Man....GO!! Wait!!! Don't!!

So I realized this evening that I might need to end a love affair...no, no, wait...nothing like that. I'm a happily married woman! Mind out of the gutter, please!

My hubby (bless his German heart) has helped me come to grips with my affair and has even stated that I might not have to end it. I hope not, but it is looking bleak.

See, I have had this horrendously itchy, puffy eye for a couple of days. I mean, it is SO irritating that I have to sit on my hands (or keep them busy by typing this blog) just to keep myself from gouging my eye out. Gouging! It would bring me great pleasure at this moment to put my thumb and forefinger up to my eye and just pluck the damn thing out. But, alas, I am a sane person and will not do such a thing.

My lips, on the other hand, are not in the least bit swollen. They are, however, incessantly itchy and I can get no relief. None. I can't gouge my lips out, but my hands are fighting desperately not to scratch the hell out of them. Like my eyes, there is absolutely no relief for their suffering.

So you may be wondering the cause of this torture and why I allude it to an affair...Then again, you may have instantly noticed the photo at the top of this post and not be wondering in the least! Look at the title. Look closely now. Notice anything?? Man...GO....MANGO!

I cut into a succulent mango a mere 2 days ago and delved into it's plump flesh without abandon. I could not get enough and though I was tempted by and just ate one, I can tell you that had I had the opportunity to eat a basketful I would have. A grocery cart full, even!

So I tell my hubby that there is something seriously wrong with me. "What is it?" he asks. "Well," I say, "my eye is swelling up, itching like crazy and my lips are burning, on fire!!" I literally am thinking there is seriously something wrong with me and am preparing myself to head to the ER facing no uncertain death.

"You are describing the sensations I had once after eating mango." He says. MANGO?? Sure enough, I delve into the depths of Google and there it is, plain as day. Mango...related to Poison Ivy (WHAT??), severe reaction, only treatment is to give it up. NOOOooooo....I cannot give up my mango! No way, no how, no doing. But with the knowledge that hubby and I are both allergic to the fruit, who will prepare it for us? Ah...MAN!!!

My Rudolph

O.K., so I have been tooling this thought in my head for the past 6 weeks or so. See, Christmas was JUST here, even though it really was a full month ago. But as I get older, time really speeds up...so it was JUST here, in my mind.

My oldest child is obsessed with the holiday. I am not kidding. The Christmas songs begin well before the Halloween aisles are full of candy and The Polar Express (his absolute favorite) is still in our DVD player well into March.

As he was watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" shortly before Christmas, it suddenly occured to me that my son is practically a clone of Rudolph's.

Now, he does not have a red nose, unless he has one of his many upper respiratory infections...nor does he have antlers or fur (in fact, he battles with alopecia), but he does have one very distinctive similarity with the reindeer, and that is he has a disability.

It struck me SO STRONGLY when I watched that show that IHAVEBEENWATCHINGRUDOLPHTHEREDNOSEDREINDEERSINCEIWASACHILDBACKINTHE70'S.

The story is all about how Rudolph is an outcast and once they discover he has a talent, a sense of purpose, he is included with his peers and somewhat 'starlike' among them. His life is shown to have purpose (even though, as a child, I KNEW his life had purpose well before the other reindeer accepted him).

Where I went to school in the 70s, the district did NOT believe that kids like Rudolph should be with the other reindeer. No, they were holed up in some stable miles away from the North Pole where they were only seen on rare occasions.

Where we choose to live today, our son IS with his peers. 100% of the time. Now, is he as well loved, snuggly and nostalgic with his peers as Rudolph is with his? Not so much...He's accepted, tolerated, be-friended on occasion, but he IS different. The kids know this. But things can always be improved upon.

I think our society has come a LONG way when it comes to bringing kids with disabilities together with their peers. But there is a LONG road ahead and the work is NOT done. Lumping kids with disabilities in with their peers isn't enough. 'Typically developing kids' need to be educated about their disabled peers so that it removes the barrier of fear. Kids fear what they do not know and do not understand.

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" has been out for a very long time. I think the copyright is sometime in the 60s. Though it's message was a good one, I think it can be better.

It's time for a sequel, don't you think? Something like "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and His Two Best Friends: Tina Who Is Typically Developing and Dan Who Has Down Syndrome... and other stories on how inclusion can be successful in all aspects of home and school".

Happy reading all!!

On and On

Oh, how I wish I had direct connectivity from my brain to this blog. There have been so many times (mostly incredibly inopportune moments~ like right as I'm stepping into the shower) where I will have an amazing thought, something which I desperately feel like blogging about.

Then I will wash my hair, shave, get out and towel myself off and think, "what WAS it I wanted to say"?

Hubby seems to think that the next step in technology is this ability to do just that. Something similar to wearing a type of contact lens which ties you directly to your technology.

As bizarre as that seems, I can attest that it would help me so much more with my creativity.

I have thoughts while driving, during dinner, out walking with the dog, teaching at my daughter's co-op, I could go on and on and on and on and on an....