Update

CATCHING UP

SO I’VE BEEN REALLY BAD LATELY AT POSTING ABOUT SOME BASIC STUFF IN MY LIFE, WHICH I USUALLY POST ABOUT, SO I CAN TYPE IT JUST ONCE, & ADDRESS BUNCHES OF PEOPLE. SO, THIS MAY BE A BORING POST, SINCE RATHER THAN ANSWER 100S OF EMAILS SEPERATELY, I’LL ANSWER LOTS RIGHT NOW, W/THIS POST:

1. LAST SPRING, R WARD SPLIT. WE WERE SENT 2 A NEW WARD. MY PARENTS & A DIFFERENT BRO. & HIS FAM. WENT THERE ALREADY…

I GOT A NEW CALLING AS ASST. WARD MUSIC CHAIRPERSON. IT’S VERY INTERESTING 2 SHARE THIS CALLING, BUT SEEMS WELL SPLIT. I BASICALLY FIND THE SPECIAL MUSICAL #’S 4 EACH SACRAMENT MEETING.

2. 4 HALLOWEEN, WE DRESSED AS:

Halloween Costumes

FIA—½ ANGEL, ½ DEVIL (SHE PICKED IT OUT)
JESS—R CAT, TIGER
ZACH—INDIANA JONES
ME—DOROTHY FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ (I HAD ACTUALLY BOUGHT THE NON-REFUNDABLE COSTUME & EVERYTHING LAST YEAR, ONLY 2 DISCOVER IT FIT LIKE A BABY DOLL DRESS–& THERE’S NO WAY 2 SIT IN THAT ALL NIGHT! MY MOM DOES WELL W/COSTUMES, SO SHE FIXED IT UP 4 ME)

R PUMPKIN WAS ENORMOUS: JESS & FIA FIT INSIDE!

The Huge Pumpkin

3. ABOUT THANKSGIVING:

THANKSGIVING WEEK WAS BUSY & FUN, W/LOTS OF RELATIVES & ACTIVITIES. THE ACTUAL DAY, WE HAD TURDUCKEN (TURKET STUFFED W/DUCK, STUFFED W/QUAIL), SAWA BIG FIREWORK SHOW THAT NIGHT & THERE WAS LIKE 48 PEOPLE AT MY PARENTS–MOST OF 3 FAMILIES: MINE, MK’S, & MY IN-LAW’S FAM.

FRI. WE HAD FAM. PICS. I WAS SO EXCITED 2 GET A PIC. W/MK’S FAM. & MY FAM.–IT’S A ONCE IN A LIFETIME THING.

The Lynn Family

4 THE 1ST TIME EVER, I WAS THE “COOL AUNT.” WHO’D HAVE GUESSED? MY 4 YR. OLD NEPHEW (AN AGE USUALLY SCARED 2 DEATH OF ME), & I, WERE INSEPERABLE.
WED., HE’D SEEN ME, & JUST CLIMBED IN MY LAP. HE HADN’T SEEN ANY1 CLIMB IN MY LAP, (& NO1 EXCEPT MY GIRLS, AT HOME, EVER HAD CLIMBED IN MY LAP). THE OTHER KIDS WERE BUSY PLAYING W/COUSINS, BUT HE JUST SAW MY W/C, & WANTED A RIDE. I’M COOL W/THAT.
BY THURS., HE WAS “MY BUDDY” & HUGGING ME. I THOUGHT HE JUST LIKED ME 4 MY W/C, BUT HE FOUND ME 2 SAY HI AT FAM. PICS, INSISTED 2 SIT BY ME, & HAD ANNOUCED EARLIER 2 ME: “I JUST WANTED U 2 KNOW I’M HERE!”
BY SUN. NIGHT, 2 NIECES GOT BRAVE, HOPPED ON ME, & FOUGHT 4 TURNS!
I WAS ABLE 2 SAY BYE W/O CRYING, BUT WHEN I GOT 2 THE DOOR, HE HOPPED ON & SAID HE WANTED 2 GO HOME W/ME…I BURST INTO TEARS…
GIVING W/C RIDES MAKES ME A COOL MOM, APPARENTLY AT LEAST, JESS & FIA SAY SO.

