Family

7/18/06

FIA IS A GREAT CHEERLEADER. HER JOB 4 THERAPY IS 2 HOLD A RECORDER (SHE HAS ONLY DONE IT 3X), & I TRY 2 BLOW. IF I MAKE NOISE, SHE CHEERS! SHE LOVES 2 FEED ME & SIT ON MY LAP, WHETHER RIDING/MOVING OR NOT. HER LATEST THING IS 2 OPEN MY CAR DOOR & ACTUALLY TRY 2 LIFT ME OUT OF R CAR! WHEN I STROKED, SHE WAS BARELY 2 YRS. OLD. I OFTEN WONDER ABOUT R BOND, & IF SHE REMEMBERS HER MOM BEFORE HER STROKE. IN MY EDUCATION, I LEARNED HOW VITAL THE 1^ST 5 YRS. OF LIFE R. I WORKED HARD 4 MY OLDER 2, SO IS THAT WHERE FIA HAS DEVELOPED A LOVE 4 READING (FROM HER SIBLINGS)? BUT JESS IS NOT A READER’OH! SHE ‘READS’ 2 ME 2!

WE PLANNED 2 GO 2 SAN ANTONIO WED. (ZOO) & THURS. (THURS. MORNING BREAKFAST W/SHAMU 4 MY FAM., MIKE, & MIKE’S GIRL) & HAVE A HOTEL. NOW MIKE’S TEMPLE ENDOWMENTS R TUES., & MARK HAS LENGTHENED R HOTEL STAY & WE DRIVE DOWN TUES. (TODAY). I WILL BE THERE, THOUGH IT IS HARD. MY FRIEND, EMILY, WENT W/ME LAST TIME, SO I TALKED 2 HER, & SHE LEFT IT IN MY HANDS BUT SAID THINGS THAT RE-ASSURED ME. I GUESS THE SESSION IS AT 6. I’M MIKE’S GIRLFRIEND, LEORA, WILL WATCH MY KIDS’ AT CHUCK-E-CHEESE.

ZACH’S B-DAY

TODAY IS ZACH’S B-DAY. IN 2004 I BLINK SPELLED “HAPPY BIRTHDAY.” IN 2005, I SIGNED IT. MY GOAL WAS 2 SAY IT THIS YEAR. I CAN’T. I CAN SAY A FEW THINGS SLURRED & UNRECOGNIZABLE WHEN I SIGN. I HAVE BETTER CONTROL 2 ATTEMPT 2 SAY STUFF WHEN I WANT, BUT APHASIA USUALLY WINS & I HAVE 2 WAIT 4 “THE RT. BREATH” WHICH STINKS SINCE NOT ANY BREATH WILL DO & I ALREADY HAVE 2 WAIT 4 A BREATH, SINCE I CAN’T SPONTANEOUSLY SPEAK & HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHEN THAT BREATH WILL COME. THERE’S PROGRESS, ESP. MUCH THAT’S UNNOTICED WHERE BREATHING’S CONCERNED, JUST NOT 2 THE DEGREE I’D HOPED.

THE WAY HOME

NOW THAT U HEARD SOME, LET ME SHARE WHAT WE DID ON THE WAY HOME: MON. WE WENT 2 THE AZTEC INDIAN RUINS & 4 CORNERS. TUES. WE WENT 2 THE PETRIFIED FOREST. WED. WE WENT 2 CARLSBAD CAVERNS. ALL WAS SURPRISINGLY ACCESSIBLE, & W/ME, FREE! BAD THING IS, W/ME, EVERY1 SAW LESS-SO THEY WANT 2 GO BACK W/O ME. STILL, JESS WAS SUPER CONCERNED AT THE AZTEC INDIAN RUINS THAT I COULDN’T CLIMB THE LADDERS, SO IT WAS A HUGE RELIEF 2 HER 2 HEAR I WENT IN MY YOUTH!

