It's been awhile...

Not that I am a regular post-er, but it has been awhile! My former boss used to walk around the office singing that song "It's been awhile...." I can't remember who it's by, but it reminds me of good times before the boss became a total schmuck. But, I digress.

A few things first. I should be working on a presentation for class tomorrow - I even got a week's reprieve and I'm still not finished with it. Last week's snow answered my one completely selfish and ridiculous prayer - cancelled class on Wednesday night! Such is my life - I will always wait until the last minute to get something done.

I am cooking tonight, which I don't do enough. My cousin Donna has a blog she started for her kids when they went away to college and called home for their favorite recipes. I decided tonight, one of my rare weeknights home, that I would try this and this, freeze what's leftover and not have to worry about some meals for awhile. Of course, on the Rigatoni - what was I thinking?? I'm not Italian, I never make pasta, and I find tomato sauce to be a bit overpowering at times. There were several substitutions because my pantry/fridge is mine and not the Barefoot Contessa's (impressed that I know of her, aren't you?). My mother has always said that Donna's the best thing that happened to our family - she married my cousin and brought some SPICE into my dad's side of the family. Nothing like a firey red-haired Italian from New York to liven up the brothers four from small town South Carolina! Donna is a fabulous person and a great cook so feel free to try out her recipes. The cheese grits are my FAVORITE!!

And now onto a recap - the Adaptive Ski Clinic was incredible. Awesome. Indescribable. Seriously one of the best weeks of my life. The people are amazing. The instructors come from all over - California, New Mexico, Colorado, even some from North Carolina. And the volunteers, most of whom work in some type of physical therapy or adaptive sports/recreation field spend their week helping out. One of my favorite volunteers, John, flew up from Tampa for the week. These people are the best you'll meet. And the participants are pretty darn spectacular too.

When I first heard about the adaptive sports program, I was nervous for many reasons. The most obvious being the actual skill required to be athletic in some way, but the other main reason was the fact that I was going to face my disability. Yes, I know I have a physical disability, but most of the time I'm around people who don't. And, believe it or not, you can sometimes kind of forget what makes you different. Until, that is, you're in a group of people who are all physically disabled. And there are so many differences within that group of people as well. Many are in wheelchairs; I can walk. Some of the people are profoundly disabled - unable to speak, to feed themselves, to express their feelings. There are people of all ages. My two favorites from this year are a little boy named Jack and an older gentleman whose name I don't even know. The older gentleman is in a wheelchair and didn't interact with many people other than his aide that travels with him. One of the instructors, Gene, took this man down the slopes that week and Gene is great. I've never skiied with him but I like him a lot. Gene came in one afternoon and said that the man had sung every verse to Amazing Grace on the way down the slopes. How great is that?? Of course, it could have been a serious attempt at prayer since Gene was at the helm... :) And then Jack. He and his older sister both have Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which I don't know much about, but these kids were the cutest brother and sister team ever. They're 4 and 6 I think and so stinkin' cute! And they were rockstars on the slopes!! Colleen, one of the absolutely amazing instructors, took both of them down the slopes in a seated ski, took them over small jumps, and helped them have a great time. I saw Jack at the ski lift at one point and I'm not sure I've ever seen a happier child. It is simply AMAZING what this program does for people and I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world for finding out about it and becoming part of it. I am blessed.

As for my skiing attempts - it was a great week! I only got to ski with Bobby Wan Knobi a couple of times, but in his place, I worked with two incredible women - Tara and Colleen. Colleen advanced me on the first day and I spent the rest of the week trying to perfect what they were teaching me. I'm getting closer to independence on the slopes and that is awesome!! I WILL get to the point where if my friends say, "Let's go skiing for the weekend," I will actually be able to go. It may involve purchasing some special equipment, but I will still be able to go. How cool is that??

We also had some fun during the week. There's an awards banquet the last night and I didn't go last year, but went this year. My parents spent the week with me at the clinic, but opted out of the awards banquet. I have a substitute family for the ski clinic. Some friends of mine from Chattanooga participate in the clinic with their son Jason, who has Down's Syndrome. I usally hitch a ride with them everyday and hang out with them between ski lessons. They are a great family and I love spending the week with them! My parents, who are great as well, aren't snow bunnies so they usually hang out at the condo or see the sights in Banner Elk. Anway, my parents skipped out on the dinner the last night and I hung out with my "other family." I got to sit with Bobby and Jason at the dinner. I told Jason he was my date and he politely asked me to stop telling everyone that. Ha-larious!! A group of us went out to one of the local watering holes (I believe it was called the Corner Pub) after the banquet and played pool, drank beer and had a great time. It probably wasn't the best way to spend the night before going out on the slopes again, but it was great fun. And I can't wait for next year.

Switching gears... I got a call from a college friend while I was at the ski clinic and I had spotty cell service at best. The message was short and I was immediately terrified that something horrible was wrong, that someone had a terminal illness or had died. Luckily, I was wrong. So completely wrong. Two of my very good friends from college got a call about a baby girl who wanted them to be her parents!! These friends have had the worst, seriously, the worst experience trying to make their family. They've fostered children who have ended up with some distant relative. They were matched with a completely worthless couple (yes, I am being that harsh) who took their money, took them to doctor's appointments, and then again, took their money, only to give the little boy to a couple who paid more. Yep, that really did happen, even though they went through a legitimate adoption agency. I think they have experienced heartbreak in the worst kind of way, but now, there's a little girl named Ella who will learn to call them Mama and Daddy and the three of them are so lucky to have found each other. They are still in SC waiting on all of the court proceedings and all of those necessary but long and drawn out things that have to happen. Hopefully, they'll be home in NC soon and one big happy family. I can't think of a better thing in this world.

I feel like I've written a novella here. I guess that teaches me not to go so long without posting.

If you're looking for a crafty valentine idea, visit my friend Amanda's blog. She's amazing!

By the way, Rigatoni = YUM!!! I may go a little lighter on the garlic next time though...