You are never too old for toys

especially when they make excellent noises

This was a gift for Maggie from our friends Mark and Vicki.  Needless to say, she likes it quite a bit.

 May the simple things in life bring you this much joy in 2014.

Happy New Year.

Who ya gonna call?

I am home alone today. This is not unusual, but for some reason I’m more acutely aware of it than normal. Perhaps because my husband and son are out of town and I didn’t interact with either of them this morning. I got up and did the morning dance to get Maggie out the door and came back to a quiet house.

I am busy. Tim's called three times regarding transcript stuff, and I’m trying to do the tax work for Maggie’s nurses. I have to tally up their hours for 2009 and prepare appropriate forms (with the help of Turbo Tax Home and Business) . I pay them and then get reimbursed from the state. If I don’t have tax forms for them it looks like I have a ton of income from the state, whihch would trigger tax obligations that I don’t owe. This way everything is accounted for just the way Uncle Sam likes it. It’s tedious work, but not difficult.

For some reason I am having trouble concentrating. I keep hearing a noise. First I think it’s just the quiet or the creaking of our old house, or the heater or something. But it keep bugging me. If I lean way over my desk I can see the kitchen sink to see if there is water dripping periodically. Nope. I get up and go to Maggies’ bathroom to see if the shower of sink is dripping. No. Heart sinking, I run upstairs to see if something is leaking up there that might be coming through the wall. Nope. All is cool. What could it be?

It seems to be coming from Maggie’s room. The oxygen tank sometimes hisses, but that is all good. Her cd player is off, as is the space heater the radio and all her medical machines. But I still hear it. I open the top dresser drawer and find the source.No paranormal activity here. Apparently, someone put Maggie’s “roll up keyboard” away in its sack without turning it off. The batteries are all but dead now and it is just making this “click” noise every 20 or 30 seconds.

Blessed relief.

Now it’s too quiet.

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.