"I've lived a life thats full. I've traveled each and every highway"

Ok - so I'm a drama queen.  But as as I sat down to write, the words to "My Way" began, "and so, the end is near....."

Tonight I was thinking back over all the things that have happened this past five weeks or so, and how much actually was accomplished.  It’s a great thing to step outside of the same old world, to a new place, a new routine.  I think this visit built some new neural pathways for me as well. 

In the past five weeks:

I got over my fear of the Beltway- speaking of highways.

I’ve spent great quality time with my husband.  Without all the distractions of his woodshop, house projects and my endless budgeting and organizing, we actually spent some fabulous time together.  I enjoyed his company so much and he was a great help with Byron.  This trip would not have been possible without him. And we both owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bob’s boss Knut who made it possible for Bob to continue to work for Lockheed while supporting Byron’s constraint therapy here in Maryland. 

After 18 years as a PC user, I researched computers and bought a Macbook, right here in Maryland.  It’s been a cross between falling in love and learning a new language - exciting, frustrating, enthralling, exhilarating, depressing, challenging, adrenaline producing, and sleep depriving .   It’s a fantastic computer and I think I really get it now.  There are great video tutorials online and it’s been fun to just get in there and explore.  I transferred all my info from my old PC and the Mac is my main computer now.

I explored the underworld of the hacked jail broken iphone.  In the evening while Byron was asleep, Bob  and I would jump down the rabbit hole, and devour the relevent blogs.  I finally decided to do it and WOW – what a wonderful new world of tethering, taking videos, live video streaming, customizing themes and much more.  Why Apple and AT&T are keeping all this functionality from the average user is really odd.   ($$ I assume)

In mid August we both started dieting and exercising.  While here in Maryland, I’ve exercised nearly every day and since the diet began have lost 16 pounds.  While Byron is at KKI, I go to the local YMCA and do a combination of cardio, weights and stretching.  I really want to keep up this routine when we get home.

I’ve met, spent time with, and shared stories with, a wonderful family, whose son also has Hemiplegia.  The damage to the right side of the brain is much rarer with this condition and her son has the exact same condition, same side, and is almost the same age.   Juliet and Tim opened their home to us, showed us around and generally made us feel so comfortable and at ease.  I hope Byron and Brandon and our two families can continue to get to know each other.  We’ve invited them to the great white north for ski season next year – see you on the slopes!

I’ve also connected with other great people.  Got acquainted with a relative I didn’t know I had, Dr. Frank Pidcock, the founder of Byron’s program and my sister-in-laws brother.  What a lovely, kind man.  He says he remembers me as a child but I can’t reciprocate I’m afraid.  He’s one of Baltimore’s most popular pediatric specialists and an expert on Byron’s condition.

I had dinner with a wonderful friend who happened to be in Baltimore for a medical conference.  I spent some good times with Lindsay as she came and went, to and from all her various adventures.  One night Lindsay treated me to popcorn and “Julie and Julia” while Bob babysat.  I so rarely get to the movies these days – what a great movie and what a treat!  And thank you so much again Lindsay for opening your home to us.  For trusting us and our two year old with your lovely white furniture, and just generally being a great friend.

I think I’ve gotten to know, at least a little bit, this deep, mysterious, enigmatic, dangerous, thoughtful, exciting, beautiful, wistful, complicated city called Baltimore.  I have driven so many of her streets, seen the most magnificent architecture, and the deepest decay.   Baltimore’s people spend a lot of time on their porches and on her streets.  They seem to be a bright people, and a hopeful people.  I hope the economics of this great historic city sort themselves out so she can continue to be restored to all her glory.  And may John’s Hopkins, one of the crown jewels of Baltimore, continue to perform some of the greatest medical miracles of our age.

And lastly, I started my first blog.  It’s been fun ending each day reviewing the highlights, sorting the interesting from the mundane, and then eventually writing about both.  I’ve learned a lot.  It’s helped me to live in the present, and to not worry so much. 

Thanks for listening and sharing this journey with all of us.  Just two more days!!!