Misc.

I am always puzzled when I see people tailgating or cutting off tanker trucks with pictures of flames on their haz-mat tags. I wonder if the drivers of those smaller vehicles are jockeying for some cosmic, all-time version of the Darwin award.

I'm feeling especially grateful just now for opportunities afforded my children, for extended family to share some of those experiences with, and for clean spaces. I have a penchant for appropriate tools for various jobs: the Odyssey I drive my children in has rubber floor mats. They wash off so slickly, as do the seats. I adore microfiber cleaning cloths. I have a printer/fax that makes my life easier by several orders of magnitude, most days anyway. What a gift to be able to just make and have the materials I need for the punkins to proceed. There's a really lovely broom in the kitchen -- I use it often and so can speak to it's usefulness. Very cool broom. The dishwasher and washer/dryer. I cannot fathom doing four loads of dishes by hand in a day. I cannot fathom trying to keep up with a laundry "schedule" that is most successful at three to six loads per day without a fantastic set of machines. They get the dishes and the clothes clean, respectively. Clean. I love clean. I consider these things to be small miracles and I am greatful beyond explanation for each of them.

Wish list: Dancing on the beach -- rain or shine. Hours all in a row for reading. Respite care. More silly time with the kids (in which I may thoroughly embarrass them). More hours per day, with one extra day per week. Fireside snuggling. Self-dusting furniture. A cloning device so I may be therapist, mom, teacher, chaffeur, cook, researcher, lifeguard, runner, advocate, thinker, whip-cracker, and still be able to dance on the beach.

Spoke with the PT today about Ski for All -- he gives it an adamant no. His adult son volunteers with the program every year for several years now and our PT has great appreciation and respect for it, but Q lacks the physical stamina for the cold (though we've plans to work on that), and is not a good risk for downhill motion beyond being snuggled as he slides at the park. Last year, our beloved PT nixed the tubing hills, even the gentle ones, because Q cannot protect himself in any way, not even the reflexive motions that babies make. He'd run a significant risk of head injury because he simply cannot maintain a steady head position. However, said PT does state that Q may indeed look forward to participating in downhill runs with Ski for All sometime in the future. He will love it and not want to leave, which means that he'll need his mama to get busy raising the dough for the program, thanks.

In the meantime, I'm looking at the WIKE special needs bike trailer. Check it out. The videos are especially neat, I think.

Q's out and snuffly so I'm heading off quick because I'm betting that I'll be up again. My bedtime reads have recently included P.G. Wodehouse. I'd forgotten how great it is.

And so I'll leave you with this, from a sweet friend of a lovely friend. Have a richly restful weekend.

"The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms: 'Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else."... Isa 8:11-13 NLT