IT WAS FUN, BUT EXHAUSTING! I HAD NOT CONSIDERED HOW THE WEEK WOULD AFFECT ME! AT 1ST, I THOUGHT EVERY NEW RELATIVE’S ARRIVAL, TIRED ME OUT. BUT, EVERY NEW RELATIVE’S ARRIVAL, MEANT THAT MY FINGERSPELLING INCREASED, & WAS SLOW & TAXING. (THINK OF IT THIS WAY: ON AN AVERAGE DAY, I DON’T FINGERSPELL MUCH, SO LET’S REPRESENT IT BY #1. EACH NEW RELATIVE’S ARRIVAL, IS ANOTHER #1. “#1” I COULD HANDLE, BUT “1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1” WAS HARD! BY FRI., (MIND U, I ONLY NAP IF SICK OR EXHAUSTED, & ONLY SLEEP LIKE 6 HRS. AT NIGHT) I WAS SO TIRED, I WENT 2 BED AT 7:30, & WAS ON THE VERGE OF “TIRED TEARS.”

4. I’M NOT SURE WHAT ALL WE’LL DO 4 X-MAS, BUT I’LL BE PERFORMING AS AN ANGEL (JESS IS HELPING ME) AT R WARD ACTIVITY ON DEC. 13. I DON’T NECESSARILY FEEL UP 2 IT, BUT HAVING JESS THERE ODDLY STRENGTHENS ME, & I’M HOPING 2 DEAL W/ANY PBA ISSUES NOW, SO I HAVE NOTHING THE DAY OF THE PERFORMANCE. PART OF IT MEANS THAT I CAN’T SHARE MY THOUGHTS NOW ABOUT IT—I NEED 2 TEMP. REPRESS ANY TRIGGERS 4 TEARS! HOWEVER, I NEED EXTRA STRENGTH 2 DO THAT, & I’VE FELT STRENGTH B4, THROUGH OTHERS PRAYERS…SO, MAY I ASK U 2 PRAY 4 JESS & ME?

TALKING

THOUGHT U MIGHT GET A KICK FROM THIS:

LATELY, MY KIDS HAVE SHOWN SIGNS OF “WEAR” W/MY SIGNING. IT GETS OLD 4 ME 2 (AT LEAST THEY HAVE BREAKS AS THEY TALK 2 EACH OTHER, BUT I NEVER HAVE A BREAK FROM FINGERSPELLING OR TYPING THINGS W/1 FINGER–NO MATTER HOW I SPEAK, IT’S LETTER BY LETTER, IN ORDER 2 FORM A WORD. BECAUSE OF IT, OFTEN, I WEIGH IF IT’S EVEN WORTH THE EFFORT 2 SAY ANYTHING). BUT, I DON’T BLAME ANY1. IN FACT, I APPLAUD THEM: IT’S TAKEN ABOUT 5 YRS., TO GET 2 A POINT WHERE THEY C MY HAND, & SAY “NEVER MIND” OR “4GET IT,” & IT’S EXHAUSTING.

ANYWAY, JESS CRACKED ME UP 2 MON. AGO. EVERY DAY, AS PART OF THE GIRLS HOMEWORK, THEY READ 2 ME. 4 SOME ODD REASON (POSSIBLY “APRAZIA”), SOMETIMES I CAN’T VOCALIZE UNTIL SOME1 SINGS “OLD MCDONALD” & I EFFORTLESSLY SING “EIEIO”… SO 2 MON. AGO, JESS CHOSE A BOOK TITLED “OLD MCDONALD,” & PAUSED 2 HEAR ME REPEAT EVERY “EIEIO”…

I BELIEVE SHE DID THIS BECAUSE, THOUGH I TALK LIKE A BABY (WHERE THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY UNDERSTANDS THE BABY MORE), THERE IS A JOY THAT ARISES FROM ME ANSWERING A QUESTION, W/O THEM NEEDING 2 LOOK AT ME. OR ME CALLING SOME1’S BLUFF–FIA SAYS THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SAY BEST IS “I LOVE YOU” (IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE “I O U”), & MY NEXT BEST WORD THAT I VOCALIZE IS “LIAR!” 🙂

THE GIRLS SAY STUFF LIKE, “MOM’S FUN, I JUST WISH SHE COULD TALK,” ALL THE TIME JESS AMAZES ME W/ A GIFT, 2 READ MY ASL FAST, & PICK UP ON NEW ASL WORDS. FIA AMAZES ME THAT SHE CAN EVEN READ MY ASL, AT HER AGE! NOT ONLY IS THERE READING, BUT SPELLING! (ZACH IS AMAZING 2, BECAUSE I ALMOST ALWAYS CAN TALK 2 HIM, EVEN IF HE’S “WORN OUT.”) BUT EVEN SO, THE 1 THING I’VE ALWAYS WANTED BACK IS 2 TALK. I’M HAUNTED BY BEING TOLD I CAN’T TALK, BUT I BELIEVE I CAN.

