Home Sweet Heart

Tomorrow is it!

Tomorrow is Catie's Triathalon.  She leaves for the competition at 5:00am tomorrow morning, which is 4 am EST.  This is the first Special Olympics triathlon anywhere in the world so she will be record setter!   Our thoughts and prayers are with her as we wait to hear the news of her finish.  Go Catie!

Loading up bikes into the bus tonight so they are ready to roll tomorrow bright and early!

Pondering

    "There is great temptation, even for the follower of Christ, to look backward.  We hold on to old grudges and disappointments.  We may have long forgotten the argument, but the bitterness remains.  We remember a bad choice we made and delude ourselves thinking a new beginning is not possible.  So we continue to make the same out-of-focus decisions or hold on to a past that should have long ago been forgotten.  It is not flash bulbs that blind us, but our foolish thought that we cannot change.

    It is in those moments that Jesus comes walking toward us.  If we look up and look ahead, we see that he offers us a future where we are not the sum total of every bad choice.  He walks toward us with a grace that says a new beginning is possible for you.  Not next week or next year.  Jesus offers it to us now.  First we have to give him our heart."

by Monsignor Gregory E. S. Malovetz, Advent Magnificat, December 20, 2009

She did it!

Forget the Winter Olympics in Vancouver!  This is enough excitement for our family.  We have a Bronze Medal Winner among us!  Tuesday, Catie won the Bronze in the 800 m swim final of the Latin American Special Olympics!

 

The word can't is not in her vocabulary.   I am so proud of Catie. 

I only wish I could be in Puerto Rico to congratulate her and cheer her on in her Triathalon on Saturday.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

~ T. S. Eliot

I miss her

She's only been gone since Thursday (five days), but I miss my girl.

I miss my usual 5:30 wake up bedroom visit of "Mom, I'm going running now.  See you when I get back."

I miss coming downstairs in the morning to a warm cup of coffee and a clean kitchen, all done by Catie for me.

I miss her daily 9:30 am call of "Mom, I made it to work okay.  Talk to you later."

I miss her lunch time call of, "Hi Mom, how are things at home.  You doin' okay?  I love you."

I miss her 6:30 pm call of, "Mom, Metro Access just picked me up.  I'll be home soon.  What's for dinner?"

I miss her smile and hug when she walks in the door after a long day at work with "So what did you all do today?  I scooped 12 bowls of cookies, made 20 apple pies and ... "

I miss her folding my five loads of wash every night.

I miss watching her trying to stay awake on the couch for a movie.

I miss her nightly good night question around 9:00 pm, "Mom, is there anything else you need me to do before I go to bed?   I'm really tired."

I miss her good night hug and kiss.

I miss Catie!

**Tomorrow is her big day.  The 800 meter swimming final competition takes place sometime during the day.  Swim, Catie, swim!

Strong 800 meter swim

Word just in from Catie's coach that she had a great showing in the preliminary 800 meter swim and has made it to the finals on Tuesday!  Way to go Catie!

This morning after her swim.  She looks tired!

The torch is lit!

The Opening Ceremony for the Latin America Special Olympics Games began tonight at 7 pm.  Tomorrow morning at 9:30 am, Catie will be competing in the preliminary 800 meter swimming event.   Our thoughts and prayers are with her. 

Now we are cuddling!

When Lucy was a baby (she's now three!), I remember making the decision that I would not use nursing time as a time to checkup on email or use the computer in any form or fashion.  Why?   It just didn't seem right.  After all nursing was not just about feeding my baby.  It was about focusing on her ... smiling at her, gazing into her eyes, singing to her, touching her, examining her, talking to her ... loving her.  Using the computer took my attention and communication away from her and gave it to someone out in cyberspace. 

I was reminded of this decision a couple of nights ago when my eight year old sat next to me on the couch and said, "Mom, can we have some cuddle time?"  Well, I love to cuddle with my kids, but I had just started reading some paperwork I was behind in.   Despite that, I moved over and Patrick crawled in under the blanket next to me.  After getting positioned and comfortable, I gave him a good back rub and then resumed my reading.  After about five minutes, he said, "Hey, mom, that's not cuddling.  You're reading!  What about me?"

My natural instinct was to get frustrated and tell him we are cuddling just by being snug and comfy under the blanket together.

But no, I thought, he's right.  I was not giving him my attention.  Cuddling was more than just laying next to me.   It was similar to the experience of nursing a little one.  It was about bonding ... loving each other ... just being present to each other.

So, I put down the papers, repositioned the blankets, held his hand and gave him a nice head massage.  After about three minutes, he said, "Now that's more like it!  Now we are cuddling!"

He was right!  Now we were really cuddling!  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Catie's Puerto Rico Trip Day #2 - sightseeing

La Coca Falls in El Yunque National Forest

Meeting the Mayor of Rio Grande

Golfing at Trump International

Learning to salsa!

My Small Successes for this week

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1

After weeks of anticipation and preparation, I put my twenty-two year old special needs daughter on a plane for the Latin American Special Olympics in Puerto Rico.  She is part of the Virginia delegation and will be gone for 10 days.  This is a huge step for Catie, but a good one.  She continues to rise to the challenges and opportunities God gives her and truly amazes me.  Her courage is an inspiration to our entire family.  As I waved a thousand times to her as she entered the gate, the tears flowed.  They were happy tears, though ...  tears of thanksgiving that she has come this far.  I would never have imagined eighteen years ago, when her intellectual disabilities were becoming apparent, that we would ever be in this place.   Catie is a determined young lady and clearly has a mission that God has given her.  It's my job not to let my fears stand in her way.

2

The season of Lent has begun at out house by virtue of the calendar!  For the first time in years, I have not fully prepaped for all our family devotions and traditions.   I have been sidetracked with Catie's trip.  Rather than go into a panic and rake myself over the coals, we are going at this slowly.  I've even given my older kids some of the preparation duties.  By the weekend we should have it all together.

My wish is for all of you to have a Blessed and Holy Lent ... whatever that might be for you and your family!  God bless you!

Stop by Faith and Family Live to read more of this week's Small Successes.

She's off!

Catie's day before the trip:

10am - 6 pm  - work

7 pm - Haircut (Short)

8 pm - pick up prescription, swim cap and spending money

9 pm - last load of wash

10:30 pm - bags packed, bedtime

5 am - up and out the door with Mom and Dad

6 am - meet team at Reagan National US Air check-in

7 am - hugs, kisses and tears good bye

And she's off!

Team Virginia! Landed in Charlotte, NC.  Connecting flight to Puerto Rico.