by Sarah | Jul 2, 2012 | All About Erik, All About Molly, Autism, Special Needs
[flickr id=”7089103379″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Erik is in his 40’s now. Many years have passed since he’s had to live through school, classmates, the pressures of schoolwork.
But he still remembers.
The stress.
The desire to get away from chaos.
His ‘coping’ mechanism that gave kids a way to pick on him.
The “other”-ness he felt.
From day 1, Molly’s uncanny resemblance to her Dad has echoed in every picture, every look, every nuance and quirk.
It’s been both a source of great joy for him – and a source of great fear.
You never want your children to feel the pain you did.
And when you have one like Molly – one that struggles to express herself.
You don’t always know.
But sometimes you do.
You see it in her eyes.
You feel it in your heart.
Every day this past year I worried over Molly’s separation from her classmates.
It leaves me to wonder – how much does she know it? How much does she feel it? Will she remember when she’s in her 40’s? Or have we been able to spare her some of the pain? How long will these issues echo in her life, even with appropriate therapy?
The saving grace in her life is her sister.
Kennedy is the social butterfly to Molly’s cocooned existence. Kennedy relates to her when others can’t. For now, at least, Kennedy is her safe place.
If only we could keep her from beating the crap out of her safe place.
by Sarah | Jul 1, 2012 | All About Indiana, All About Me, Blogging Life, Community, Indy Geek Girls
For approximate forever I’ve been wanting to see Cirque du Soleil. So when Emily hosted a giveaway I ran over to sign up to enter.
I literally bounced around in my seat when I got the email telling me I won.
My wonderful husband Erik was a no-go on tickets. For some reason the man has something against men in spandex. Me? I have no such qualms – but I needed a date.
Of course the first person I asked was the person I told I would ask if I won – Casey. Then, to give us a proper ‘girls night’, Emily’s husband backed out to leave room for Shireen – and our party was complete.
I’m not sure what I was more excited for – Cirque, or girls night.
For dinner we did Santorini’s with a little OPA!! (i.e. saganaki) thrown in. I shared the Chef’s special with Casey…and if there had been more of the Spanokopita we might have had a throw-down over it – it was that good.
Then it was onto Quidam.
Casey described it as a panic attack brought to life (the first half). While filled with impressive feats of strength and agility – the amount of disturbing images included left us a little disoriented.
The second half by far topped the first, disturbing imagery and all. I absolutely loved it and would go back again – just not to Quidam. I’d pick another show. While I loved all the artistry and amazing acts – I think my favorite was the Clown. He brought in some audience participation and laughs that were needed among floating zombie heads and gaping chest wounds (yes. You read that right).
Then again, my real favorite part of the night was getting out with friends. Laughing and sharing the evening with them. Spending time with people that are like me and share the same interests and struggles. It’s something I don’t think I do often enough. it’s easy to get lost in responsibility – sometimes we need to get lost in laughter with friends to make the rest of it possible.
*~*~*
Photo credit to Cirque du Soleil. We weren’t allowed cameras 😉
by Sarah | Jun 26, 2012 | All About Erik, Depression, Special Needs
[flickr id=”6293299563″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]The other week I talked about the thing we never talk about. My husband, Erik, who suffers from severe depression was in one of his darkest times when that happened.
He nudged the edge of the cliff, and action had to be taken.
Today he is feeling better – tired, but a few feet back from the cliff. I can’t go into details but we took steps to get him much needed help, and he is doing it. It isn’t easy and some days he wants nothing to do with it, but he is doing it.
I’m proud to say that he has taken steps he’s never taken before, and so have I.
Progress is slow, and it isn’t always clear. We inch along, but we are still moving forward.
As we adjust and learn more, and he grows more comfortable with it, hopefully we can share more of this process we are going through. Because as he improves I become more aware of things I need to step up and change as well.
Right now I can tell you that the biggest step we’ve made is going through this together. It’s making a world of difference.
by Sarah | Jun 22, 2012 | All About Indiana, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, Blogging Life
[flickr id=”7415474854″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Yesterday we got to buck routine and head into the Indianapolis Zoo for a special treat. We went to see the Flights of Fancy exhibit with a few bloggy friends & their kids.
For those in the know in Indy…the new Flights of Fancy exhibit replaced the old petting zoo.
I’m here to tell you that it’s miles above the old petting zoo. Miles and miles.
First off, the area is sort of its own little oasis set onto about an acre of land on zoo property. With a concession stand, tables (w/ umbrellas), a little playground, restrooms and – for the mothers – a Nursing Mom’s Nest (which has private feeding areas, changing stations & a chalkboard/books for the siblings).
While we waited for everyone to arrive, Jackie & I felt comfortable sitting at one of the tables while our children played about in the area. No matter whether they were staring into the aviaries, watching the flamingos, or scrambling through the tree-house play area they were never out of our sight line.
