It's hard not to remember such a remarkable little girl as Mari. I know that I might be a tad bit biased, but I also know how this one little girl touched so many people's lives in ways I never could have imagined. In the two weeks prior to Mari contracting E. coli, she was in a special summer school program as well as a camp for special needs children. She went to summer school Monday through Thursday until around 1pm and then a bus picked her up and took her to camp. On Friday's she got to go … [Read more...]
K is for Kiss
Mari's kisses were special. She wasn't one to just give them freely. When she did, it meant more than most because of the significance of her comprehending what a kiss was: a form of endearment. She could communicate her feelings or emotions like so many of us can today. Her autism simply didn't allow it. However, over time she slowly came out of her shell. No, not like a typical person, but different than she once was. I loved giving her a kiss goodbye or a kiss good night when we were tucking … [Read more...]
J is for Jump
I sometimes used to think of Mari as my little jumping bean due to how much energy she could exude. Right before Mari got sick I'd ordered this trampoline for the backyard. When it came in we had invited part of Keith's family over to help us put it up as Mari was going to love having this. As we were laying out the pieces and checking off all the parts, one of the critical pieces you needed to put it together ended up being missing. So we had to put it all back away. And you've probably … [Read more...]
H is for Hugs
For about the first five years of Mari's life she wasn't one to openly give a hug. It really wasn't her thing. We all know why. It was due to her autism. We all understood that. Then I became a customer of this wellness company and after a couple of years I started to give Mari an antioxidant that this company sells. Approximately within two weeks from the time she started to take this antioxidant Mari's started to change. She was able to concentrate for longer periods of time. She gave better … [Read more...]
G is for Gummy Bears
Mari loved her candy and especially gummy bears. She'd get a little smile on her face as she at her sweets. After she was done she be all sticky and have it all gooped in her hair. I'd have to immediately put her in the bathtub to get the stickiness all gone and make her all nice and clean again. There were so many times that after Mari had eaten something that'd you'd wonder if she actually got any of it in her mouth or not because it looked like it was all in her hair, on her face, and all … [Read more...]
Been a little absent
I'm sure those of you who have been following me here have noticed I went silent over the month of December. Most might think it was because of the holidays and in particularly Christmas. The thing is, I was looking forward to Christmas; however, Mari's birthday was December 29 and she would have turned fourteen. Man, fourteen years have come and gone since I gave birth to my precious little girl. Fourteen years. I still remember how difficult my pregnancy had been. How giving birth to her had … [Read more...]
Deadlines
I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever had a job where I had constant deadlines for things. Don't get me wrong, for obvious reasons you will always have deadlines in any job you do it's just how many you might have. However, I'm hoping that will change very soon as I continue to write my novels and working my way to be published where the publisher will have deadlines for when editing must be done and the different things that will be required to get a book out for publication. In a way, I'm … [Read more...]
Am I more or less like to complete the NaBloPoMo for December?
I can honestly say I don't know. Don't get me wrong. I will do everything I can to keep up to date with all postings to the best of my ability, but the reality is that life happens, as so many of us know. We have the best of intentions, but as the saying goes, some of the best laid plans can fall apart. More importantly, I'm excited to bring NaBloPoMo back to this site. I feel more at home doing it here. I can more easily talk about Mari, my writing or anything else personal and share that with … [Read more...]
Day 173: Easy Plays
In life do we stick to a specific script, or schedule, or do we improvise as we go along? Hopefully most of you said improvise. So, why do I say this? Because the best things in life most of the time happen when they are unplanned. Sometimes I wish I could be a better, organized person in my own life. I mean, my cupboards, or dresser drawers, or places like that are organized to the hilt. However, when it comes to my own life I try my very best to keep with a schedule but it never seems to … [Read more...]
Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving. It's a time of year where families gather round their tables to eat a big feast of turkey, ham, yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, apple pie, pumpkin pie, or whatever family tradition yours might have. But before you eat, many families will go around the table and say what they are thankful for over the past year. Five years ago on this very day I remember how hard it was for me on that first Thanksgiving with Mari gone. (Click here to view the post from … [Read more...]
