It’s Gimp Day today. Did you know? One year since Ella first used a wheelchair. One year plus one day since the last time she took a step. Her six month Gimp Day was a celebration of community. One year is a remembrance of all that is lost and changed. Last night I went on a mission down Memory Lane looking for video of her first steps. I was certain that I had it tucked away with all of the... Read more
When I put up my last post about the Great Dog Fight and how we expected to lose my husband’s dog, Grace, I was a bit naive in how I wrote it. I didn’t anticipate the outpouring of condemnation that has filled my email’s inbox. So, before I write an update, please allow me to add an addendum to what I had previously written: We picked up Gus from the rescue on Saturday afternoon and brought him home to our... Read more
I haven’t made a secret of the fact that I’ve been wanting a dog. I’ve blogged about it, dreamed about it, and gazed longingly at pictures of sweet faces online. You see, once upon a time, I had an amazing black German Shepherd who was my dog in ways no other pet I’ve ever had was mine. There’s just a magic in having a dog that I’ve been missing for a while. My husband would shake his head and tell me that we already... Read more
It’s been raining here in Texas for what seems like forever and a day. The ground is saturated, the lakes are overflowing their banks, and my children are stuck inside for most of the day. We’re starting to go a little mad around here. I had been letting the children go and splash in all the puddles in front of our house and dance in the rain (while I stayed inside in the dry) until we spotted a water moccasin... Read more
Girls in Afghanistan are forbidden to ride bikes, but that’s not slowing them down. Oliver Percovich, an Australian skateboarder, started the non-profit organization Skateistan in 2007 to help bring education and freedom through skateboarding. It’s quickly grown to be the number one sport among women in Afghanistan. You can read more about these awesome and mighty girls here. Read more
The first time we went to the skate park on a non- WCMX night, I began to have a few reservations about Ella’s “sport of choice.” The foul-mouthed cigarette smoking punks were not the peer group I would have chosen for my sweet ballerina. That first time when she was the only kid in a chair, she was stared at and I was ignored. The second time, they watched what she was doing and gave her some space. The game... Read more
When my eldest was in our parish’s high school youth group, she loved the mission trips and the hands on outreach of the summers best of all. She’d return from those trips glowing with accomplishment and talking about how much she loved really truly helping people. While she was also sometimes questioning the things we believed (as teenagers will,) she was all-in when it came to the Corporal Works of Mercy. It was those acts of charity which kept her attending weekly youth... Read more
A fast bit of background for those who just got here – Ella’s been waiting on delivery of her new wheelchair as patiently as is possible for a very excited 10-year-old. On Monday, her favorite professional WCMX skater surprised her with it and then stayed at our house for the next two days to just hang out. I sent Ella to her BFF’s house and went to pick Katherine up from the airport. (Ella was supposed to have come with... Read more
Ella “met” Katherine Beattie (top woman WCMX skater IN THE WORLD!!! and the only woman to land a backflip in a wheelchair) on Instagram. Once she saw the backflip video, Ella was a KTBeattie super fan girl. She started hashtagging her own photos and videos #iwannabektbeattie. (If you want to follow Ella on Instagram, you can find her at @ellarides) They hit it off and Ella spent the weekend cheering her hero on to an 8th place overall finish.... Read more
It’s the week before Mother’s Day, and I’ve got my Dad on my mind. Calendar-schmalandar. When I was in kindergarten, I got the Chicken Pox. I caught them from my brother who had maybe 20 spots on his whole body. I had them so badly that there were literally pictures of me in medical journals. The Pox coated my body, covered the bottoms of my feet, were on my eyeballs, ear-drums, and on my voice box. I ended up in... Read more
Shoved to Them
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