When I snapped this photo it was just to have a funny picture before I sent my husband off for a minor surgery.  Now here it is 12 hours later, and he is lying in the ICU.  As life has given us an unexpected hurdle, I would like to ask for everyone to be keeping him in your thoughts.  The next few days will be bumpy and I am trying to keep optimistic.  But I can't help to worry about how I am going to handle his care, along with my daughter having her surgery scheduled in just a few short days.  They are both depending on me, and I pray that I will be able to stay strong for both of them.  They say you are never given more than what you can handle, it is yet to be seen if I am up for the challenge.

I would like to send a quick thank you to my dear friend Lisa, who was by my side from the moment that I called her.  She is a gift that has been given to me and I am grateful for that.

'til I see you again
~Am

http://oswegocountytoday.com/?p=70500

The link above is from OswegoDailyNews.Com, which recently posted an article on the Literacy Event that I attended this past weekend.  I got the privledge of meeting many wonderful people while I was there.  Asides from the authors, I shook hands with Senator William Barclay, spoke in depth with the program coordinator for Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County, and chatted endlessly with the vast amount of visitors who came to enjoy the day.  It was a wonderful experience to be able to take part in.

The picture below of me and Dee Marie, author of The Sons of Avalon.

http://oswegodailynews.com.look-for.us/

The link above is from OswegoDailyNews.Com, which recently posted an article on the Literacy Event that I attended this past weekend.  I got the privledge of meeting many wonderful people while I was there.  Asides from the authors, I shook hands with Senator William Barclay, spoke in depth with the program coordinator for Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County, and chatted endlessly with the vast amount of visitors who came to enjoy the day.  It was a wonderful experience to be able to take part in.

The picture below of me and author Dee Marie, author of The Sons of Avalon.

http://oswegodailynews.com.look-for.us/

The link above is from OswegoDailyNews.Com, which recently posted an article on the Literacy Event that I attended this past weekend.  I got the privledge of meeting many wonderful people while I was there.  Asides from the authors, I shook hands with Senator William Barclay, spoke in depth with the program coordinator for Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County, and chatted endlessly with the vast amount of visitors who came to enjoy the day.  It was a wonderful experience to be able to take part in.

The picture below of me and author Dee Marie, author of The Sons of Avalon.

On Saturday September 25, 2011 the Oswego Literacy Coaliation is launching a free event to the public.  One World, Many Stories will be held at the Oswego Armory from 11-4.  Included in the day's interary is a bounce house for the kids, balloon animals, face painting, food, crafts, book give aways, the paws for reading program, Oswego Book Mobile, and an author's corner where you can meet some of your favorite authors.  If you look close enough you will find me sitting among these talent writers.

I will be there sharing information on the From Caring To Sharing Project, which is a propsed anthology about living life with disabilities.  The community is invited to share their short stories and poems on how a disability has affected their lives.  Maybe there is a teacher who has a student that touched their heart.  Perhaps a grandmother has as funny anctedote about their grandchild who has autism.  Is there a parent out there that has a tear jerking story about their own child who has triumphed despite a disability?  Everyone is welcomed to submit a piece of work.  After all of the stories have been compiled together, I will be putting together a book proposal and sending it out to book publishers.

Young or young at heart, literacy is the foundation of our world. “The goal of The Literacy Coalition of Oswego County is to empower our community to build literacy in a collaborative, inclusive and comprehensive
manner,” said Philip R. Church, Oswego County Administrator and coalition chairperson. “The Coalition is dedicated to supporting and expanding literacy services so that people can work, the economy can grow, families can thrive, and our community can prosper.” says Joanne Ciezesk, chairperson from the Oswego Literacy Coalition.

For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.  This is what I vowed to my husband on the day that we became man and wife. Those words were precious and I did not take them lightly.  So when he needed to go to the emergency room at two in the morning, I was right there by side.  I was going to be there for him in his time of need, just as he has done for me in the past.

 Nestled up close to his bed, I sat in a chair holding his hand and offered assurances that everything was going to be fine.  I would oversee his care and tend to his needs. He could always count on me. But shortly after the well meaning words left my mouth, his tiny hospital room  became a room for two.

Injuring myself while at the infirmary, a second bed was found and stratetic place alongside of my husband’s.  For the next seven hours we sat together, each caring for the other from behind our string of wires and IV’s. Both in pain, we could help but to laugh at the situation that we found ourselves in.  His and Hers hospital beds, taking turns getting x-rays and EKG’s…it was comical despite our growing concerns for one another.  It reminded me of that solemn commitment that we made to each other and I couldn’t think of a better example of how we had lived up to that promise.  Here we were, together in a bleak situation, yet grateful that we could look into the eyes of the one that we loved and feel comfort.  Life doesn’t get any better than that.

What kind of commitments have you made in your life that you want to live up to?  Perhaps you want to be kinder to others.  Maybe it is to spend more time with your kids.  For some that commitment that they made was to themselves.  Did you always mean to go back to school but never found the time?  Have you been
working up the courage to make a life altering decision such as leaving an abusive situation?  Whether your promise was to yourself or somebody else, take a moment and reflect upon what your goal was when you made the promise.  Is this something that you are willing to risk never achieving or will you take the first step today towards bringing your hopes to reality.  

I hope you choose the latter.

