My Sons

My oldest son told me he loves me for the first time last week. He is six years old. This is huge because Aidan has Down syndrome and usually does everything late. So, as his parents, my husband and I wait patiently (sometimes) for him to do or say something age-appropriate. There's no telling what "age-appropriate" means for Aidan. He does speak. A lot. This, in itself, is unusual for a little boy with DS. The problem is, he doesn't always speak clearly and even I can't always understand what he's saying. Last week he was sick and missed two days of school. He had strep throat (Aidan is the KING of strep throat, even with his tonsils out) and his appetite was gone. On the first day that he was feeling better, I made his favorite for dinner: spaghetti with marinara sauce and applesauce. It's no big deal because he has it EVERY night. I just make three days of spaghetti at a time so I'm not constantly having to make noodles. Anyway, he came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. When he saw his dinner being prepared, he said to me "Aw, thank you, Mommy! I luff you". Blinking away the tears, I continued preparing his dinner. I guess you really never know how much something means to you, how badly you have wanted it, until it finally happens. I've told him "I love you, Buddy" everyday and night since he was born. He finally told me.
Better late than never.

My son, Colin, turned one today. A friend on FaceBook posted that today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I'm not sure if this is so, but I guess I could look it up. It doesn't really matter though. If Colin's birth mother had decided to abort him we would never have known nor would we have had the opportunity to parent such a wonderful little baby. I thank God for His Mercy that protected my son in his birth mother's womb. And I thank her for the choice to keep the baby (relatively) safe until he could be delivered and placed into our arms. Thank you, Sheryl, from the bottom of my heart.

A Word About the Drumming Video

I'm a drummer. not a good one. But once a drummer, always a drummer. Ned had this video forwarded to him from a Royal Australian Navy list he's on and I HAD to post it. To say I was impressed is an understatement. These guys are the best I've ever seen or heard. I was a part of the marching band in high school. Not fortunate enough to be in the actual band, much less the drum line. No, I was in the color guard. Yes, I was a band-geek wannabe. How bad is that?

Anyway, I started seriously playing the drums in my early twenties, though I had a set as a kid, but never took it seriously. It says a lot about a person who's ADD is so bad they can't even stick to playing the drums long enough to learn how to play even passingly well. Playing drums is a CLASSIC sign of ADD/ADHD. Or so my shrink tells me....

So this video is REAL ear-candy for me. I had to post it. If you like this kind of thing, I hope you enjoy it. I was not aware of these guys before today. Now I have a whole new respect for the Swiss. They don't just make watches and chocolate. They have rhythm, too! ;O)