AT THE AZTEC INDIAN RUINS, 2 GET THERE, MARK HAD 2 TAKE ME ON SOME SUPER STEEP HILLS (A WORKOUT 4 HIM, & SUPER SCARY 4 ME, BUT JESS & FIA WERE ON MY LAP & AS WE ROUNDED EACH CORNER & APPEARED WE’D GO OVER A CLIFF, I SAW LESS & HEARD JESS FREAK OUT 4 ME, SO I COULD BE BRAVER -BUT IT WAS SCARY & I WAS GLAD I TRUSTED MARK SO MUCH)!

SO HOW DO I CELEBRATE JULY 4TH? WELL, MY CHAIR & ME WEIGH 300 IBS., SO MARK EMPTIES A BOX OF POPS ON THE GROUND, & I TAKE SEVERAL SWIPES 2 ROLL OVER THEM, UNTIL ALL SEEM POPPED. THEN THE KIDS & I WATCHED THEIR PYRO UNCLE & DAD LIGHT AMAZING FIREWORKS (WE WERE EXPECTING A FEW, WHICH WAS AN UPGRADE FROM LAST YEAR–WHATEVER)!

VACATION

ON 6/21-28 WE DROVE 2 UTAH, SPENT 3 DAYS, THEN WENT BACK 2 AUSTIN, TX. ABOUT A DRIVE VS. FLY-I ONLY LASTED THAT LONG IN UTAH-& 1 WEEK INCLUDED DRIVE TIME-BECAUSE I HAD COMPUTER & A LARGE SCREEN TV. DRIVING SUCKS THAT IT’S SLOWER, BUT IT’S WAY BETTER THAN FLYING 4 ME. FLYING IS JUST STRESSFUL, LIKE U CAN’T BELIEVE, & I’M SO WORRIED ABOUT A CANCELED FLIGHT. DRIVING ALSO ALLOWS ME MORE COMFORTS: LIKE MY VAN, POWER CHAIR, & RAMP. BUT, I COULD TELL WHEN THE KIDS GOT BORED-THEY GOT NOISY. BEFORE, I KEPT THEM QUIET & ENTERTAINED!

SO WHY DID WE GO? MARK’S BABY BROTHER’S WEDDING. IT WAS GOOD (ALTHOUGH W/PBA & PICS RT. AFTER, I ONLY DID 2 PICS AT THE RECEPTION, ATTENDED THE RECEPTION & PART OF THE FAM. DINNER THE PREVIOUS NIGHT) & WE GOT 2 C LOTS OF FAM., WHICH WAS GOOD!

ON THE WAY THERE, A MALLARD DUCK HIT THE WINDSHEILD (IT SEEMS FINE) DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME. MARK FELT BAD, BUT AFTER HOURS OF HIM POINTING OUT WILDLIFE I COULDN’T C, I COMMENTED, “WELL, AT LEAST I SAW THAT!”

SUN.WE HAD 4 VISITORS. I LATER TOLD THEM:

I PURPOSELY DIDN’T SEND A REMINDER EMAIL. I AM SHOCKED U REMEMBERED! I FIGURED MY PBA WOULD MAKE ME CRY HORRIBLY EVERYTIME I SAW SOME1. I DID AMAZINGLY WELL! I DIDN’T CRY! I THINK IT HELPED 2 C EXTENDED FAM. & ATTEND A WEDDING RECEPTION THE PREVIOUS DAY.

THERE WERE 2 MORE PEOPLE-1 OUT OF TOWN & 1 THAT I GOT THE EMAIL BACK. BUT 2 THEM, I SAY DON’T FEEL BAD-MARK’S PARENTS LIVE THERE, SO I’M SURE I’LL BE BACK! BESIDES, 4 PEOPLE CAME-MIRACUOSLY NO OVERLAPPING-FROM 2 PM ON, & I WAS EXHAUSTED! I COULDN’T HAVE HANDLED MORE VISITORS!