In honor of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week held March 3-9, here are some facts:
– More than 400,000 people in the US have MS
– About 2,500,000 people have MS worldwide
– Diagnosis of MS usually happens between the ages of 20-40
– MS affects women more than men with a ration of 2:1
– MS does not significantly affect ones life span
– Fatigue is the most common symptom in MS
– MS is not contagious
– MS is a progressive disease with no cure
– MS is the most common central nervous system disease among young adults
– The farther from the equator, the more numbers of MS there are
– In a person with MS, their nervous system attacks healthy myelin – Myelin is like the insulation around a wire for the nerves in our brains – Without it, messages can’t get through properly
– MS can be visibly obvious or a silent disease – either way, the symptom are real
– The orange ribbon stands MS awareness and represents hope for a better tomorrow with the chance of being one step closer to a cure
Starting when I was little, Ms. Pat has always just been around. She was the type of person that was always there, even when she said she was too busy.
As a kid, she was that sweet grandma type person that was quick to congratulate and even quicker to lift you up.
As an adult, I realized how amazing she truly is. Just hearing little bits of her adventures, I am humbled at all she has done and experienced.
Ms. Pat was someone who would always be anyone’s biggest fan. She gave all of herself for others. She had even helped those “old” people, even when she was just as old if not more. She was the type of person that would drop off food because she had made “too much.” She would show up to help even when she said she couldn’t or was tired or too old. She never took a leadership role but would bend over backwards to do anything she could to help.
Sadly, Ms. Pat’s body has decided that it was tired and done. It will be hard to not have her walk through the door. It will be hard to not have her hugs or words of encouragement. It will be hard for many. It’s no longer hard for her though. She isn’t in pain anymore.
I know she will have a long list of family members and accomplishments listed in her obituary but if it was a complete list of everything she’s done and everyone that considers her family, she would need the whole paper.
Tell the ones around you what they mean to you. Show up and be present. Put others first. Say thank you. Open yourself to possibility. Love freely. Practice peace. Hug.
All I have to say about the topic is that I would be sad if I was President number 2 through 15 right about now. Everything you find about Presidents’ Day is about George or Abe. I know they both have birthdays around now but there were plenty of guys in between them and lots more that came afterwards. Why aren’t they cool enough to be included?
Well, it’s actually because this 3rd Monday is February is celebrating Washington’s birthday. The official federal holiday is called Washington’s Birthday. The holiday began in 1871 and was originally celebrated on his actual birthday, February 22nd. It wasn’t until 1971 that it was moved to the 3rd Monday in February due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. There was a request to officially change the holiday to Presidents’ Day but it didn’t go anywhere.
The term Presidents’ Day is used only as a state holiday, in only about a dozen states, and something the advertisers have grabbed hold of. Some states have included Lincoln because he also celebrates a birthday in February. Randomly, there are even a few places that ditch Lincoln and throw in Jefferson for some reason.
So after all of that… Washington is the real reason we are celebrating today and why many kids are not in school. Lincoln just got lucky in when he was born as to why he gets to join in the party. If you live in a few select places, you’re wondering why I didn’t mention how awesome Jefferson is too. In reality, most all of our presidents have done a pretty good job. I know they get a lot of flack but I know that I wouldn’t want that job so I’m glad someone does!
We have been working hard on valentines at this house. I have two boys that don’t exactly enjoy sitting at the table and writing or coloring. I think it’s important to have them help with their valentines though. They need to learn the importance of giving. It’s not just about the candy they will get!
I’ve broken the process into little pieces for the tall one. It’s not as scary to do a just a few each time.
The best is that the short one has gotten excited about joining in! It’s so sweet to watch him practice writing his “numbers.”
I’ve been catching up on youtube videos. Afterwards I have fun wandering from suggested video to suggested video. This time I discovered some videos about Zach Sobiech. It’s a sad story about a Stillwater teen who passed away from cancer just last year. He loved music and wrote songs to express himself and give something to his loved ones. Besides being a completely touching story, the band is awesome. I think the girl in the band can go far in life with a voice like that. His big song was “Clouds” which is beautiful but my favorite is “Sandcastles” and “Star Hopping.”
Going through the papers from kindergarten, I came across a note saying crazy hair day was coming up. Having a boy, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Apparently he thought otherwise. I guess they talked about examples of what one could do for crazy hair day and different colors came up. A certain kindergartner in our house took this to heart as a must. I, on the other hand, don’t just own hair color. Grandma to the rescue!
The other one couldn’t be left out. I tried to lift chunks of hair and put it underneath so it wasn’t so obvious. It turned out more of a moldy look than anything but he was happy.
And more importantly, my fingers were green until well into the afternoon even though I wash about every half hour at work.
With both boys in their own classes, I love hearing about what they enjoy doing and who they are interacting with during the day. I get little slips of paper telling me a quick bits about the little one’s day but it’s interesting to actually hear their own perspective from both of them.
The three of us were in the car so they had no where to escape. I asked different questions about what they enjoy doing and then ended by looking for who they consider their friends at school. I started with the short one and he quickly told me, “I play wit Grant and Quiet. Dey are fun in my quass.” I laughed and then asked the tall one who is favorite friend is. He kept saying, “You mean not [the younger brother]?” I didn’t understand and kept saying that yes I was in fact asking for his response because I already heard from the other brother. Very frustrated, he said, “No mom, I mean are you asking who my best friend is besides being [my brother]? Then I’ll say Wyatt. He is in my class and in Kid Kampus with me!”
I couldn’t have been more proud. Even when they fight… even when they throw things at each other… even when they scream and break things… They are best friends!
