A walk in the park

Well, the broken toe is finally beginning to mend, and none too soon. Let me tell you that it's no walk in the park to take a wheelchair through Walmart. My daughter liked it, though, because she felt that everyone was looking at us in our caravan because I was in a wheelchair, rather than because we have three kids with Down syndrome. Watching teenagers get humiliated just gives me a special joy. There was a teenaged girl at the doctor's office today, whose mother was waiting in the wrong waiting room. The receptionist came out to tell them, and the daughter died a thousand deaths. Ah! It just never gets old!

What is a walk in the park, though, is a literal walk in the park. I like to take the kids to a park every day, if possible. I always hope for them to be motivated by how fun it is to run and climb and slide. The fact is that the more they do, the more they can do, and then the more they want to do. At this particular park, there were wonderful grassy hills to run down, and then climb back up. Little Boy had a wonderful time, moving fast, and falling down on purpose, which made him laugh. Little Girl tried to leave our party, and head off on her own a lot, and Big Girl said, "I ti-," which I took to mean, "I'm tired..." and dragged along. They seem to sleep well after they wear themselves out at the park!