DisabledMama

  Lately I’ve felt like it’s my job to explain why I have one leg.  I feel like I should teach kids about differences and how my “disability” doesn’t really change my life.

  Example:  I’m swimming at the YMCA last week.  I knew that swim lessons would be coming in at 10, so I made sure I was there early to get in my laps.  My goal was to be finished before the kids ever came in. Of course, I forgot to factor in the getting ready time for the kids, so I was geting out as they were coming in.  I’m walking around the pool, in my swimsuit, my hot pink swim cap and a ziplock bag full of swimming stuff (and no one feels cute in a cap and racing suit.  No one.  Wise words given to me by my friend Brett when we were at summer camp one summer.  He was so right).  But, there I am, walking through them.  And I hear the comments about me having one leg.

  “That lady has one leg!”

  “Does she swim?”

  “I bet she swims in circles!”

  “I bet a shark got her!” (that’s right, oh future senator, a shark got me in a chlorine pool)

  So, I think to myself that I should take this moment and teach them.  That I should make sure they know that it’s not okay to practically yell at me that I have one leg, because I know this.  That they shouldn’t stare and gawk.  But, it is okay to be curious.  To ask questions (politely and respectfully).

  Instead I kept walking.  You know what?  It’s not always my job to educate everyone (kids or adults).  I can be private.

  And it’s okay.

  We spent time the first week of July enjoying the beach with some awesome friends.  The last time we vacationed with them, out of 5 couples only two had children.  And those children were infants who were both easily entertained and transportable.

  Now, 3 out of the five couples have children and some families have multiple children.  I know. Crazy.  But, we had a great time.  We missed one couple dearly and missed (the better) half of another couple.  But, all in all, it was a good trip.

The Camp Sunshine friendship bracelet- here are my 19. 

Twenty some odd years ago I sat in the back seat of my Mom’s brown Grand Marquis and impatiently waited for her to pull into camp.  I saw a curly haired guy with glasses direct us to the parking lot (I found out later his name was Jeff and to this day he is one of the most influential people in my life).  I nearly bounced out of the car and into the gym, I didn’t care that it was raining and that the gym was super crowded, I just wanted to get to camp.  I didn’t even really know what camp was or what it meant to be at camp,  I just knew I had to be there.  

  For 19 summers Camp Sunshine was the defining moment of my summer.  For the first 13 or so, camp was THE most important thing in my life.  There were other exciting things, high school graduation, awesome parts in plays and even college graduation, but camp was my favorite and most important thing.  

  When I got married my priorities shifted, as they should.  I couldn’t go to EVERY camp event.  I couldn’t be at every Family Camp or Teen Retreat, but Jason has always been understanding about how important summer camp was for me.  Then Kennedy was born.  I missed camp but I knew that I would miss my baby more.  So, for the past three years I’ve lived vicariously through Facebook statuses, text messages and pictures from friends about what was going on at camp.  

  This year I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer each morning at Camp Sunshine 2 U, a relatively new program.  Volunteers go into the hospital and we provide camp for a week for the kids who can’t leave the hospital.  We had different activities each morning, fishing (in a big bucket with magnet fish/poles), shrinky dinks, play-doh, spin art and sun catchers (to name a few).  I went to hospital rooms and convinced kids to come to the playroom and play with us.  I had some kids who would have rather swallowed glass than admit to having fun, but I think they did.  And it made the hole in my heart from not being at camp a little better.

Thanks to everyone who donated to the Camp Sunshine Keencheefoonee Road Race.  Together we raised $212,001.00.

Special thanks to Isabelle (my amazing babysitter), Jason (my super supportive husband), Anne and the other fantastic volunteers for making this week so awesome.

  This was Kennedy’s first year to be an actual participant in Vacation Bible School.  Last year she was there but mostly because I was there.  She’d hang with the WeeBS class as long as she could but most night ended up asleep in her carrier on me around 8. This year though, she was official.

  I typically run the craft station, which I enjoy.  This year I was asked to run it just for the 3-4-year-olds.  I was more than happy too!  It was fun, I spent the whole evening with just the littlest people in our VBS.  I don’t get to see Kennedy while she’s at school to see what she’s learning and doing so it was nice to watch her learn and grow during the week.  I loved watching as she grew confidence in singing and dancing to the songs and following along with the daily message.  

  Kennedy loved each evening of VBS.  She loved the new friends she made as well as the ones she already knew.  She loved singing and dancing (not something she usually likes all that much) and all of the things that goes along with VBS.  

What songs remind you of summer?

Go!

In my last entry I posted the letter I wrote to raise money for Camp Sunshine. I told you about how I raised a ton of money and how cool it was… 

I don’t think I mentioned the coolest and best outcome of that letter.

I met Jason.  You know, that guy that I married.  He gave me $200.00 for my fundraiser and I asked him out when I got back from my week.  A year and a half later we got engaged.  A year after that we got married.  Two years later we had Kennedy.

So, hey, thanks Camp for helping me meet my husband in the most unconventional way possible.

Back in 2004 I decided to raise money for Camp Sunshine while I was at working at a law firm.  A friend of mine worked at a rival law firm and we made a teeny wager.  Whoever raised the most money would have to shave their heads.  I knew that it was all in good fun and that I looked pretty decent with a bald head, so what would it matter? Plus, it was for a great cause.  