Many years ago, my daughter's doctor told me that she would have no quality of life and that I should consider my options.  Instead, I choose to consider a different doctor.  Today my daughter is a vibrant young lady, and while she faces many challenges, she does so with a smile in her face and love in her heart.

It is stories like this that inspire others to keep the faith when times look grim.  Do you have one to share?  Send them to me and they will be compiled together for a proposed anthology, similar to Chicken Soup for the Soul and A Cup of Comfort.  Click on the From Caring To Sharing tab above for more detail. Below is one story that I have written:


                             The Value of Life

      As I sat in the doctor’s office listening to him tell me that my baby
would have no quality of life and that I should consider an abortion, a million
things were running through my head.   Why me?  What did I do wrong?  Will my
life ever be the same? But never once did it occur to me to follow through
on the well meaning advice of a doctor who didn’t have a clue.  I was going to
have this baby, and I would provide her with the best life possible.

      What that meant I wasn’t really sure of at the time.  Never having had
any contact with a person who had a disability, I was oblivious as to what to
expect or how to even go about getting the care my newborn would require.  So I
simply took it one day at a time, and I allowed her to be my guide.

      The day she entered into this world I looked down into the eyes of my
flawless looking daughter.  I vowed to her that I was
going to try my best, if she would only be patient with me.  And so we ventured
on a journey full of ups and downs.  For every step back we took, my daughter 
found a way to make my heart grow just a little bit larger.  Her loving
disposition and innocent looking face made every trip to the doctors worthwhile.
  She was the sweetest little girl I had ever put my eyes on, but at the age of 5

we still had no concrete name for what we were dealing with. No label, no
statistics, no research that would tell us what to expect for in the future. A
little bit of this and a touch of that never meshed together for a real
diagnosis. So I have decided to call this no name anomaly `Innocent Syndrome`.
For that’s what it truly reflects- a child who was innocent in every aspect of
her life. 
     It was hard as a mother to watch your child struggle so much in life. 
When she entered Kindergarten she will still not talking, and seemed  to only
gravitate towards adults, without even giving her peers a second thought.
Worried about her becoming the scapegoat for cruel childhood teasing, I tried to
overcompensate by making sure she had the finest of clothing and the latest
trends in order to appear as typical as possible.  I didn’t want her viewed as
`different.`  But Elizabeth didn’t care.  She was happy in her own little world.
  Stacking books and sorting cards out seemed like much more fun to her than
going to somebody’s house to play with dolls.  But still I worried.

      As her body grew rapidly, her brain seemed to develop at a much slower
rate.  By the time she reached her teenage years she looked no different than
her classmates on the outside, yet inside there was still this innocent little
girl peeking through.  The countless hours she spent with her books and cards
were much more intense for her, and while now very verbal, she still only wanted
to `chit chat` with the grown ups.  Would I ever be able to get to fit in?

      But as I sat back and observed, she was fitting in… in her own way.  She
had made herself friends within the community without my even realizing it. 
Everywhere we went, Elizabeth would find an adult that she would deem her buddy
and spend countless hours filling them in on her life.  And they would listen. 
Over and over they joked with her over who was sillier, smiled in surprise as
she once again announced how old she was, and graciously accepted hugs whenever
they were offered. The waitresses, cashiers, and receptionists were all her
posse, and she loved it.  She had found her own way to find a place in this
world and it didn’t involve fancy clothes or expensive gadgets.  The only thing
she ever wanted was acceptance, and she found it by being herself.

      My daughter may not have straight A’s, friends over on the weekends, or
even a name for this thing that has changed our lives forever.  But what she
does possess is something greater.  With a carefree attitude an unconditional
love for everything and everyone, she has the quality of life that few others
have. I often think back to that doctor and wonder why he felt that her life was
of no value, when all along she held the key to happiness within her heart.

      And so the girl that I thought I would have to teach everything to has
taught me the one lesson in life that I will treasure forever.  Being yourself
is the best thing of all.

~Amy Quonce

Ten years ago, life as we knew it was dramatically altered with the blink of an eye.  Our country was invaded by terroist that imployed a plan for mass killing.  Sadly, they accomplished just that. 2,966 lives were lost, and those who survived did so with a somber existence. 

As Alan Jackson sings in his beautiful tribute, where were you when the world stopped turning?  This is something that will be embedded into people's minds forever.  They remember exactly where they were when the first plane hit the tower, and the terror that they were feeling as they watched the second and third planes hit their destinations never fully faded from their memory.

I was in a classroom teaching preschool at the time of the attacks.  I remember frantic parents coming in and picking up their children, and I admit that I was anxious until I could go myself and pick my daughter up from her school.  The rest of the day we spent sitting out in the yard, staying close to one another.  It was a beautiful warm September day, yet the stillness in the air was startling.  What was to become of our nation?

As red, white, and blue decorations sprung up on almost every house, lawn, and business across the USA,  slowly we stood tall in true United States of America fashion and sent this message to other countries: "We will not be knocked down!"  Our nation bonded together under this tragedy and united we triumphed over the hurdles to rebuild our lives.  The unity we presented showed our strength, and put a tiny band aid on the hearts of so many families that were personally affected by this tragedy.

For all of  lives lost, all of the survivors and heros of 9/11/01....We will never forget.