Category Archives: Uncategorized

Word of the Week, B is for Believe

Dictionary.com defines the word, “Believe,” as

“to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.”

When was the last time you whole hearted, “believed,” in something or someone?  I mean REALLY believe.  When your gut was telling you GO GO GO!  Was it when you said yes to that diamond ring?  Was it when you found that perfect white dress?  Was it when you walked onto the car lot and saw your reflection staring back at you in the freshly waxed hood of your baby on wheels?  Was it in the grocery store checkout line when those impulse items were calling, “Buy Me!”  Was it when you cradled that baby in your arms…?
Here’s my next question?  When was that last time you played make believe?
As adults we are so lost in our heads that we forget to lose ourselves.  We have been taught through the years to ask questions, and second guess our gut.  What happened to the simplicity of childhood when trust came naturally?
My role models are my children.  They remind me how to trust, laugh, love, live, and how to believe.
In the words of the late Whitney Houston,
“I believe the children are our future.  Teach them well and let them lead the way.  Show them all the beauty they possess inside.  Give them a sense of pride to make it easier.  Let the childrens laughter remind us how we used to be…”

Have You Called Your Mom Today?

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One of my weekly rituals every Sunday morning is to call my mom.  After I’ve got the kids settled with their breakfasts, I pour my coffee and find a nice comfy place to curl up, pulling my feet underneath my bottom, and I call my mom.

I don’t just call her on Sunday mornings, my mom and I call each other at least a few times a week.  It’s rare for us to go longer than three or four days without talking.  This morning Ifelt expecially pulled to our Sunday morning rituals.

Why this morning?  Well, my week had flown by.  I’d been preoccupied with winter break ending, getting the house back into the school week routine, entertaining the kids with crafts and activities since we’ve instated the no TV on school days rule in our house, and preparing for Marley’s IEP to dispute the ridiculous recommendation that, “she is a visual learner… Braille should be considered when she reaches second or third grade where she will need to read for longer periods, smaller text, and for content and speed…””

So you see how it was easy for me to let the week fly by without calling my mom.  I also completely forgot that she’d told me about a procedure she would be having on Thursday.  While I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off on Friday morning getting the kids and myself ready, and waiting for my husband to get off of a 24 hour shift so that we could drop the kids off in time at a friends house before Marley’s IEP, my mom called me.

Hearing her voice on the other end, I stopped in my tracks, sat down, and gave her my full attention.  It was a simple precautionary procedure.  However, given our family history, it was difficult to stop those fearful thoughts from flowing.

Here I am just a few months shy from turning 32.  I think about so many women my age who lost their mothers too soon.  My own aunt, lost her mother, my grandmother, when she was just 22.

Then there are those who’s mother’s are perfectly healthy and even live just a few miles away from them, who choose not to have a relationship with them.

Whatever the reason, whatever the distance whether it may be miles or years between you.  Every mother deserves to have that weekly phone call from their child.  This is the woman who gave everything for you.  This is the woman who sacrificed her body for you.  This is the woman who cried when you cried, kept you warm, nourished you both physically and emotionally, this is the woman who gave you life.

So… if you haven’t done so yet, call your mom today and tell her these two things.  “Thank you,” and, “I love you.”

Oh, and while you’re at it, call your dad too.

 

Observations WIthout Sight: Teach Your Children Well

This blog not only deserves a click of the like button or a share on Facebook, this deserves a reblog. This blogger speaks such truth. Instead of shushing your children, teach them that it is ok to ask questions, explore, and learn about not only blindness, but about everything around them. Any chance I get, I will stop, get down on that child’s level and explain to him/her all about blindness, my cane, and Braille.

Wynter Pingel's avatarInside NBP

While at a friend’s house a few weeks ago, a little boy loudly asked his mother, “Is that the one with bwinded eyes?” His mother quietly told him yes, and then quickly tried to distract him with other things. Not to be deterred, he asked me, “How did your eyes get bwinded?” I must admit that I don’t have much experience around little children and feel a bit awkward around them no matter what the situation. But I told him openly that my eyes didn’t work because I’d been born too early, before they were ready to work. (OK, not completely accurate, but close enough.)

