Tennis

As our theme this summer is gross motor skills, Alex is playing as many sports as he can - tennis, running, swimming, biking (iCan Bike program), lacrosse and gymnastics (not all in the same week). Yesterday, in tennis camp, the kids learned to serve. I was really nervous that Alex was going to get frustrated because serving means launching the ball with his lefty hand. I didn't think he could do it. But that is the beauty of having someone else teach your child--there are no preconceived instructor doubts about your child's ability, and it has been my experience that most kids will rise pretty close to expectation. I typically run during camp time, but try to catch the beginning and end. I was amazed yesterday when I sat down to watch. There was Alex, launching the tennis ball over his head using his lefty hand, and hitting the ball with his racquet for a lovely little serve. If your child has weakness in either side, try playing tennis. There are so many opportunities to strengthen both sides, and there is something about whacking a ball around that is incredibly therapeutic, for the parents too.

iCan Shine Program

If you have a child with disabilities, check out iCan Shine. This is an amazing organization. This week Alex has been learning to ride a 2-wheeled bike with iCan Shine, in their iCan Bike program. It has been amazing to watch. They use a roller system on the back tire that they taper as the kids gain balance. By Friday, most of the kids are riding their own bikes! Wow, this is awesome. We have been struggling to teach Alex to ride a bike for years, with horrible results. He was at the point where he simply refused to even get on the bike. But now he rides with ease. For kids who can't quite master 2 wheels, the program offers a cool bike handle for the back of the bike for parents to grab in need. We are adding that to Alex's bike today, because he has trouble getting on and off and needs that support. Grabbing a handle is a lot easier that trying to support his bike or body-the handle will save your back. Watch a demo from this week. http://www.wfsb.com/clip/11755809/students-in-milford-learn-how-to-ride-bikes

Summer Skills

It's summer again, our family's favorite time of year. We are back from our incredible trip across the country and looking forward to summer fun. For children with disabilities, summer is an excellent time to focus on one or two weaknesses (needs, challenges...). Creating daily rituals and summer camp classes to strengthen those weak areas is a great way to focus the summer activities. For example, although Alex's left hand is stronger and more capable, it is still significantly weaker than his right arm, which is now noticeably longer and bigger. Last summer we put him through a camp designed to strengthen that left arm and hand, while casting his right one to keep it immobile. This summer, we have chosen not to do the summer camp, but to focus on strengthening that left arm. So, our activities are all about strengthening left. Gymnastics camp, swimming, lacrosse camp and pushups are some of the activities we will use to work that left side. Of course Alex still needs work on his fine motor skills, but there is only so much advice to "work lefty" that Alex can tolerate in a day, and so we have made a choice to focus on the large muscles. Alex's personal goal is to run the 3 miler in our annual race, The Run Baby Run Baby Ultra in August. He has started a daily running log, and is slowing working up to running 3 miles without walking. This is a huge goal for him, as the heat and intensity of the exercise cause him headaches and exhaustion, but we let him work at his own pace, set his own goals, and write down his daily progress toward them. Finally, Alex is finally tall enough to participate in the iCanBike program, which teaches children with disabilities how to ride a bike (something we have been unable to do), using a weighted fishtail. And so, in the middle of August, we take one week to focus on one goal, learning to ride a bike. And while Alex is in camp, I'll be outside with Izzy to get her on 2 wheels as well. And of course, every day includes Alex's sugar free ice cream, homemade, creamy and delicious. We love summer.

Izzy's Bog: All About Horses

At Zion, I went horseback riding through Zion and I liked crossing the stream on horseback. We also went horseback riding in Palo Duro, Texas and in Colorado. In Colorado, wild horses came up to us while we were riding. It was so fun!

Alex's Blog: Zion and Capitol Reef

When we were in Bryce Canyon we went on a hike across Bryce Canyon, and saw the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. When we were in Capitol Reef, I went for my first sunrise run with mom. We also had a mindful glimpse of school in the past at Capitol Reef, and had strawberry rhubarb pie, homemade at the old homestead of the original founders.

The Poorest Town in America

Our focus over the last two months of traveling the USA has been trail running. We have run in some of the most beautiful places in the world. And although our gaze is set on the mountains and trails, something else keeps screaming at us and redirecting our attention: the profound poverty in America. Yesterday, we traveled through the single most impoverished town in the country, and it was the most shocking poverty I’ve ever seen. Even in the remotest, most impoverished Third World communities where I’ve lived and traveled, there were signs of life and hope. There were people engaged in productive work, preparing food and caring for children. There were businesses of some kind, even if they were only small rebottled Coke stands out of the back of a corrugated steel hut. But not in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The scene was horrific. A handful of shops, boarded up and breaking down. A few dozen adults, high on alcohol and/or drugs, hanging around, lying around, their gaze unfocused. Graffiti everywhere, with one large message “death to the white man” scrawled across a building. Pine Ridge is a dry town. But a stone’s throw away is Whiteclay, Nebraska. According to some stats, there are 4 liquor stores and only 12 inhabitants in Whiteclay, where 12,500 cans of beer are sold every day. Pine Ridge is home to Lakota Native Americans, and located a few miles from the site of the Battle of Wounded Knee, where the U.S. Cavalry massacred 100’s of Lakota. Historical markers inform travelers of the events of years ago, but it’s the visions of today’s unfortunate souls that will impart a greater impression and lasting memory, although the two are undoubtedly connected.

The Parks

After staying in a couple of KOA campgrounds as we first got our bearings in the RV, Big Bertha, we decided to avoid them wherever possible. We soon found out that most state and national parks and forests have drinkable water, showers, bathrooms, and some even have electrical hookups for the RV too. But the great benefits of staying in a park are that there are usually trails for running, you are closer to nature and farther away from other people. While I admit that staying in an RV is nothing like the “real” camping we used to do as kids where we hiked our stuff and tents up a mountain, found a flat spot to set up, went trout fishing and then cooked over an open fire, slept on the hard ground next to my snoring brother and woke up with icicles hanging from the top of the tent or a wet sleeping bag from the previous night’s rain, it is just the right amount of camping for our family. We do occasionally sleep in a tent, but the older I get the more I need my pillow (and my sleep!). So, here we are. The state parks have been incredible. We have stayed in them in Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, two in Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Each one has offered peace and quiet, bathrooms, trails, playgrounds and coyotes.