As spring is turning to summer, we still talk wistfully about where we were a year ago. At this point last June, we were heading down the notorious Delaware Bay, to position ourselves for our last ocean run up the New Jersey coast. In a little over a month, our journey would be over, and we’d be starting to digest what this meant for our lives back in our regular routine. Would we still have a regular routine to go back to? What had we learned from this trip?
Now the school year is almost over. Christopher has enjoyed being back following a schedule that doesn’t change daily because of thunderstorms. People have remarked that he seems somewhat more independent since our return. (Well, if you were a teenager who lived in a small-enclosed space with your parents for a year, I think the motivation for independence when the opportunity arose would be pretty high don’t you?)
It turns out that our year on the water is playing a role in our lives back on land. Dave works helping organizations with their leadership and teambuilding concerns with the folks at InCourage. There are parallels between keeping a travelling boat safe and the crew happy, and effectively leading an organization. He has an article in the InCourage newsletter that illustrates this nicely. You’ll find it at this link:
http://incourage.com/moments_of_truth
In May, I had my turn to share some of the insights gained from our year away. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to fly to Regina to speak at the annual conference of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. My session was going to be called Life Lessons Underway and it highlighted the things we learned through the perspective gained by sharing this trip with Christopher. Upon arrival, I found the conference program had changed the session name to Endless PossAbilities, which was really appropriate considering this blog.
Now the school year is almost over. Christopher has enjoyed being back following a schedule that doesn’t change daily because of thunderstorms. People have remarked that he seems somewhat more independent since our return. (Well, if you were a teenager who lived in a small-enclosed space with your parents for a year, I think the motivation for independence when the opportunity arose would be pretty high don’t you?)
It turns out that our year on the water is playing a role in our lives back on land. Dave works helping organizations with their leadership and teambuilding concerns with the folks at InCourage. There are parallels between keeping a travelling boat safe and the crew happy, and effectively leading an organization. He has an article in the InCourage newsletter that illustrates this nicely. You’ll find it at this link:
http://incourage.com/moments_of_truth
In May, I had my turn to share some of the insights gained from our year away. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to fly to Regina to speak at the annual conference of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. My session was going to be called Life Lessons Underway and it highlighted the things we learned through the perspective gained by sharing this trip with Christopher. Upon arrival, I found the conference program had changed the session name to Endless PossAbilities, which was really appropriate considering this blog.
And Christopher himself, is constantly impressing others and us with information about people, places and things that we encountered as we travelled with Tiffany Rose.
It was only a year, and it has come and gone, but the memories and the impression it left on us will live forever.
It was only a year, and it has come and gone, but the memories and the impression it left on us will live forever.
1 comment:
This is an excellent account of a probably once in a lifetime wonderful adventure. What life lessons and experiences you all must have had and shared along the way! I know Christopher must have touched people's hearts forever and they in turn touched his.
Carol Duffy
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