I have my 20lb turkey (I lack the ability to cook anything smaller....or is that I refuse to?? lol) thawing in the refrigerator, potatoes are in the pantry and I'm ready to cook up the chestnuts to make Grandma's stuffing. I feel like I'm half doing it this year because I'm not making my pumpkin pie from scratch & I have spent more time than I should have today thinking about that one tiny little detail. Why? Is the world going to come to a screeching halt because I don't make a homemade pie? Will Scott & the kids love me less because I serve up slices of a pie from the Publix bakery? (Honestly, if I were going to serve one other than my own, Publix is the way to go! But I digress...) Like so many others, we're on a serious budget this season & that is nothing to be ashamed of! In focusing on this stupid store-bought pie, I took time away from focusing on things that I am truly thankful for....things that are truly important.
For me, and I think any mom you know, I'm thankful for the obvious things in my life: My husband who provides for his family, keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table. My kids, Graham & Emalea who continue to teach me the lesson of patience, humor & demonstrate what true love really is. Aside from the obvious, I'm thankful for Mt. Dew. It's yellow and fizzy & I find it truly delightful. I'm thankful for Facebook. It's an utter time waster, but over the last few years has given me the opportunity to reconnect with old friends. Friends from high school, old roommates, old co-workers & even a couple of my cousins whom I had lost touch with. So, while I can log on and post sarcastic & snarky postcards (which I do enjoy immensely), play SongPop, Bubble Witch or even build and run my very own restaurant, Facebook has given me the opportunity to use it for a greater purpose. Lastly, I'm thankful for CAPE.
Five years ago, when I heard the word 'cape', I thought of superheros like Superman (although I have never understood why he would wear a cape....it's the perfect item of clothing to get sucked in to passing airplanes and it's a choking hazard!! For such a brilliant guy, you'd think he would have thought of that!). When I thought of capes, I thought of magicians. This was the extent of my thoughts on "cape". Now Graham is 14 (yikes!) and Ema is 10 and 'cape' has a whole new meaning for me and my family. CAPE is Rick. CAPE is Sara. CAPE is KJ. Like my aforementioned uses of 'cape', these three are super, just like Superman (or in Sara's case, Wonder Woman, I suppose & KJ, Cosmic Boy [a part of the Legion of Superheros....I did my homework, folks!]). These 3 are magic. Not in the David Copperfield sense of the word, but rather in what they do...who they are. My mom, who lives in Michigan, loves hearing stories of CAPE & has always been blown away by the Ryan's. That they created this organization for special needs individuals, yet did not have a child with special needs themselves. What kind of person does that? A terribly special and blessed person(s), that's who. Now, because of them, families like ours have a place where our kids (no matter how tall, small, old or young) can participate...in SPORTS!! Sports that in most likely situations, our kids wouldn't be able to find a home or acceptance. We have a place where friends are made, parents understand "meltdowns" and never ever ask "What is wrong with your child?", "Why can't you get a handle on him/her?", "If you'd just discipline them....." and dirty looks are never ever thrown your way. Graham was never interested, and forget focused enough, to play any sport. He couldn't even play TAG!! No joke lol. Tag with Graham was just a big game of chase. Man, did that ever tick off kids at the park!! Looking back, it's extremely funny, but if you'd have told me then that years later he would play...and ENJOY playing...baseball, basketball, soccer, street hockey and would be a crazy good bowler, I would have laughed at you and told you were nuts. If you'd have told me I would have a pre-teen (ish) daughter that would CHOOSE to play sports with a group of special needs kids rather than playing with her NT peers, I wouldn't have believed it. Now Graham plays all of the above sports and Emalea turns down sports leagues with her closest friends to play with CAPE season after season. What did I do so right to have hit such a jackpot in my kids?
Sometimes I don't think a lot of people stop to think about just how much time, energy and love Rick Ryan puts in to this organization, but that's precisely what I'm asking you to do this Thanksgiving. He doesn't ask for you to gush over him. In fact, he'd probably poo poo you if you did (lol). The bottom line, however, is that without Rick, his heart & vision, we wouldn't have this amazing place to call home. Without Sara, CAPE wouldn't have such a gentle heart and kind spirit & without KJ, some of our kids wouldn't have such a spectacular young man that many of our kids look up to, have crushes on or, like Graham, consider their best friend. I think that we all have an awful lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, don't you?
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