Tradition Every year is different, yet the same during the holidays. Tradition abounds at the Shining Beautiful household. So Mikelle’s annual holiday party is not to be missed. Except for last year when holiday parties took a COVID hiatus. Even this year, the darn virus threatens to disrupt as the Omicron mutation grows. But, thrice …
Part Two Exhaustion Sets In In last month’s blog post, Mikelle and I lamented that we are still in the middle of a staffing crisis ourselves. Since then, I have met with other parents experiencing some version of this crisis in their own families. Compounding our situation are life challenges like parental surgeries and …
I am intrigued. For all the health and fitness information on the internet, stacked in the aisle at book stores, there is very little written, spoke, or researched on the dietary needs of someone living with cerebral palsy. This condition varies from person to person, depending on the extend of neurological damage. A parent …
Advocacy is a Latin term made up of two words “Ad” and “Voca” which means “amplify” and “Voice” thus advocacy is the process of amplifying the voices of the voiceless. “Advocacy” is often defined by agencies and individuals as a “Systematic and serious process of amplifying the voices of the voiceless”. ~ The World Blind Union Cavepeople …
In the heart of winter lies February, the month of love. For us, it has been about romantic love for the pandemic that has encircled us with its frightening ghostly arms keeping us home away from friends and even family. Covid confine points its gnarly finger to our hearts calling it to find sunshine …
Once upon tomorrow, will there be rainbows? What colors will we see? Where will the yellow brick road lead? And, what will life be like in the Emerald City? It is difficult to know on this cloudy January day. The news is not good. COVID AND CAPITOL BREACH streams across the bottom of new programs …
We at the Shining Beautiful Series are rethinking our entire way of providing support for Mikelle to define a new and vibrant rhythm to life in a world that changes daily. Over the years, we have engineered, refined, and established a remarkable way of supporting Mikelle, effectively maximizing her self-determination and control over her life. …
Rethinking, Reimagining, and Resolved to be Resilient. Read More »
Typically, each year we celebrate Mikelle’s birthday at Cheeseman Park. We have been doing this for so long I actually can’t think of the last time we didn’t celebrate there. We celebrated her 29th birthday when the temperature roared by 105 degrees. We celebrated in down coats and gloves with rain drizzles in 59 degrees …
Change – the pace of change is real! None of us could have planned for COVID, protests, economic challenges, job loss, and alteration in services for our families. I know Mikelle, and I never thought we would be social distancing. Our focus has always been being active in our community. Mikelle and I have developed …
Fifteen years ago, a thoughtful high school teacher introduced Mikelle Learned and Jerome Stewart, she had a hunch these two might become the best of friends. She was right. Jerome played football, ran track and was a well-liked senior at East High School. He, like Mikelle, was a recent transfer student from another high school. …
