Welcome Aboard
Shiny, silver, and twenty-five feet long, a mini home on wheels, the Winnie will be ready to hit the road June 1st, 2022. Sami Cannoli, my travel companion, turned 2 on May 21st with many trips already under her soft white paws; picked up in our first RV when we brought her and her sister, Truly Rose home from their birthplace In Berlin, Wisconsin, followed by copious outings to our summer place in Michigan and a 2200 mile round trip to New York City to gather up her pup cousin, Ellie Mae and mom, Natalie, my youngest daughter. Sami Is always excited and ready to roll.
So many tugs at our time follow the path before us in life. Raising children is both rewarding and challenging forcing us to dig deep into our toolbox of skills and at times finding we need a few more tools. It was in fact, the birth of my middle child, Rachel, that began a broad and sweeping spiritual change in my life, a tool desperately needed to raise a child with a disability. As many of you know, Rachel was born with Down Syndrome, causing delays in her development and a steep learning curve in mine! When God sent Rachel to us, she came with a package of needs and eventually generated amazing grace in each person's life she touched including mine. Her road has been like that of the tortoise and the hare.
Learning we were told would be like normal development but come more slowly. However, 'slowly' was re-defined with developmental milestones not even starting until the heart defects were corrected. At one year old weighing in at 13 lbs. Rachel had open heart surgery. Subsequently, crawling was a tortoise pace, walking showed up at two and a half. But the hare took off running with the motivation of chasing her younger sister Natalie, who walked simultaneously. The twin-like sisters dashed pell-mell everywhere; the mall, racing down sidewalks with me screaming "stop!" at corners and crossings and always after our dogs of which there were many. The fifth-grade grand finale was an unexpected escape out the main entrance of the school with a volcano explosion experiment in science class the antecedent. The struggles to include Rachel in the regular education classrooms over the next 15 years tested fortitude and perseverance taking us close to a lawsuit and emotional breakdowns. Vacations became an exercise in family teamwork and frustration as ADHD, oppositional defiance, and obsessive-compulsive disorder tested us all; "Don’t sit In the middle of the floor! Keep your glasses on! What are you upset about? Why did you push your cousin Anna In the lake? If you don’t listen, you will have to go home." Full time behavior coach became a family job description.
With age and maturity, some behaviors faded followed by Rachel's growing successes, working at Lou Malnatti’s, transitioning into independent living over a 10-year period (still tortoise but steady!) and ultimately navigating solo airline travel and every type of technology, the upside of OCD, intense concentration. Suffice to say, time spent raising my daughters with Rachel using the lion’s share of my energy has finally found a slower pace. December 12, 2021 marked my middle daughter, Rachel's "Independence Day" an incredible accomplishment moving into her own place at 37 years old.
The gift of that Amazing Grace has not faded and in fact it continues to grow, guiding my life at every new curve in the road. It is the long-awaited drive for adventure that now finds me longing at this crossroad. A gift from my father, given in trips across this country one escapade after another always inspiring, exploring the outdoors, fire-building, capturing sunsets, and scenic routes.
Every new endeavor has an anxious beginning, a place where the heart flutters in anticipation like a butterfly ready to emerge from its cocoon pushing to break free into its new world. Martha's Vineyard, a bucket list Item has beckoned for years, an artist’s mecca to explore the canvas of my soul. I am ready for an adventure of my own, the caterpillar finally itching to burst through its chrysalis.
I am forever grateful for each of you reading these pages, who have stepped across my path and stayed for a while….to bring joy, give a hug, move a mountain with me, lend an ear or push me through a tenuous time. I am eager to bring you all along this new road east with me. A road jumpstarted by Aunt Mary Rae's urging, "You’ve got a great story, you need to write a book". I have since found myself asking, "Can I really write a book? And who would want to read my story anyway?". While I don't know for sure what's in store, maybe you can help me answer these questions as we travel together. What I do know is this, I love a great adventure and I love to write and just maybe God has a new direction in mind.
Today is the first day of the rest of OUR lives and as Ursula Le Guin says, "It Is good to have an end to journey toward, but It Is the journey that matters in the end." So, pack your imagination with a spiritual compass and join me on M. Scott Peck's Road less Traveled. Together, we will discover what unfolds when we are GONE WITH THE WINNIE and reflect on the Amazing Grace we find on our adventures together. Don’t forget to send me your thoughts or comments as we roll along the winding roads and scenic routes to Martha's Vineyard and serendipitously back home, butterflies in flight.
Carpe Diem!
Sharon
PS. Thank you Dori for your winning name for the blog that will share the story while we are 'Gone with the Winnie'!
Gia Mia comes to Naperville
Rachel is so excited to be one of the first new employees to be hired. Watch for their opening this summer!!