I have to tell you about my weekend!  But I have to try to find the words to describe it.  I knew it would be fun.  I knew I would get encouraged and inspired.  But it was even more so then I thought it would be!  For those of you who are new to my blog, I belong to two groups that support Emma’s condition (SOD)  They are the MAGIC Foundation and Focus Families.  They provide such a wonderful support system to me.  Always.  Whenever I need it.  They were especially supportive in the beginning when Emma was first diagnosed.  Through the emails, you become familiar, friendly, and in some cases very close with these people.  3 of my close friends came out this weekend!  One I had never met before, and I was really excited to meet her.  I picked Sarah and her friend up at the airport.  It was an interesting meeting as we had never met before, and Sarah is blind.  I couldn’t hold up a sign for her, and didn’t want to call her name out!  Fortunately it was easy to spot Sarah and her friend.  They had guide dogs with them, and Sarah had also told me what they were wearing (Sarah and her friend, not the dogs!).  And from that point there was an ease to the friendship.  It was like old friends reuniting.  Except- and I did admit this to Sarah- I didn’t have any experience with bling people.  What should I do?  How do they need help?  She laughed it off by joking that first I needed to kiss her feet.  This was not going to be as hard as I thought!

To say that Sarah is an inspiration is a huge understatement.  She’s my age and living completely independently.  While she doesn’t have the hormone deficiencies that many people with SOD have, she’s got her plate full of other conditions that continue to challenge her.  But she never is down about it.  She doesn’t complain about it.  She does what she can and she does remarkably well.  She is a huge advocate for teaching children some independence.  It doesn’t matter how severe the condition is, every child can have some independence and it’s so important in their upbringing.  Sarah most certainly didn’t get to where she is today because she was sheltered and given everything she wanted.  She has worked very hard to get where she is.  And I’m sure it wasn’t rainbows and butterflies the whole time, she is who she is because of her wonderful upbringing.  And she emphasizes that to the parents on the list who may want to coddle their child.  I love that she speaks her mind, too.  She’s a smart cookie and isn’t afraid to share her knowledge or her experience.  She’s helped encourage me to push Emma to try new things.  Or to back off when I want to shelter her more than I should.  If I have questions about her schooling, she’s willing to offer her two cents.  And then there’s her dog.  Fargo is C.U.T.E.  And so sweet and well-behaved.  We became friends fast when he laid on my feet the first day at lunch!

"Fantabulous Fargo"

I haven’t even told you about my weekend!  Or my other friend, Marshelle!  I will save that for tomorrow.  It’s worth sharing!

And…did you know I took 909 pictures during our 11 days in California?  I need to go through and pick a few of my favorites to share with you.  We had a GREAT trip!  So stay tuned….I have  more for ya!!  Also, I wanted to remind you that I have a Facebook page and would love if you liked me!  You can visit me here.

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