A new chapter….

Yesterday was Jonah’s first day of private speech therapy.  We’ve not done therapy, outside of school, for several years….mainly due to Jonah’ s health.  But we’ve decided that we need help….mainly with activities of daily living (which for an almost 13 year old male child includes shaving, zit cream, and screwing the top back on to the toothpaste tube).  So, we’ve entered the world of private therapy once again…

And Jonah did amazingly well at speech therapy yesterday.  It was a bit frantic….I met Jonah at the front door as he got off the school bus, took his bookbag and handed him a snack and a drink, and hustled him right back out the door for the drive to therapy.  Jonah ate his snack on the way there, and I was relieved to know that he wouldn’t starve to death before we got home to eat supper.  He did well for the therapist….walking down the hall to the therapy room without so much as a look back at me….when did he grow up so much?!?!

As I sat in the waiting room with the other moms and kids I had the opportunity to “observe”.  And again I was reminded of the blessing that is the reality that we are “only” dealing with Down syndrome with Jonah.  As moms tend to do, we started chatting among ourselves.  We talked about our children, the services they were receiving, we griped about school systems… pretty much the norm when you get a group of moms together who have special needs kids.  Then Jonah returned from therapy and immediately went to the toy table and started playing with the other kids.  I spoke to his therapist, and whenI went to round Jonah up, one of the moms stopped me.  And asked me how old Jonah was….I was frozen, with a deer in the headlights look on my face, I’m sure.  I HATE this question….and have on many occasions been tempted to just lie, and shave a few years off Jonah’s age.  But I didn’t.  And this mom, who moments earlier was becoming an acquaintance that I could pass therapy time with….got the deer in the headlights look about her.  Jonah’s Down syndrome didn’t faze her.  His shockingly blue hearing aides went unnoticed.  His coke bottle glasses were accepted as normal….but she couldn’t believe how small he was…and was very quick to point out that HER son was only 6, and larger than Jonah….

Why is it that size matters?  Obesity is frowned upon, and from personal experience with family members, I can say that obese people ARE treated differently.  And for some insane reason, our society treats little people differently too….sigh….it’s always something isn’t it? 

And I hustled Jonah out the door, and didn’t even mind that I still have to boost him in the van (since he’s too short to do it himself) and buckle him up (since he’s not strong enough to pull the seat belt over himself and buckle it up).  Who cares?  I was thrilled with the first day of therapy….and thanking God that Jonah walked himself to the van…..many other of those children there yesterday didn’t have that luxury.  Thank you God today….for the blessing of Jonah…

Easter

Our entire family, except for the little boys, is involved in our church’s Easter Drama.  Larry came home from his costume fitting to inform me to just look for the “Great Pumpkin” and I would find him.  Apparently, his costume is, well….orange.  Shockingly orange, apparently….

Jacob has gotten over his aversion to wearing a “dress”, and is enjoying himself tremendously.  Sarah and I are once again working backstage, ensuring the props are available, the scenes are set up, and providing some of the special effects.  We are all enjoying ourselves tremendously!

Jacob has a (possibly unhealthy) curiosity about the disciple Judas.  We’ve been researching, watching History channel programs and asking everyone we know about this particular disciple.  I won’t gross you out with the details that Jacob is most curious about….but let me just say that it involves Judas’ manner of death.  This curiosity has also led to some extremely interesting conversations regarding pre-destination, and free-will, and God’s omnipotent presence in general.  So it’s entirely possible that this fascination with Judas isn’t a totally bad thing, right?!?!

We’re counting down the days till Easter.  Ever mindful of His blessings… and being reminded of His gift….His son who died so that we might live…. thank you God today for the gift of Your son, Jesus Christ….

What special plans do you have for Easter?  We have celebrated with Larry’s family already, and Easter Sunday around the Edge house will be low key… spent recuperating from this week of rehearsals and performances!

For the latest Jonah update, be sure to check out his website at www.caringbridge.com/visit/jonahedge

Anji

Thanking God for the little things…

My life has become busier and more hectic than I would like. A new job (albeit I work from home, part time, in my PJ’s most days), 4 children and a husband…not to mention a dozen or so chickens….whew. Most days find me blindly running from one “person” to another…this morning I’m the “working Anji”….interrupted by the reality of “teacher Anji” as I help my daughter with her schoolwork….then I morph into “Mom Anji” as the school buses start unloading children in front of my house….”wife Anji” comes next as Larry gets home from work….whew. I’m exhausted just writing about it….

Where is God in all this? The days are too short, the hours too few, and His voice is growing dimmer…. before I lose contact with Him entirely…I need to do “something”….

So I have begun thanking God for things. Even small things. As I go through my day, rather than be frustrated by an unanswered email, I find myself now thanking God for a few extra moments of time…while waiting for an answer I now have time to talk to Him. While standing in line at Wal-Mart, I find myself praying….and sometimes people think I’m nuts, because I get lost in my conversation with God…and ignore those around me. So if you see me standing in the cereal aisle at Kroger, staring blankly at the wall of cereal…don’t assume that I’ve totally lost my mind…I’m more than likely asking God to help me make a cereal choice!

Sunshine, laughter, hugs from my children….I’m discovering more blessings in my day than I ever knew existed….and by “keeping the lines of communication open” between me and Him…I’m benefitting more than I ever imagined….

So the next time you’re stuck in that slow moving checkout lane….look at it as an opportunity, a few stolen moments from your day, and say hello to the Father….He’ll be glad you did… and so will you…

Anji