I wrote a letter and sent it to about 20 friends within the firm.  Within an hour I watched as it got forwarded all over our office.  This is not a tiny firm.  It’s huge.  I was getting donations so fast I couldn’t keep track of them.  And it was amazing.  That summer I raised enough money for 3 whole cabins to attend camp.  

Dear Friends, 

  I hope this letter finds each of you doing well and the days of summer joyous.  I am writing this letter on behalf of Camp Sunshine.  For those of you that may be unfamiliar with Camp Sunshine, it is the cancer camp here in the state that benefits not only the patients but the families as well, providing physical and emotional support.  So, with just 26 days till camp I’m calling on your help.  This summer will be my 15th summer at Camp Sunshine.  The first 10 were spent as a camper and this summer with be my 5th as a volunteer.  In honor of that achievement I’ve set a goal to raise $1000.00 for the camp that has made such a difference in my own life.  This is also part of a camp wide fundraising event, the Keencheefoonee Road Race, I’ll get up early and walk the 2k with about 70 or so other counselors.  You can visit the camps website at http://www.mycampsunshine.com

  This past Saturday was spent at the Camp Sunshine House for summer camp orientation and while I was there a long time friend of mine came over to me with a stricken look on his face.  

“I didn’t know you worked for The Firm.”  He smiled. 

I looked at him strangely and said, “Of course, I do.  Why work for anything less than the best?”

He just continued to smile.  ”It seems to me that we are in competition.  I work for Rival Firm.”  Since our firms are competitive we decided to take things one step further, and that’s when it started.  We decided to have a little bet to see who could raise more money from our firms.  The states in this bet? Our hair.  That’s right friend, this Princess will be bald again if he raises more money than me.  Bu, I’ll go bald again for Camp Sunshine.  I have enough confidence in my firm that I’ll keep my hair (right?).

Nine years ago this past February I was a 14-year-old girl who lived for phone calls and Camp.  I would sit on the phone for hours with friends from camp.  At school I found it hard to relate to my peers.  It’s not that I didn’t have friends there, I did, but none of them understood me like my camp friends.  None of them understood how frustrating it was to be on crutches, to have to go to the clinic every three months, to still have friends who were ill.  A fellow camper named Dustin understood me the most.  Out of all of my friends, we were the most alike while being the exact opposites.  I was outgoing and talkative, he was reserved and shy.  Besides cancer though we shared the same amputation, which was rare.  No one was amputated as high as us.  So we would talk.

Nine years ago I sat on my living room floor and talked to Dustin.  We constantly talked about camp.  What we were going to do this summer, how it was going to be better than ever, what the theme was for the dance would be… But, this conversation was different because we both knew that Dustin wouldn’t be going to camp that summer.  We knew that he wasn’t going to get any better.  But, we continued to talk about camp.  Our 14-year-old hears hoped for a miracle.  On February 25, 1995 Dustin left my side, but not my heart.

Dustin continues to live at camp.  Those of us who knew him remember him.  Those who didn’t know him, hear the stories about him.  Dustin used to say something to me when we would hang up, something has stuck with me for years.  I began to use it in the closing of my letters and soon people from Camp began to use it too.  It’s just a small way to keep his memory alive.

Please consider a donation of any amount to Camp Sunshine. I’ve seen how this place has changed lives.  I’m living proof.  They’re the ones who put me up on stage just a year after I lost my leg.  They’re the ones who supported me in my theater carrer.  Many of them coming to high school, college and now professional shows.  

There will be more stories like Dustin’s, but there are just as many like mine.

I mean, really, I can’t let him beat me… and I don’t want to be bald.

Thank you for your time and in the immortal words of Dustin, 

Sunshine Forever

Kati

It’s been nearly ten years since I sent out this Email.  I like to think that my writing style is different and that I don’t ramble quite so much these days…

But, the sentiment is the same.

PS- I won! But, I didn’t make my friend shave his head either… In the end, Camp was the one that benefited.

Me and my AMAZING Co-Counselors for 2005…

A favorite camper (who was in my cabin my last summer as a counselor) and is going to be a SENIOR in HIGH SCHOOL next year.  Also, 2005.

Being so tired from being inundated with family, friends, puppet shows and outside playtime that you fall asleep in the car… 

Braves Games…

Zoo…

Friends…

Basically summertime…

The other morning I woke up and my fingers were literally itching to write.  I’ve been somewhat stalled out on my original manuscript.  Not blocked because I know where it’s going, just not having the words to write it out.  And all of a sudden I woke up with words and thoughts… I wanted to write them desperately.

But, such is the life of a Stay at Home Mom and my boss called wanting her sippy cup with onge juice… She also needed to pee-pee and would I hurry up with breakfast already? That soy yogurt isn’t going to eat itself, you know.

So, I sat on my words and thoughts.  I let my mind twirl and wonder through that universe when I had a minute or two to myself. 

Thankfully, my boss was away from the office today with her partner in crime (our neighbor, Lena). And I was able to write out those words.  It was pretty nice.

Today was the last day of school for Kennedy… I did pretty well with her being all grown up and three now… until I got her art portfolio from the year.  Her awesome art teacher also does photography.  And took a SUPER cute picture of Kennedy from the beginning of the school year to put on her portfolio.  

When she started school this year Kennedy still looked like a toddler and now… well, she’s a kid… full out, foal like legs, kid.

First day of school, August 2011

Kennedy performing with her class at her end of the year program.