Luke in December

Doug's Stuff

There are six very large bags of Doug's clothes and shoes sitting in the back of Jim's car. Vanessa cleaned out Doug's room and these are the things she does not need or want to keep. She hung the Hawaiian shirts Doug loved so much in her closet. The rest of the stuff she put in boxes in the garage. Vanessa said she kept only the clothes that were really Doug- the Detroit Tigers jacket, the hockey jerseys, the Mark Twain t shirt. Maybe someday she will give them away but for now she wants to keep those remembrances of her Dad.

On Saturday morning we will take Doug's clothes to St Luke's to give to the homeless men that show up there every Saturday morning for a shower and a sack lunch. I know they will appreciate the clothes. I only wish they could have met the man that once wore them.

One Month

Today is the one month anniversary of Doug's death. Here he is with Luke on September 30.

IEP Meeting Blues

Yesterday was Nick's IEP meeting. He is doing well in tenth grade- meeting his goals, getting along will others, enjoying woodshop. We set goals for the coming school year which include identifying the main idea and details and fractions. All in all, Nick functions academically at about the third grade level. We talked about Nick getting a job sometime soon through a job program for special needs students.

Despite the good news,  I always feel sad after these annual meetings. Nick is a funny, happy boy. He loves to ride his bike, skateboard, admire the ladies, and watch TV. He takes great pride in looking good, except for brushing his teeth. Sometimes I can even forget that he is different from my other kids . The IEP meeting is always a reminder of the hard reality that Nick is different.

Halloween 2008

Ninja Luke

Nick in costume. He changed his costume at least four times.

Nick and Jacob.

Luke with his favorite Grandma.