I'm Ready Now

I’m ready to tell you all about my cousin and his accident. Let me first explain to you how our relationship has been. His Mom, Diann, is a year younger then my Mom and they have always been very close. There came a time when they were both single parents, my Mom raising me and my brother, and my Aunt, raising my cousin Curtis. We spent a lot of time together, the 5 of us, even living together at one point. JD & Curtis were like my little brothers at that time. They grew up as close as best friends can be, even got chickenpox at the same time. To this day they still have that brotherly connection. Quite a few years later I spent a lot of time babysitting Curtis and his two younger sisters. I’ve heard his friends say how cool they thought it was when I babysat, because then they got to hang out with my friends too. Then, as we got older, before either of us met our future spouses, Curtis and I would hang out together. We’d go to the local race track to watch the weekly races, we’d watch Nascar together on the weekends, and we hung out together at the local “lounge” bar. I think we’ve always had a closer relationship then most cousins, and I’ve enjoyed that.

On October 15th, Curtis was in a motorcycle accident. In the beginning the outlook was still unknown and didn't look good. His condition was very critical, and even though he’s making tremendous progress, he is still in critical condition. We haven’t explained the whole situation to Ethan & Sophia. I don’t think Sophia would quite understand, Ethan would, but I think it’s too much for a worrier like him to have to think about right now. Ethan has asked if he’ll look the same, which makes me believe he has been overhearing us talk, I’ve told him he will, he may have some scars, but he’ll still be Curtis. We’ve taken lots of pictures of Curtis through out the process, and most of them don’t resemble the Curtis we love, but I have a feeling he’ll want to see them when he’s all better and looks the same as he did before.

We’ve started a “Carepage” for Curtis to keep people updated on his progress. You can find the link under “My Blog List”.

FINAL ANALYSIS

BY MOTHER TERESA:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered...
forgive them anyway
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives...
be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies...
succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you...
be honest and frank anyway

What you may spend years building, someone may destroy overnight...
build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous...
be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow...
do good anyway

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough...
give the world the best you have anyway

You see, in the final analysis, it's all between you and God...
it was never between you and them anyway

Update

I know it’s been a few days since I wrote about wearing helmets, and I know I said I had something important to talk about, but I still don’t know how to start or where to end. A very dear family member was in a horrible accident and while I’d love to tell you all about him and what makes him such a special person; and so special to me personally, it’s still too surreal to talk about.

What I can talk about is what I’ve learned. In this past week I’ve been able to witness first hand how families in the same circumstances, can react so differently. I’ve watched families come and go through that ICU waiting area, I’ve seen the same pain in their eyes that I have in my heart and I know that although we all feel the same, as humans it’s only natural to have different reactions, but that' what amazes me so much. I’ve realized why my family is so special, it's the way we come together and support each other in difficult times, no matter what else we have going on, our family comes first. I honestly thought all families were like that, but apparently I was so wrong. That doesn't necessarily make my family better then the others we've met this past week, but it's what makes my family the best family for me.

You see, I come from a big family, lots of aunts and uncles, dozens and dozens of cousins and while you would assume with a family that big, it would be hard to be close, it’s not, we are very close. Growing up we spent a lot of time together, of course I spent more time with some then with others, but I still love them all and feel very lucky to have such a special bond with so many of them. Holidays and get togethers were always too loud and too chaotic, but at the same time so fun, exciting and full of love. This crisis that we’ve been going through has given us a priceless reminder of how important we are to each other. In the big scheme of things, what is life, if it’s not to spend it with the ones we love, being happy and making wonderful memories together?

I want to remind my family how much I love them all, and that no matter what else is going on in my life, I’m always here for them.

For Now

I have something so important to talk about, I just don't know where to begin. So for now I'll leave you with this...

If you ride one of these:

or these:

or these:

or even one of these:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.... find one of these you like:

AND WEAR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My own Rockstar!

When I was younger, maybe 3rd or 4th grade, like so many other kids I decided I didn’t like my name. I wanted my name to be Aubrey, I don’t know why, no offense to any Aubrey’s that happen by my blog, but it’s just a name, nothing special. Ethan went through a phase like this, but it was when he was about 2-3, he didn’t like the name Ethan, didn’t want us to call him Ethan, he was Rick and that’s what he wanted us to call him. I have an uncle named Rick, he did meet him a shortly before this, but I’m not sure if that’s what contributed to his name change phase. He was very creative with it too. If I remember correctly, he wanted his last name to be Jones, and he had this whole back-story about him being a famous motorcycle rider.
I should have known that it was only a matter of time before Sophia decided she wanted a new name. That day came yesterday. She has decided she wants her name to be Rockstar Rose, not like she’s a rock star and her name is Rose. She actually wants her first name to be Rockstar and her last name to be Rose. Where do these kids come up with these ideas?

Well at least I can say my kids are creative!