Facing Fears & Growing Up at Amicalola Falls

Over the past year, I've been working on my fitness levels, with the goal of reigniting my once-hobby of hiking and backpacking.  As part of this adventure, this Summer, I gathered the family and we went on a hike to the top of one of our local waterfalls, Amicalola Falls. Amicalola being only a 2-hour drive from our home, we made a spontaneous day trip of it, expecting to have a pleasant dive, a brief but enjoyable hike, and some chill-out time in the woods.  We got most of these things. We also got a bit more.

Message from a Dancing Moon

Have  you every really danced? Not a slight swaying to music but primal,  foot - stomping,  hip-swaying, wild-making dance? In a dance like that, you experience true freedom and power as you let your body lose itself to the rhythm of the music.  It is joyous.  But, also,  it is hard: you sweat, your body aches, your muscles work. 

A Wren on the Porch

Earlier this Spring, we discovered a Carolina Wren had made a nest and laid eggs on one of the outdoor shelving units on our porch. We were delighted at this turn of events and more than a little bit proud of ourselves that this bird trusted us enough to build its nest so near a center of our activity.  

At first, the mother would fly out of the nest as soon as we walked past to get our gardening supplies or water the plants, sit in a nearby tree branch, and squawk angrily at us until we went back inside. We made a point not to get too close to her eggs and try to disturb her as little as possible, while still maintaining the garden...not an easy task and one that led to the neglect of several tomato seedlings and the skipping of a scheduled staggered planting.

An Accessible Birthday Party

A few years ago, we attempted our first big birthday party for the J-Rex.  It was, of course, a dinosaur theme, and we had all the typical activities you tend to have in birthday parties.  There was one little problem, though: the J-Rex didn't enjoy the activities as much as her guests because several, such as the coloring station and the dino egg hunt, did not account for her low vision.  Granted, the J-Rex is always a good sport about these things and was more interested in her friends having a good time than her own access to the activities, but it did make me, as her parent, think about how I might have done things differently.  

Last year's birthday wasn't an issue because she didn't really have any friends to invite to a party, being newly moved and newly homeschooled. This year, however, she has a lot of kids she spends time with that she wanted to invite to a big party for her 8th birthday.  I like entertaining, so I'm only too happy to oblige, but I certainly wanted to put into practice some of the reflections I had after the last party and make this one accessible to the J-Rex and all of her friends, many of whom have varying degrees of visual impairment. 

How often does the visually impaired child get invited to a birthday party where they actually can participate equally in all of the activities? As Ghandi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." I like the idea of the change starting with us and, besides, we want the party to be fun for everyone!