I plan to head to Chinatown to join the class later. The teacher always invites me along on field trips and I go when I can. Today is my birthday, so I can do anything I want. I think I will walk in the rain with Maggie and her classmates. The hubby works downtown not too far from Chinatown. He may walk over and join us for lunch too. We will turn a rainy Friday into a celebration.

Other news: Two plugs

I was interviewed recently by a website entitled 5 Minutes for Special Needs. (www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com) the interview runs on Sunday Feb 8th. Check it out. I did not know about this website until they contacted me, but I have visited a lot since then. Several parents facing challenges like mine author the website. There is a lot of good information and insight over there.

Tomorrow night is the 60th Anniversary Gala for the Blind Babies Foundation. This wonderful organization helped Maggie and me in her early years. It will always have a special place in my heart. The local news did a story on it the other night, which is here http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=6639850
Check it out. The woman in the video is Jeri Hart. She was Maggie’s home counselor too. She was the very first person in Maggie’s life who looked at Maggie for what she could DO instead of what she could not. Jeri instilled this attitude in me. Maggie can do anything she wants.
I am eternally thankful for that.

Have a good weekend all.