What time is it, Mr. Fox?

We have just begun week two of my summer job. I am working at 2 different camps. As you know, I work at a high school during the school year so I very intentionally work with younger kids during the summer (this year - mostly 6-9 year olds). It is something different and new. It doesn't feel like work most days and the rewards are huge (eww- cliché). I wanted to share some of the things I have loved about week one.

(1) One early morning, the door of a minivan opened and "Jared", with a larger than life smile and true enthusiasm, yelled, "GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS!" Everyone should start their work day with a greeting like this. Today I entered the lunch room and "Jared", with mischief in his eyes, announced that "Tracy" rhymes with "Crazy" and then got the most delightful case of the giggles.

(2) "Tiffany" refused to let an adult clean off a dry-erase board before she had a chance to show me her masterpiece. All I needed to give was a little high-five and she beamed like she had gold.

(3) "Jonathan", when confronted with the prospect of having to be sunblocked before going out to the sprinkler, politely stated that he "would rather not have to go through that routine again because Dad already did that this morning!"

(4) Today - the first really, really beautiful day in recent history (what is up with all the rain?) a coworker and I watched as "Lena" skittered, flit, and rambled across an open field after a little white butterfly. We continued to watch as four or five other children left the line that was getting ready to head in for lunch, to follow "Lena" in her dance.

(5) "Kimberly" drew a very special picture of Princess Tracy and her magical pet for me to hang in my office. Since I am traveling between 2 camps, I taped it to the dashboard of my "mobile office". Later, she too beamed as she got to be "Mr. Fox"...What time is it, Mr. Fox?...2 o'clock...What time is it, Mr. Fox?...DINNERTIME! Her excitement was palpable.

Now consider for a moment that the children I work with at camp are children with moderate to intensive disabilities. They have Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Delays, and so on. This can mean that (1) remembering to greet someone takes daily practice and is often done systematically and with little meaning. It can mean that making personal connections can be tremendously difficult...joking, playful teasing, and sarcasm can be far too abstract and confusing. It can mean that (2) learning to hold a marker to trace the numbers 1..2..3..4...is a milestone met in 2nd grade, not pre-K. It can mean that (3) touch is overstimulating and can lead to fight or flight reactions rather than calm words. It can mean that (4) the times when other children want to follow you into your own little world are rare. And it can mean that (5) instances of just being a kid and playing like everyone else are moments to treasure, soak in, and strive for.

I am so grateful for these moments and for all the incredible work done by the assistants and therapist who work one-to-one with these amazing kids each and every day. I am the Inclusion Facilitator but it is those individuals who give everything to make sure these kids are successful. I am grateful for the camps which work so closely with the school department to make inclusion work.

I am also grateful for the amazing families I am working with this summer. At the end of the day, I get to come home and turn off the teacher mode a bit. I can let my guard down; relax the structure. Families of children with exceptionalities are always "on". I often wonder if I would have the strength. I encourage you to visit a blog called Diary of a Mom so you can get a glimpse of the hope, the perseverance, the pain and struggles, and the love of one family who have been touched by Autism. It's powerful. Jess's writing is truthful, passionate, and is so full of voice that you will feel like plopping down on the couch with her and a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) to chat about life. Visit...you'll be glad you did.






I went to the gym today for cardio. I did some running on the treadmill but won't tell you how much because I'm not sure what "taking it easy" looks like with running. If you ask me, there is nothing about running that is ever "easy". I feel good though...knock on wood. My knees are little sore, but no shin splints! I'll keep plugging along! Thanks for the continued support and thank you, Jess and Matt, for your donation, your trust, your willingness to sit on the same side of the table, and for your graceful tenacity. You rock!

Thanks for reading. More later...

Finding New Motivation

I know I have not been to the surgeon yet but I am feeling really optimistic on the health front. I took the "take it easy" advice this weekend as planned. The doctor decided I shouldn't do more than 10 miles at a time until the walk or until the surgeon tells me otherwise. My plan was to do 7 or 8 miles each day this weekend depending how I felt. I felt great! It doesn't even hurt when I laugh anymore. So I was able to do almost 10 miles both nights.

Saturday was definitely an enjoyable walk . The weather was so perfect, I was feeling good to be back on track after more than a week off. It didn't feel as boring as some of the long ones I've done. I also walked in the evening, which I rarely do and as it started getting dark it was just so peaceful. I usually walk in the morning before the day gets away from me or the couch gets the best of me, but I managed to dig deep and found some surprising new, end of day motivation to keep me walking. Sunday, I did the same route at around the same time. Again, I was feeling good and the weather was beautiful but this was after a long day out with the family and being up late the night before so I was dragging a bit. I may stick to mornings unless I can find that afternoon motivation again.