“Every great endeavor starts small, sometimes as little more than a dream… But even small beginnings, after all of the roadblocks and the dead ends, can lead to great things when they ride on the wheels of a dream.”
“Music and the Spoken Word,” from “Big Dreams on a Small Island”: (http://www.musicandthespokenword.com/messages/)

WHAT TALKING I DO, IS NOT A “HIDDEN TALENT,” OR “SECRET.” IT JUST DOESN’T COME UP IN CONVERSATION, OR I DO IT, & AM NOT NOTICED (AS I’M “THE GIRL WHO CAN’T TALK”), OR I HAVE A DELAYED REACTION (I’VE KNOWN MY MOM & MUSIC THERAPIST 2 STAND IN AN OPEN DOORWAY, & WAIT LIKE 5 MIN. 4 ME 2 SAY BYE!), OR IT’S UNRECOGNIZABLE (IT HAS TAKEN FIA 2 YEARS 2 RECOGNIZE THAT I SAY HER NAME), OR I WAS SIMPLY WAS 2 QUIET.

IT’S OFTEN INVOLUNTARY & I CAN HAVE A “GOOD SPEAKING DAY,” OR A “BAD SPEAKING DAY.” I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S A GOOD OR BAD DAY UNTIL I TRY, BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN NO TALKING ON A BAD DAY. A BAD DAY IS JUST HARDER, QUIETER, LESS CLEAR, PEOPLE R MOVING 2 FAST 4 ME 2 TRY, OR I TRY & CAN SAY LESS (OFTEN, I SIT W/MY MOUTH OPEN & TRY 2 PUSH OUT ANY SOUND AT ALL, & GET NO SOUND OUT). THOSE R THE DAYS I FOCUS ON BREATHING BIGGER & DEEPER.

QUOTE

Every Sunday, I TIVO and watch “Music and the Spoken Word.” Last Sunday, they shared this from “Big Dreams on a Small Island”: (http://www.musicandthespokenword.com/messages/):
“People envy me these bits of success and say, ‘It’s well to be you,’ and so on. I smile cynically when I hear them. They do not realize how many disappointments come to one success. They see only the successes and think all must be smooth travelling.”
— Lucy Maud Montgomery, In Kindred Spirit, 49.
I WAS SINCERELY TOUCHED BY THE SIMPLE TRUTH OF THAT STATEMENT, AFTER HAVING BEEN PUBLISHED IN A CHURCH & SCRAPBOOK MAGAZINE & “SPEAKING” AT AN INTERNATIONAL DOCTOR’S CONFERENCE. EVERYTHING HAS OCCURRED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, & I BELIEVE EACH IS A DIRECT RESULT FROM HAVING MY STROKE. DIFFERENCE IS, I DOUBT THOSE WHO KNOW ME, ARE JEALOUS OF ME! LOL

IT’S REALLY ME!

BEEN MEANING 2 WRITE 2 U 4EVER & RESPOND 2 YOUR LAST EMAIL. JUST BEEN CRAZY, BECAUUSE I’M ON THE COMP. A WHOLE LOT LESS NOW…IT’S A GOOD THING, JUST HARDER 2 DO WHAT I SET OUT 2 DO IN A DAY, SINCE I MAY NOT HAVE A CHANCE 2 RESPOND 2 EMAILS, ETC. DOESN’T HELP 2 BE SOOO SLOW!

I’VE HIT A NEW PHASE IN MY RECOVERY: I CRAVE FAMILY TIME. & W/THE KIDS GETTING BIGGER, NOT ONLY CAN I SIGN MORE, & BE UNDERSTOOD, 2 A DEGREE, BY MY ENTIRE FAM., BUT THE KIDS R MORE ABLE 2 HELP ME W/THE SIMPLE TASKS THAT MY CAREGIVER USUALLY DOES, MAKING FAMILY TIME US MORE POSS. 4 ME.

