The Specials at work

I got a ribbon today. It's green, and has some gold letters on the front that say:

PARTICIPANT

Special Olympics

SKILL, COURAGE, SHARING, JOY

I'm real proud of this ribbon, and so are mom and dad. I got it from taking part in the Special Olympics basketball tournament for Durham county. Well, to be honest, I really earned the "participant" status because our class mainly watched and cheered. Then we went down to the small gym and had our skills session with students from Riverside High school, which is where the tournament took place. Then we had hot dogs and chips. It was a fun day.

Mom and brother and Miss Amy and Willem were there to watch and cheer too. Mom was embarrassing--she took lots of pictures and talked to all my teachers. I'll post them since she went to all that work, even though she didn't get any action shots like I wanted. There is a good one of brother giving me a congratulations hug. He can be sweet sometimes, I guess.

Mom was so happy to see me greet all my old friends from Hillandale again. She also enjoyed watching me be real good and sit for a long time. She said I earned a medal just watching and being a good boy for my teachers for half an hour. She said that's a long time for a little boy. I agree.

Well, it's off to bed. This little basketball star is pooped. Or was that, has pooped. Uh oh.

Love, Adam xx

Where mom and I disagree...

You know why I like the Presidents? No school. And snow? No school. That's right...I think it's completely appropriate to have a day off to appreciate those men who run or have run our country, and also that fluffy white stuff that makes my hands cold. But mom doesn't think so, and regularly complains that someone's getting off easy when I stay home for what she calls silly reasons. Too bad, I say.

Except today, when a snow day two weeks ago means that we have to go to school today despite it being hooray for Presidents day. I guess I know who's winning after all.

You guessed it: Mom.

Happy Love Day

Hi all,

Apparently this is a big day for some people, namely Mr. and Mrs. Hallmark and the people who make those little heart shaped candies with letters on them. Good for them, they're everywhere.
Mom says it's a day where you are supposed to express your love for people, so I just want to say I love you. All. There--can I go play now? :)

Actually, there is a funny little twist to all of this. When I came home yesterday from school mom opened my bag because it was suspiciously heavy. She knew that I had thrown my pants down the toilet (don't be alarmed, it was clean), so she expected to find just them in there. When she took out my pants, she found all my "booty", the valentines cards and candy that I got from my friends at school. Wow, talk about amazement. She could not believe all the love--in the form of little cards with Kung Fu Panda and Superman on them--that had come home with me from school. I try to tell her that I have a lot of friends there, and I think now she believes me. For some reason these kids had thought to give me a card, even though I don't really look twice at them (not because I don't love them, see above). It's enough to make you rethink how people feel about someone with disabilities.

So mom says she will cherish my cards forever, brother cherished all my candy clean up, and I cherish all my friends--candy giving and not--for loving little ol' me just as I am. Enough said.
A

Do you ear what I ear?

Hi folks,

Been a while, I know. Brother had his birthday last week, but was sick with 'ammonia' (I know, it's pneumonia, but try telling that to a new 3 year old!). Anyway, he was so sick that mom was preoccupied a bit, and we lost track of the week with all the antibiotic-taking and bed-hopping. It's usually me that ends up on antibiotics, but this time I sailed on through my little cold with only a bit of ear ooze. No problem! We tried to have pizza for his birthday dinner, but he didn't want any and I decided it was time for climbing practice in the restaurant, so mom and dad cut the dinner short.

The major irritation for me is that last week one of my hearing aids quit working, and we've all found that I still actually like them, even if "they" think I don't need them. I've not been myself, and really it's just that I like having the aids in my ears--they help me process what I hear, and without them sounds just aren't sounds like I like them. I can't explain it, but mom knows what I mean and she's trying to get them fixed. I will have to go for another hearing test, this time a proper one, and that may convince them of what we know.

At any rate, mom sang in a choir concert last Sunday along with a symphony orchestra, and it was great, even without my 'ears'. I liked the part where they played Baby Einstein--mom's telling me it was Beethoven's 5th symphony, you know the one: Bah, bah, bah, buuuuuummm--but to me it sounded like the Giraffe one, as brother calls it. It was great, and every time the music got loud I snapped to attention for a while again. I even tried to conduct with the guy in front, waving my arms in time to the music. Mom said that Beethoven must have had a kid with Autism, since he knew just how long to let the music go soft before turning up the volume again. I think she's a little silly, but I love her.

Brother is well and it's warm for a change, so we're off to the park. Bye for now!
love, Adam x