This brings me to my point. If anyone is wondering how to treat a person with special needs just follow the example of their sibling! And more specifically if anyone wants to know how to treat Riley, just follow the example of her sister Keagan. Is Keagan always kind and mature towards Riley? Nope! Because guess what? Keagan just sees Riley. She just sees her as her sister, not as her sister with special needs. She sees Riley for exactly who she is without any labels, diagnosis, pity or agenda. Keagan is so kind and helpful towards Riley, but she also gets frustrated and is rude to Riley. She is her biggest cheerleader and her loudest opponent. Keagan helps Riley, teases Riley, protects Riley, annoys Riley and gets annoyed by Riley. Keagan is a really great big sister but she treats Riley the same way she would treat any younger sister, and everyone should follow that sisters example!
These two sisters were so incredibly sweet towards one another last Friday when they both had cardiology appointments at TCH! Riley was there for her routine heart check for her dialated cardiomyopathy. And because Keagan is her twin sister and because she had heart surgery at 4 days old and still has a small device in her heart, she has to be seen every 2 years. But both girls were very concerned for the other one when they were having their echocardiogram and EKG. Riley was so concerned that she insisted upon holding Keagans hand during her echo and Keagan kept reassuring Riley “I’m ok. Im fine. Don’t worry Riley!” That about burst my momma heart! But even better was the results that both girls hearts look great! I’m sure thankful for that and that our doctors at Texas Childrens are rated #1 in the country!
We celebrated the great news by heading to Herman Park! We had planned to go to the zoo but it was closed for a private event. So we rode the train and explored the park including rolling down the hills, playing at the reflection pond and exploring the gorgeous Japanese gardens for the first time! Then we headed over for dinner on the patio at Barnabys. We topped off a great celebration with what else but cake as big as our heads and some driving around downtown in neighborhoods we’ve never seen before like we love to do!
This past week we had another similar celebration for good news on Nanas heart so she was generous and insisted upon taking the Fosters and us out to Saltgrass to celebrate! People I love and good food is my favorite combo ever! So I forced everyone to document another fun and delish dinner with the Fosters at Goodsons last weekend.
Back at home, the three of us have had lots of giggle filled nights together outside playing in the back yard! Besides the yellow dusting of pollen on everything in sight, the weather has been so perfect lately! Which was also perfect for another awesome night at baseball! We have really big Angels and Astros teams this year so it takes quite a while to get thru an inning. But I guess that also means lots of new fun player and family friends this year! And last week the volunteer buddies were lots of sweet girls we had met at the Klein Oak cheer clinic that remembered both Keagan and Riley!
The odds and ends of the last two weeks are numerous! We had more fun at DPAC, more awesome hats made in class for Miss Riley, more Come Follow Me learning and memories together, and a new obsession for Riley wanting to wear her pink cow girl boots to school everyday! Keagan had an interesting little protest of not wanting to go to dyslexia tutoring where she happened to mention to me that my life is “so easy” and that I “love making her miserable” which she later appologized for (she was hangry). Plus she got her cactus art displayed, got a nasty bruise on the playground and loved “camping” with all of 4th grade to prepare for STAAR. Both girls rocked the PE fitness test by Riley doing 10 whole curl ups and Keagan doing 73 which was the most of any girl in her class! Riley took advantage of “helping” me with the school store and kissed me several times before slipping a squishy in her back pack! Today the girls had a fun play date with Avery and then we went to see two friends in the awesome “Shrek the Musical!” And I just cant forget there are lots and lots of Keagan selfies on my phone lately!
And finally, this week I was brought to tears (more then once over this) at school as the most beautiful thing happened! Monday was Workd Cerebral Palsy day and CP’s awareness color is green. Well because that is one of Riley’s few diagnoses out of 23 with a day, her INCREDIBLE friends, their amazing mommas who are my friends, and her awesome teachers all dressed in green for the day!! Her own momma forgot so thank heavens the wonderful Ann Johnson even thought to send a new green shirt for Riley, that she of course wanted to wear all week! Y’all they dubbed it “we love Riley day!!” Which of course made all of Riley’s dreams come true and me ugly cry!! I am so beyond thankful for their love and support!! Oh these pictures y’all!!
I recently read that the world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. I subscribe to that idea whole heartedly! I’m incredibly thankful for the many examples of love, support, generosity, hard work, preservation, faith, charity, optimism, strength, grit, compassion and so much more that I see surrounding me! I have even seen examples of all of those qualities just in these last two weeks and most notably in my precious daughters. I often fall short in my efforts, just like we all do. But I’m so thankful I have these incredible girls and that they have each other! May we forever follow a sister’s example.
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