His mother continued to shush him and I felt a little angry at this. I wanted to say (but didn’t) “You’re teaching your child, right here and now, that blindness is something we shouldn’t talk about, something shameful perhaps.” I doubt very much that this…

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Happy Birthday Louis Braille

Happy Birthday Louis Braille

Six dots. Six bumps. Six bumps in different patterns, like constellations, spreading out over the page. What are they? Numbers, letters, words. Who made this code? None other than Louis Braille, a French 12-year-old, who was also blind. And his work changed the world of reading and writing, forever.
Louis was from a small town called Coupvray, near Paris—he was born on January 4 in 1809. Louis became blind by accident, when he was 3 years old. Deep in his Dad’s harness workshop, Louis tried to be like his Dad, but it went very wrong; he grabbed an awl, a sharp tool for making holes, and the tool slid and hurt his eye. The wound got infected, and the infection spread, and soon, Louis was blind in both eyes.
All of a sudden, Louis needed a new way to learn. He stayed at his old school for two more years, but he couldn’t learn everything just by listening. Things were looking up when Louis got a scholarship to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris, when he was 10. But even there, most of the teachers just talked at the students. The library had 14 huge books with raised letters that were very hard to read. Louis was impatient.
Then in 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the school. Barbier shared his invention called “night writing,” a code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield without even having to speak. Unfortunately, the code was too hard for the soldiers, but not for 12-year-old Louis!
Louis trimmed Barbier’s 12 dots into 6, ironed out the system by the time he was 15, then published the first-ever braille book in 1829. But did he stop there? No way! In 1837, he added symbols for math and music. But since the public was skeptical, blind students had to study braille on their own. Even at the Royal Institution, where Louis taught after he graduated, braille wasn’t taught until after his death. Braille began to spread worldwide in 1868, when a group of British men, now known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind, took up the cause.
Now practically every country in the world uses braille. Braille books have double-sided pages, which saves a lot of space. Braille signs help blind people get around in public spaces. And, most important, blind people can communicate independently, without needing print.
Louis proved that if you have the motivation, you can do incredible things.   This bio was taken directly from the American Foundation for the Blind 

Hurry! 2014 is almost over, and you can still make your charitable donations really matter.

 

images-4Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you know, my husband is participating in a 100-Day Leadership Program at an Emotional Intelligence (EQ) University, where he is learning how to create EXTRAORDINARY results in his life! Each Leadership team receives a Legacy Project which is a challenge to raise money for a charitable organization that is designed to show that it is possible for a small team of dedicated individuals to make a huge difference in the world.  His team (LV142) was challenged to raise $80,000 in ONE WEEK for EASTER SEALS ADULT DAY SERVICES program, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports adults with developmental disabilities, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia, individuals with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, or those who have had a stroke. The Easter Seals Adult Day Services Program provides a place outside the home for these adults to be active in the community, socialize with peers, and receive needed health and personal care services.  He is personally committed to raising AT LEAST $2,500 for this worthy organization. Would you join me in supporting this cause?
With Gratitude, 


http://bit.ly/EasterSealsAaron

Raking leaves on a cold windy day

Why am I outside raking leaves on a cold windy day?
We are in the middle of winter break, and the kids are a bursting ball of energy. We have played games, run the TV for hours, and they are screaming, wrestling, and bouncing off the walls.

So… Lightbulb!
It’s time to layer up, and head outside to rake leaves!
Still, why on earth would I rake leaves on a windy day?
Raking leaves on a windy day means there will always be leaves to rake. Both kids want to take turns with the rake. The wind makes it a fun game as we chase them down.
And… What could be finer than jumping and rolling in that big pile when you’re all done raking?

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2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,300 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

You’ve Got to Be Kidding! Christmas Really isn’t 3 Days Away!

Where the heck did October, November, and December go?  Are we really only a few days away from Christmas?

I have totally dropped the ball this year on Christmas.  Christmas presents will be arriving late to my loved ones.  This is the sucky part about living so far from family.  By the time the gifts are purchased, and shipped, you’re spending twice or three times the price than if you could just drop it off in person.

This is the first year I haven’t completed most of my shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

This is also the first year we haven’t gone to California around the holidays.