BUT, MY PREVIOUS STAGE WAS ISOLATION, SO I BUILT UP HOW I DO THINGS & RESPOND VIA EMAIL, ETC. I HAD A ROUTINE. IT’S TOUGH 2 FIND A NEW BALANCE, & I’M STILL TRYING 2 MAKE UP FOR 2 LOST YRS. AFTER MY STROKE. BUT I’VE TRIED 2 SIMPLIFY, 2 WHAT MATTERS MOST, SO I CAN AFFORD FAMILY TIMES & TRIPS. THE TRICK IS 2 LEAVE APPROPRIATE TIME 4 MYSELF (IE. AN HOUR ALONE SEEMS GOOD, BUT JUST GIVES ME TIME 2 READ EMAILS SENT 2 ME—THE EQUIVALENT OF ANY1 ELSE GETTING THE MESSAGES OFF THEIR ANSWERING MACHINE…BUT, IT OFTEN DOESN’T GIVE ME TIME 2 ANSWER THOSE EMAILS/CALLS. IT CAN MAKE ME VERY HARD 2 GET A HOLD OF, I CAN PLAN LESS 4 THINGS, ETC. BUT WITHOUT TIME 4 ME, I RISK DEPRESSION.

IT HELPS THAT I CUT MY HAIR (I HANDLE OUTSIDE BETTER–IT GAVE ME MORE FEEDOM) & THAT I CAN SIGN MORE (EVEN FIA GETS SMALL WORDS, & SHORT SENTENCES). IT HELPS TONS 2 HAVE LESS 2 TYPE.

I START MY DAY OFFICIALLY AT ABOUT 8/9 AM, ON THE AVERAGE (NOT COUNTING GETTING READY, ETC.). I CONSIDER MY TYPING DAY DONE AT 3 PM (2DAY IT WAS UNTIL 1 PM, SINCE I HAD THERAPY), 2 BE THE KID’S MOM. NOT THAT I WASN’T B4, BUT I’M MORE INVOLVED. SOME DAYS, I GET EXTRA TIME AFTER 5 PM, BUT IT’S A BONUS IF I TYPE AFTER 3. IT’S VERY DECEPTIVE, THOUGH, BECAUSE I TYPE 2 DISCIPLINE, TYPE STORIES THAT FIA DICTATES, INSTANT MESSAGE OR EMAIL THEM, ETC. IT’S OBVIOUS IF I HELP THEM CLEAN, READ W/THEM, OR PLAY OUTSIDE. BUT, I NEVER KNOW WHEN I’LL NEED 2 PUT ASIDE MY TYPING, IN ORDER 2 RESOLVE A SIBLING ARGUEMENT, OR SPEND TIME AS A FAM., SO MY EMAILS R VERY SPORADIC & IT MAKES ME VERY BUSY!

KIDS

HOW CUTE—THE GIRLS MADE ME A GIFT, WRAPPED IT, & PUT IT AT MY COP.!

HAD A BLAST W/JESS, & RETURNED 2 MY CHILDHOOD: I POPPED BUBBLEWRAP FROM A PKG., THAT SHE PUT ON THE FLOOR 4 ME 2 ROLL OVER. HERE’S YOUR OWN BUBBLEWRAP (TRY MANIAC MODE):
http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf

DECIDED 2 MAKE MY NEXT POST COPIES OF SOME EMAILS THE GIRLS SENT 2 ME:

FROM JESS—
HERES SOME!
1. WHY IS IT HARD FOR LEAPARDS TO HIDE? BECAUSE THEY’RE ALWAYS SPOTTED!
2. WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU CROSS A SNOWMAN AND ATIGER? FROSTBITE!

FROM FIA–
i hope u einjoy my joke book
1.teacher:spell mouse.
lady bug:m o u s
teacher: but what”s at the end
lady bug:a tail!
2.what’s the difference between a paino and a fish?
you can tune a paino but you canot tune a fish!
3.what dose a vampier eat for dinner?
fang dogs
4.nock nock me oh me ileft so i cuod stop heaing all of thes bad jokes
5.why is 6 afirad 7
becouse 7 ate 9

6.what time is it when a gohst comes to dinner
time to run