inclusion | Lessons from my daughter

When Emily was little I worried about her future.

To put this in context, you need to remember that in October 1999…

Just days after the picture above was taken… Genetic counselors a at the Montreal Children Hospital told us that due to Emily having Cri Du Chat syndrome, her future meant…

No walking!

No talking!

No understanding us!

No showing emotions!

No eating solid food!

At no point did they say this was a worst case scenario.

There was no doubt in their mind that this was going to be Emily’s life and we could see them feeling sorry for us.

We decided to give Emily the best life possible and that we would adjust to her needs and limitations.

This past weekend, was busy…

We had a roofing company over, putting a new roof on our house…

Meanwhile, Emily was starting her Cheer fall sessions. It was time to talk goals and prepare a lesson plan She loved cheer this past summer so she’s ready for more. Remember this picture?

An hour after cheer was done, Emily was at her baseball’s team end of summer game and party.

Emily and all her team mates got team jackets! How cool is that?

We had 39 players this year, divided into 2 groups.
We concluded Saturday with attending a hockey game.

Sunday morning, Emily was volunteering at her riding club. When coaches are tested to move up in their certifications, they need riders and Emily wants to help.

Emily helped coaches from other clubs on Sunday and they loved her 🙂

We had a busy weekend!

None of these would be possible if it wasn’t for amazing people getting together and wanting to provide opportunities for kids with special needs.

Thank you Cheer Olympia

http://www.olympiacheerleading.com/mobile/en/

Thank you Field of Dreams

http://monctonfishercats.com/fishercats2015/index.php/field-of-dreams

And thank you Cavalier riding club

http://cavalierridingclub.weebly.com

You are amazing and although I was grateful for this busy weekend to be over, I am even more grateful for the opportunities you are giving Emily and many others.

Thank you to your board of directors or owners and thank you to the volunteers who give their time, energy and positivity.

All of you, are part of our family now!

In the coming weeks, I will share more about Emily’s riding club as she starts her fall session this week and I will let you know more about Emily’s baseball team and our fully accessible baseball field project…

I told you before about Emily’s desire to be a cheerleader… if you recall, our first attempt wasn’t successful and our second attempt looked somewhat promising but didn’t quite made my girl feel like a cheerleader.

You can read a little about those attempts in one of my older post: To be a cheerleader

Over the last year, the same club where we tried that second time, moved into their own gym and added classes. This summer they decided to give themselves another chance at creating a team of kids with various abilities.

Emily wasn’t sure she wanted to try… Actually I believe she said she couldn’t be a cheerleader.

That broke my heart as although I know she might not be a top cheerleader ( I certainly wasn’t cheerleader material at her age) I feel she deserves a fair shot at it. I feel quite strongly that she should be allowed to try and have fun.

Entered the new and improved Cheer Olympia

Emily’s cheer team is 2 other girls with special needs and 3 coaches. All 6 girls are around the same age and they all look like they are having a blast.

Emily feels so comfortable and included that she made a painting for the gym.

Her team are the Pillars and this is Colleen with Emily’s painting! It is displayed at the gym, which makes Emily really happy.

Now that my girl is a happy cheerleader and that the gym has confirmed that they are not only continuing but also expanding their program in the fall, Emily asked if “we” could make cheer bows for her team!

We…

I always fall for the we, when in theory, I should know by now that it means, I will do it, whatever “it” is.

We in our house means me!

We looked-up a you tube video and went to get supplies!

The most important step in making cheer bow, is the first one! Pour yourself a glass of wine and gather the supplies!

Our (my) project was a no-sow project as I don’t sow. And as a disclaimer, I am not crafty!

Please enjoy the pictures showing the steps, including the moment, we officially became just me 🙂

Beginners mistake #1. Verify that you buy enough ribbon. One of our roll was shorter…..

Off to the store we went. Again!

Somehow when we returned, Emily was more interested in her book than in helping. That is the official moment when this became my project!

Beginner mistake #2. Don’t use newspaper, use parchemin paper… paint and glue on thin ribbon ends up sticking to newspaper… I guess I should have known that!