I’m starting to feel a little bit home sick thinking of the fact that this is another year my parents aren’t going to have all three of their kids together under the same roof for Christmas.  The last time that happened was in our home here in Vegas in 2010.

However, this year we’ve touched more lives and impacted more families than before.  Starting with Thanks Giving where we opened up our home to multiple families and hosted a 20+ person dinner.  We’ve helped many friends in hard times.  I’ve pretty much adopted a second sister and her kids to join us for Christmas day.  I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done, the love we’ve shared, and the lives we’ve warmed this winter.

This explains my absence for the last week or so from Blind Mom in the Burbs.  I’ve surrendered to my 75 day challenge.  I would rather publish more meaningful blogs each week instead of writing about just anything to get one out each day.

As we wrap up those Christmas presents, and wrap up the rest of the year, be thankful for everything that you’ve got.  Be thankful for your loved ones, your health, your home, and most importantly be thankful for your ability to choose and change if you happen to find yourself in a place you’d rather not wish to be.

 

 

 

Psyched, Pumped, and Ready for a Powerful Weekend

This blog was meant to post yesterday, but with the doors of Casa de Rupp open to new friends and old, flowing openly in and out all day, and with us finally getting a Christmas tree, I never made it to wordpress to write.

Yesterday was the perfect way to start off a powerful weekend.  I’ve mentioned before that I am about to begin a self development leadership workshop, a program that my husband is currently involved in.  Hubby’s leadership buddy, who happens to be a world traveled very talented massage therapist is staying with us until the completion of the program.  He had a very busy massage day yesterday made up of coaches from the leadership program, one of whom is even the guy who’s coaching my class in just a few weeks.  I told this coach all about my dreams of empowering blind children to have the same opportunities as their sighted peers, and we’ll soon be developing programs to make this happen.

This morning, I’m preparing for our Braille Story Time and Braille Letters to Santa Event that the Nevada Organization of Parents of Blind Children are hosting.  I’ve typing away to get this blog out so that we aren’t late.

Tonight, we will be going out to downtown to celebrate hubby’s birthday.

Tomorrow morning, we are holding a fundraising garage sale to help an amazing mama friend raise money to attend this leadership program I speak of above.

And last but not least tomorrow night, we’ll be attending a pajama Christmas party with a guest appearance of Santa.  We also received Marley’s Braille letter from Santa provided by the National Federation of the Blind, and she’ll be surprised to have Santa himself give her that letter at the party along with her gift.

I haven’t even had my coffee yet, but I’m psyched, pumped, and ready for a powerful weekend!

A Tribute to Braille, Literacy, and Jerry Whittle

 

Last Thursday, I spoke to a man who has impacted thousands of blind people.  He was the man who taught me Braille.  From day one, when the doors opened, he was there at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.  This man’s name is Jerry Whittle.

For almost 35 years, Mr.Whittle was on the front lines combatting  the staggering statistics of literacy amongst the blind from a corner classroom on the second floor of a French style building on South Trenton St, in a small town in North Central Louisiana.

Picture a society where only 10% of children are taught to read.

Now, picture a society where 75% of working capable adults are unemployed.

What right minded person would allow such a thing?

Well… Newsflash!  You are living in that society.

10% of blind children are being taught Braille.  75% of blind adults are unemployed.  Let me also add, 90% of the blind who are employed are Braille literate.

When I stepped into Mr. Whittle’s classroom in January of 2006, I barely knew the Braille alphabet.  I was a few months shy of turning 23.  I was no longer succeeding in my mantra of, “Fake it till you make it.”  Nine months later, I was timed at reading over 90 words per minute.  For someone learning Braille as an adult, it is rare to reach even the speed of 60 words per minute.

To you, Mr. Whittle, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for granting me the gift of literacy.

I now fight the same fight for my Marley.  Here is a photo of Marley writing a letter to Santa in Braille on her Perkins Brailler.  
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After his many years of writing plays for the NFB National Conventions, that even yours truly just so happens to have had a chance to star in once upon a time, he now spends his time writing novels.  You can find his works on Amazon.  If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the bookworm in your life, than you should check out on of Mr. Whittle’s works.

Until I blog again, make it a great day.