Tucking in their shirts???

      A couple of weeks ago our four year old fell and broke her collar bone for the third time. Last year she fell off of our radiator cover and broke one collar bone, and then about a 8 weeks later she fell off of our other radiator (while looking out the window), and broke the other collar bone.

      "She needed to even things out", my husband told the intake attending ER physician as he brought her into the ER once again.

      Our ten year old son is doing better this year than in past years.... A few months ago he broke his leg while jumping off of a moon bounce in a children's museum. The day that he got his cast off, 9 weeks later, he re-injured a number of tendons and ligaments that had grown weak while his leg was in his cast. They finally gave him a "rocker boot" which he wore for 5 weeks until he wore it down to the metal plated soul. A few weeks after that he pitched a hard ball which the batter hit straight into his face breaking his nose......

      A couple of years ago he fell off of a zip line in a park, falling hard onto his arm and added something new to our vocabulary; Supracondylar humerus fracture. He stayed overnight at the hospital and walked out the next day after surgery with three pins holding the bones together with a nice hot green cast. (The first of a few.)  So yes, thank G-d for normal breaks which don't involve me running to Wikipedia to figure out how to pronounce something.

   
      A couple of weeks ago, around the time our daughter broke her collar bone for the third time, my husband bumped into a friend of ours. During the course of the conversation she brought up how particular she is in ensuring that her children are tucked in. My husband, one who is never left speechless, wasn't quite sure what to say except that he is making sure our kids have a pulse and are breathing.

      "What to say?!?!"  I said a bit flabbergasted.

      "How about that this season we are working on making sure that there are no more broken bones!!! But if you want to make sure our boys are always tucked in, go ahead! Really, I have no problem! But don't get me involved! I am making sure we don't have any more ER visits this season that involve putting humpty dumpty or anybody else back together!"

      My husband calmly and a bit comically looked me into the eyes and said, "don't worry, I side with you one hundred percent."

      And thus I was reassured that my job suddenly got a little bit easier.

-Matana B.

                                                      Photos by Mendel B.

Friendship Circle

      About 6 years ago our family was introduced to the Friendship Circle. Sruly was still very young, and as a family we were adjusting to having an open house full of therapists. When Rivkee walked into our home and showed us what the Friendship Circle was all about I knew immediately it was a world we wanted and needed to be a part of. She introduced us to two very sweet and very mature teenagers. Masha and Darya, our children still talk about you! And later when Shane began coming to spend time with our children as well, the warmth and enthusiasm he brought with him only tripled our appreciation for such an organization. Our children felt the love these volunteers showed towards them as well as towards their brother with special needs. Instead of first having to explain to a friend why their brother was doing something that looked a little odd, they were able to invite their friends from the friendship circle into their home with confidence, knowing that we as a family were %100 accepted and loved - each and every one of us, including Sruly. Their visits became a time for our children to subconsciously relax and embrace a fun and much anticipated visit from our new friends. Masha, Darya and Shane have since graduated and moved on with life, however our children still talk about them and the friendship they brought into our home. Since then we, as a family, have participated in many of the yearly events that the Friendship Circle has offered our community. When we are out as a family, often times I am busy keeping track of our children than schmoozing, but I can't tell you how much I appreciate simply being in such a warm environment filled with other families who also have children with special needs. There is an unspoken and much needed connection. 

                          

      

      This past winter when Friendship Circle held yet another beautiful event, I asked my mother if she would like to join us. Usually when there is an event for the entire (typical) community, I go for the children. The events can sometimes be very busy, noisy, loud with lots going on and in the midst of all that, me trying to keep track of everyone. A little overstimulating. Of course I appreciate these events so much because my children always have such a great time and always come home happy, tired and with huge smiles on their faces. "But", I told my mother "somehow the Friendship Circle events are so calming and full of such warmth! Emma, you just have to experience it to see what I am talking about!" And my mother did. It's amazing how these special children can set such a beautiful tone simply by just being who they are. They truly are special children. We thank you friendship circle from the bottom of our hearts for what you are able to provide for these special children, their families and siblings. Thank you!

                 

photos taken by friendship circle ;)

     

As we Grow with Life.

      It's 7:30 am and I think I just gave up on sleeping for the night. The baby got up at 3am for the second or third time. I fed her and she went back to sleep. Then I heard Sruly get up.... He hasn't gotten up that early in a while so I really shouldn't complain, but doesn't G-d know that a mommy needs sleep? I have been up since 3am. I slowly got out of bed around 7am, realizing that there was no way I was going to get anymore sleep so I may as well start the day and join my Husband downstairs.

      I came downstairs and tried hard not to look at the mess. There was dirty laundry on the stairs waiting to be brought upstairs and put in the laundry hamper. There was a mess of hats, gloves, scarves, boots, mittens, coats and more at the bottom of the stairs making it almost impossible to climb over the gate (which was at the bottom of the stairs), gracefully. I was lucky I landed on my own two feet. Library books were all over the table, couch and floor. The kitchen sink.... well I won't go there. You would think the parents went to bed the night before too tired to clean.... Well, here I was, completely sleep deprived, surrounded by blessings but all I could see was mess and chaos. I even felt like I could see the noise. I could definitely feel my irritability and hoped that no one else could, but I think my dear husband was able to sense it from the other room.

"Don't worry," he said. "I will take over when I get home and you can take a nap."

    We have all had days, weeks and even months like these. Often times we just don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. We think the kids will never grow up, they will be toddlers forever. The mess with just multiply on its own no matter how often we clean. The laundry we feel has come alive and is out to get us as it grows and stretches across the house, slowly devouring everything in its path. The kitchen sink gurgles in protest as it tries to swallow the water being blocked by bits of leftover food and a mountain of dishes. We begin to wonder what exactly did we sign up for.... or did we? But somehow through it all, somewhere we manage to dig down deep and find the strength to carry on and care for the little cries, the spills, feed the hungry mouths, wipe the tears, read to the curious eyes, answer those often persistent questions of the curious minds, smile back at the beautiful smiles looking up at us. Looking up to us. They are watching and learning from our every move. Learning that it's ok to cry. Learning that it's ok to make mistakes. Learning about the value of love, of touch, of warmth, of devotion, of persistence. And finally they watch as we grow, but it's a secret that they don't know. They may never know how much they have touched us to the core and have truly changed us from the very depths of our soul. And for this we are forever grateful.

                                                     

                                                               photography by Mendel