I choose not to place "DIS", in my ability

The Old Dog/New Tricks Syndrome:
So last week my daughter, Michelle, and her boyfriend, Dion, talked me into trying the Hidden Chronicles game on Facebook, and since I'm a big fan of Big Fish hidden objects/adventure games it sounded like fun.  But now that I've tried it I have to admit I have no friggin' idea what I'm doing. Michelle and Dion gave me a brief run through it....then they went home...and my mind went blank...now people are sending me stuff and asking for stuff and I don't have a clue!!!! They need a tutorial IMHO.

But this reminds me...there's so much stuff out there that they didn't have when I was younger.  Remember I asked the sales clerk for a tape recorder...duh, now I know better.  Well, today I just learned how to use my voice recognition on my phone...that I've had since last May. 

I have to keep track of the different goals each of my clients have and the services I provide for them on a monthly basis.  Then I have to document them for the county and the state.  So I decided to try my hand at spreadsheets.  Haha!  My daughter, Lisa, is a secretary and tried to show me how to do it.  But it took forever to eventually get the hang of it. 

I've written two complete manuscripts, but it wasn't until a few days ago I found out that to keep my chapters in my manuscript from moving every time I add or delete something, I need to use the "page break".  I didn't even know what that was!  Lisa's my go-to on this one too. But I'll need more than one lesson, Lisa.

I haven't always been this way.  I used to pick things up pretty quickly, but it seems the older I get, the longer it takes for things to sink in.  Is this normal?  Or is it just me?  Can you really teach an old dog new tricks?  I'm beginning to wonder.

I choose not to place "DIS", in my ability. ~ Robert M. Hensel:

Something happened today that I want to share.  This is Logan, a young man I've been privileged to be able to spend a lot of time with for the last seven years.  Technically he is a client of mine, but in reality, he's my little buddy.  He's not so little anymore though.  He's 17 now and growing so tall.  I'm with him after school and during summer and school breaks, while his single mother works.  My time with him, though, has been shared with other providers this past year due to him getting bigger and me getting older.

Logan is non-verbal and needs some assistance with his daily living and that's where the providers come in.  But I've come to realize over the years that he is much more capable of doing things on his own than some people give him credit for.  There is no doubt in my mind that he understands me when I talk to him because he gives me what I need when I ask it of him.
  

This past year the two of us have worked on him being able to drink from a cup on his own, starting with hand-over-hand, then him learning how to tip the cup to get more from it.  We've practiced and practiced with him eventually reaching for it on his own, lifting it and tipping it to drink, with me holding the bottom so he doesn't drop it.
  

Today, while eating lunch with his mother, he reached out and took the glass and this is what happened...and he did this all on his own...with no assistance!  When his mom sent me this picture, I was amazed.  I couldn't stop smiling.  My chest filled with emotion and I cried.  And how did this happen?  Persistence on his part, consistency on mine, and patience from both of us. 

Logan, I am so proud of you buddy.  We both knew you could do it, didn't we?

I have to share one more picture of Logan, swimming with the dolphins at therapy camp in the Keys.
If you'd like to read more about this amazing young man, check out his grandma's blog and scroll down.  She posts about him often cause he's the light of her life.
 http://logansgrandma.blogspot.com/


Quotes of the Day:
It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using. ~ Marlee Matlin

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~ Scott Hamilton