The Weekend!

Believe it or not I do what many Americans do when they are blessed with having a family of any size: I go grocery shopping to make sure we have all the food we need for the week ahead. Are you shocked? Well you should not be because my daily life is like any other woman's in their forties.

I not only have three kids, I also have three dogs and three cats and I am the one that empties the litter boxes  every Sunday. I am also the one that pushes a lawnmower through my front and backyard (when it is working that is!). Taking care of my own kids and animals and doing manual work is something I take great pride in because without the help of those in my childhood these things never would have been possible. There are therapists I wish I could remember their names as well as the doctors and Orthotics (braces) specialists.

The few I do remember are from my therapeutic horseback riding years at American Riding Club  for the Handicapped (ARCH) which was owned by Lorraine "Frosty" Kaiser and Valley View Vaulting's Rick and Virginia Hawthorne. The three of them along with several others taught me how to do things for myself and to not give up or even ask for help before trying first. I learned to use the abilities I do have to be who I am today through horseback riding as well as taking care of the horse(s) before and after my lessons. I got so good that by the end of my days at horseback riding, as a teen, I was volunteering with ARCH and helping the younger children with their own therapy on horse. I only had to give it up when my life became busy with high school and then college. I have not been on a horse in over 25 years but the lessons have stuck with me to this very day, never to be forgotten.

I know that I will talk about the above three people many of times because they were a big part of my childhood and who I am today. I hope you too will understand how important it is to have those certain people in your life whether you have a disability (cerebral palsy or other) or not, to teach you how to better your life and make it meaningful to you!