[flickr id=”7417292054″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”]The Flights of Fancy exhibit hosts three aviaries. First is the Budgies. With one of the tickets (you can purchase at the ticket window right inside the exhibit) you get a seed stick to feed the birds. A tip we were given – go early in the day. When the birds little bellies aren’t full – they are all over the seeds then. And they didn’t disappoint. Hopping onto hands and heads. I got buzzed more than a few times in there! The budgies are adorable, colorful, and hungry little guys first thing.
[flickr id=”7417285584″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] They also have an “Out of Africa” aviary. There’s no feeding here, but lots of birds much closer than in any standard exhibit. After that you get to the Lorikeets. These guys feed on nectar – which you can also get for the cost of a ticket – I was fortunate enough to have someone hand me their leftovers so the kiddos could divulge the feeding of these exceedingly bright birds.
Over all, this area is totally my new favorite place in the zoo. We could have spent all day there – but the kids demanded time in the splash park. A demand we were also happy to acquiesce to.
[flickr id=”7417302996″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”] While the kids had their fun cooling off on the splash pad, the mom’s all made time to talk. I got to know Jackie better – finding out we have led similar lives. I got to know Katrina and Veronica too, and expanding your circle of friends is never a bad thing.
Lately the zoo has become our meeting place with other bloggers & I love it for that. It’s a great central location that is kid-friendly and relaxing even on the busiest days. I also learned about some other zoo events I knew nothing about – that I plan to take full advantage of.
Bonus for me? The girls & I got there early, right at opening. Because of that for the first time we got to see the Tiger Forest for what it was meant to be – Tigers in your face.
I’m probably going back next week. Who wants to come with me?
[flickr id=”7417293736″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”7417290450″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”7417299848″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”] [flickr id=”7417296470″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”none”]
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*Disclaimer: The zoo provided us w/ free seed sticks for our kids and free tickets to the 4-D adventure movie. My zoo membership & my opinions are all my own.
by Sarah | Jun 18, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Marriage, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Random
*Please excuse the crappy quality of this picture. I assure you the original is AWESOME…my phone just took a really crappy photo of the photo…
Two months ago Erik & I went to St. Louis. It was a “knock some sh*t off Sarah’s bucket list while getting the heck out of dodge & being child-free” weekend. We had a great time. The highlight of the trip (especially for Erik) was the Anheuser Busch Beermaster Tour.
Running in a close second was the Star Trek Exhibit at the science center. Depressingly, pictures were not allowed in any capacity – except for those that they themselves took & you had to pay for (mind you, it was an expense I didn’t hesitate to pay…but I digress).
Erik & I spent over an hour looking at everything on display. Pointing out errors in the placards (seriously? You’re going to allow blatant errors in a ST exhibit? Shame…). Soaking in the dozens of costumes on display. Erik took this killer picture in the original series captain’s chair (depressingly not set in an actual set – but against a green screen). Toward the end I about passed out as I beheld the TNG bridge set. In geek heaven I wandered around, had my picture taken in the captain’s chair, kept wandering. I sat in Data’s chair, people…DATA’s CHAIR.
Geek heaven.
In the past few weeks there’s been an emergence of an up and coming geek.
The teen has been watching anything & everything Trek (or Trek-approximate) in our house. Considering Erik has ALL the movies (some in double w/ Blu-Ray and Standard) – and Netflix carries all the series – this is a lot of Trek. He also has a Play Station Star Trek game that I don’t remember us having…but he’s been playing pretty non-stop
First it was the movies. All of them. From The Motion Picture to the new Star Trek.
Then he tried the series. Much like me, the Original Series didn’t float his boat much – and he stopped watching it within about 3 or 4 episodes. In the past two days he has watched the entire first season of The Next Generation. I know he’s chomping at the bit to get to Deep Space Nine, but seems dedicated to watching them in order. The proper order.
The kid is my kind of geek.
Wish I could take full credit – but I’m pretty sure most of it goes to my movie-obsessed husband whose fail-safe “I don’t know what to watch” movies are the Star Trek movies.
Either way – the new generation has started it’s Trekkie-love. And I couldn’t be more proud. After all, this is something we can share as a family. Most of the time, we don’t agree on much (that is difficult to do with a teen).
by Sarah | Jun 16, 2012 | All of Us, Random
[flickr id=”5849473154″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Sometimes we forget.
It’s the simplest things that bring them joy.
May I remember to spend the summer catching fireflies.
Drawing with chalk.
Playing in the sprinkler.
Blowing bubbles.
Playing horseshoes or catch.
May I remember that we don’t need a pool.
To travel the world on vacation.
A fancy swingset.
It’s about enjoying the moment like I did then.
Making sure there is love, and laughter, and air conditioning to return to.
