Dear First name / friend, 

Happy January, almost February! I wanted to take a moment to say HELLO and share a few things that have been going on with me. 

 

One of my personal ongoing goals is to experience the world outside West Virginia with my kids. I have 2 children with disabilities, and a third who rolls with it all! Staying home and not taking vacations was the easy way, and we did it for so many years. Traveling was hard, and especially really challenging with Max, because adult changing tables are hard to come by, and not everywhere is accessible to a wheelchair user. At least, these are the excuses I fed myself, but one day, I woke up (in 2021) and said NO MORE. 

 

Since then, we have been on a couple trips to the beach, but this month, my husband, Ed, and I decided to take the kids to Pittsburgh by ourselves. No grandparents. No uncles. No aunts. Just us, mom and dad. 

 

The first day, was a disaster. It was awful. Ed and I were sure we made a mistake taking the trip. Max was such a trooper and did a great job with EVERYTHING, but my oldest, who has high functioning autism, was not adjusting to the big change in scenery. He had meltdowns. He had. trouble adjusting to staying in a hotel. (Fun fact, he told people we stayed in a cramped hotel…it was the Hyatt 🤣) We all went to bed frustrated and hoped the next day would be better. And, you know what? It was!

 

We had a great time! We all got to pet a real PENGUIN at the National Aviary, and went to Carnegie Science Center and finally the Winter Light Show at Phipps Conservatory. My oldest said the trip was the best Christmas gift he received. 

 

Whew, thank goodness! We did it. We can do hard things. I'm already looking forward to our next adventure. 

 

I hope you are well and having a wonderful start to the year! Are there any goals you have made for yourself? I'd love to hear about them and cheer you on!