Johnny writes about school, his sister's renewed health, his friends, "American Idol", and more.
Thursday, January 26, 2006~
Dear Journal~
Hi! This is your friend, Johnny, writing! I hope this finds you well; I am doing great! :)
Things at school couldn't be better: I am keeping up with my classes and my homework, and ever since I started in the Sylvan Learning program, my grades have improved steadily; and my mom and dad are really proud of me. I am proud of me too, especially since for YEARS I have had to struggle!
My sister Ronee' is doing great too: she has been walking with just a cane instead of with her forearm crutches, and she is bound and determined NOT to use her crutches. She has been walking better since having her knee and hips done, and it has been a while since she last had a really good flare of her arthritis, and her asthma is under control. She used to have really bad problems with her breathing, and she had to go to the hospital for treatment; now that is but a distant memory, and she is down to just one inhaler [twice a day, once at night, once in the morning]. The change in her has been incredible! :) She is all hyped up about the "American Idol" show on Fox; she just LOVES that show (personally, I HATE it!!), and she has been all aglow since trying out. She did NOT make it to the competition; she was too young to qualify, but the judges DID like her singing, and they did admire her courage and spunk! :) Still, she will try ANYTHING for stardom!! She is no fool! :)
Yeah, that "American Idol" is BACK, and I will never hear the end of it. It's like my sister (and other members of my family) are OBSESSED with it!! They will pretend to be auditioning for it, and I will be hearing them sing for WEEKS, and it drives me BATTY!! ARRGGH!!
My own health has been behaving itself; no unexplained or sudden weakness, no breathing problems, no seizures, and I am just plugging away! :) I hope it lasts; I like this, not worrying about my next breath or whether I am going to seize out at school, or wonder if I will have enough strength to operate my chair or do my schooling instead of having someone else doing it for me! For me, my health (and my life) has been WONDERFUL!! :)
My friends have still been hanging around me: Jose' Varquez, Mattie Blonchet, Tyler Rose, and Tommy Gherkins have been my buddies, and I hang around with them when I am not at school (IF I am feeling up to it, that is!), and we seem to ALWAYS be together. If I am not at their houses, they are at mine, and it's like mom and dad have three extra boys in the house! LOL My mom kiddingly says they adopted three new boys without knowing it, and they sometimes refer my friends as their "unofficial adopted sons"! LOL I like them because they don't make fun of me or make my disabilities an issue, and they treat me like I would WANT to be treated: as NORMALLY as possible, and I LOVE that!! :) I just wish MORE people would; I HATE having to tell them that just because I am in a chair or wear braces on my legs, that DOESN'T mean my brain is disabled, too, because it ISN'T!! GRR!! That reallllly burns me up!!
Well, I will go for now; have to check my catheter (do that every few hours). It's a pain, but it's better than having an accident in my pants!! YUCKO! See ya!
I like them because they don't make fun of me or make my disabilities an issue, and they treat me like I would WANT to be treated: as NORMALLY as possible,
And that is the mark of a truly good friend, Johnny - very glad you found them, and that your family 'adopted them!'
This book was written for children to stress the importance of being able to choose who gets to hug or touch them and being able to say NO if they don't want to be hugged or touched.
Pengey Penguin takes us on a memorable journey where an unlikely character, twists of fate, and minor miracles help him and his rag-tag Army of little fury animals save Christmas.325 page read to me 4-8 - 9 up reads very quickly.