I can't believe that after so many months of training and blogging, we are less than 2 weeks away from the real thing. I was starting to get really sick of walking but I think I can find enough new tricks to keep things interesting for the next 2 weeks. Maybe I will try changing the route I walk. That may be too much effort though as I finally have a route I like that has sidewalks the whole way. Some of you may recall I had a couple of poorly planned routes that left me perilously hanging to the shoulder as speeding motorist forced me knee deep into prickers, PI and people's rhododendron.

Maybe I will start singing on my walks or reciting Shakespeare. Then the people of Metrowest will really think I am the nutty walking lady. I could always play the alphabet game - you know, like you do on long car trips...finding the letters of the alphabet on license plates. I also have about 3 hours left of the audiobook I am listening to and maybe I will download some news songs onto the iPod. (I only use one earphone so that I can still be alert to traffic...no headphones is another 3-day rule like the no phones rule. Always pushing the boundaries of right and wrong...that's me!)

Anyone have other suggestions to get me through these last couple long walks? Feel free to join me. We can meet at my house. I'll even feed you! Hell, I can send you a map and some times and you can just pull up along side me and hop out of your car if you want! I'll take the company any way I can get it.

Maybe bragging will be a good motivator. Below are some pictures of the evil hill at mile 7 of this weekend's walks. I rock the hills!

from the bottom:


from the top:


Don't forget that you are a big part of my motivation during the real thing! Send those letters, make a poster, and head to a cheering station. Knowing that you are in this with me is what makes this all so exciting. I am never really sure who is out there reading...send me a sign!

Thanks for being out there! More later...

Here's the mail, it never fails. It makes me want to wag my tail...

From 3-day site:

Write a letter expressing your love and support to your walker, which we’ll deliver to them on the event at the 3-Day Camp Post Office. Send letters to:
Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office
ATTN: INSERT NAME OF PARTICIPANT
P.O. Box 8534
Warwick, RI 02888
Envelopes only, please. No boxes or large packages (if you want to dress in a gorilla suit or jump out of a cake you should do that at the cheering stations). Mail must be postmarked no later than July 14th (that's THIS TUESDAY) in order to ensure delivery at the Breast Cancer 3-Day Camp Post Office.


I am not above begging for mail...PLEASE! Don't let me be the geeky kid at sleep away camp.

Don't forget to visit the SPECTATOR site.

CALLING ALL SPECTATORS!

Grab your pom-poms, air horns, and posters! The Cheering Stations have been announced.

I am getting more and more excited as the big days approach. I was pumped to find out opening ceremonies are in Framingham and now that the cheering stations have been announced, it is my guess that we will be following one of my training routes on the first day - the Boston Marathon route from Framingham to Newton! Wahoooo! The specific route is not announced but based on the cheering station locations, my guess is we will be taking Rte. 135 to Rte. 16 through Natick, Needham, and Wellesley. Even though we will hit Newton in the middle of the day on Friday, I am hoping to recruit students, Sherri and my colleagues, friends and family to head to the cheering station in my hometown!

Please visit the SPECTATOR INFORMATION page for more information.

VISIT NOW to find out how you can send mail to me and Sherri at camp. BUT HURRY because it has to be postmarked by Tuesday (7/14)!!

I will post more information soon on how you can get on an email list so that I can notify you when Sherri and I are nearing a cheering station. I will be following the strict "No Phones Allowed" rule on the route but will email from my phone at pit stops along the way to keep folks posted. This should be fun.

Gallbladder Update #1

I went in to have follow up liver function testing done on Monday. I got in touch with the gastroenterologist's office and they did not even see me but instead referred me to the surgeon. The nice lady behind the desk said this surgeon removed her gallbladder in January and she thought he was great. I have an appointment on Wednesday so I am confident that I will be able to wait until after the walk to have it removed.

I have thankfully not experienced any major pain since the incident in my last post. Most days I feel bloated and a general ickyness. I just don't feel myself and I am tired. Every once in a while I need to sit and if I laugh too hard it hurts. I am being really careful not to eat fatty or spicy food (I love spicy food - so this makes me sad). I actually felt great yesterday and went to the gym for the first time since the gallstone night. I was able to do an hour on the elliptical and was feeling really great. Today I wasn't so hot again but I am hoping to walk tomorrow. My doctor told me to "take it easy" until the walk, so I will not be doing the scheduled 18 miles tomorrow. Maybe I will try 7 or 8. Can you imagine that I am calling a 7 or 8 mile walk "taking it easy". Who woulda thunk it?

My doctor's office called tonight with the results of my liver function tests. One is back to normal and the other is still elevated but nearly 4 times lower than the day after I passed the stone. Phew! So it looks like my liver was just reacting to his neighbor, Mr. Gallbladder's, turmoil. What an empathetic liver I have. He is still a little sad but he is going to be okay. Maybe he knows that Mr. Gallbladder will be leaving the neighborhood soon.

I will keep you posted after I see the surgeon. Thanks for all the well-wishes.