A better day....

Last night we had chocolate chip cookies as part of our dessert, and tonight we had cupcakes for dessert. Apparently sugar therapy is working, because all in all, today has been a better day.

Thank you for all your encouragement! I knew I could vent and find some support from mama's who have been here and done this.

The girls and I made banana cupcakes today, courtesy of Bakerella's recipe here. They were DELICIOUS, and I considered the one banana used in the entire recipe a serving of fruit for the day, so there you go. ha!

I post again with a lack of craft, but I wanted to post a positive update, and I also have a video to share.

I've told you about my mama before, and her blindness. I told you about her new service dog Phoebe, here.

Another thing about my mama is her kick butt paddling skillz. My mama is part of a Dragonboat racing team. When she first moved to Portland, she was part of the very first blind dragonboat racing team, sponsored by the Blind Commision. They were called Blind Ambition. Sure, at first, it was awkward watching them race, because paddles would hit each other, and they were a bit of a mess, but eventually they got their rhythm. They usually mixed blind paddlers with sighted paddlers to help keep them organized. And they also had someone up front, banging a drum to the beat of the paddling rhythm, to help keep them in sync.

If you ever get a chance to go to the Portland Rose Festival, you have to go watch the Dragonboat races, and this team in particular. There is NOTHING like being at the top of the stairs when this team finishes a race. There is always someone on the boat who is racing for the very first time, and the tears of joy they share, being part of a team, being able to do the same things as a sighted person, will change you.

Below is a link that shows my mama, training. My mama is on Team USA and is leaving in about a week to go to Prague to race. Prague! Last year she was in Malaysia. The year before that she was in Sydney Australia. My mama, my blind mama, is headed to Prague. That is baffling to me!

Anyway, watching even a nibblet of this video brings tears to my eyes. I am empowered by watching such a strong group of women, mothers, grandmothers even, kicking some serious tush! My mama is on the left, in the red tanktop, with the smokin' hot arms! I *think* her BFF Char is behind her on the left side. If that's Char, Char is completely blind. Well, she has the same eye disease that my mother has, but she has a little bit of her peripheral vision, mostly shadows. And they are kicking tail! DANG, I am proud.

Wish her luck! They race on the 25th, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfMwQcsZiew&feature=email


Back with projects soon!

Davinie

ETA: After watching again, I realized that's not Char sitting behind my mama. Char is an awesome paddler though!

:)