Here is a look into my morning:
Woke up around 7am got ready, packed my bags for the day, stopped for a much needed cup of coffee, then headed to practicum. Hopped in the car with Elizabeth, another practicum student, and Mrs Lillian (my Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind supervisor who I observe), reminded her that I'm buying her spinners for her silver Buick that her grandkids call a "grandma car", and headed to Alexander City for a home visit.
In order to get the full picture you need some background info....Mrs Lillian is a spunky 77 year old woman working in Early Intervention. She has a big heart for children with disabilities which you can see from her years working in the field and from the 4 children with disabilities that she has adopted. She, as well as other people who work in special education, has the ability to laugh about a lot of the things we see in the field that might scare or shock others.
So, we are on our way to visit a child who I will call Latarious or L for short. L lives out in the projects past Woody Woodpecker Daycare (not kidding- this is the actual name). We are driving down the road and I'm looking around at the houses. As we are passing a little yellow house, I see two old, black ladies in the yard standing at the fence wearing their moo moos and...wait!....does she have a pot on her head?! I do a double take...OMG!...she has a huge white cooking pot on her head! Mrs Lillian! Mrs Lillian! She had a pot on her head! By that time we are too far away for her to see but we have a nice laugh while pulling up to L's house.
L lives with his mom and grandmother, Nelly Mae, who both have intellectual disabilities or as Mrs Lillian puts it--they are definitely retarded. As we pull up, we see Mrs Nelly Mae sitting on the front porch with her purse in lap, teal velvet sweat suite on, and wearing her cheap, black, 70s style wig. By this time our sides are starting to hurt and we are wondering what else we could see today. By the end of our 1 hour session with L, our question was answered. L's cousin, who is going into his senior year in high school and also receives special ed services, rolls up on a bicycle. Nelly Mae asks cousin "did you steal that?". Cousin changes the conversation to video games then asks if he can keep the bike inside their house. He rolls the bike inside then takes off down the street on foot. We look at each other, raise our eyebrows, and get out of town!
Whew! Not all of my mornings are this eventful, but I do get to go into a lot of poverty stricken areas and serve children. It is a eye opening experience. I have always known that I am lucky to have parents that love me and take care of me but these experiences make me realize that not everyone has that. People may not have been taught things that I assume are common knowledge like you are supposed to talk through problems with the people you have a problem with or stealing is not the way to get what you want.
Being able to laugh at the things we see day to day is a necessity because we cannot stop at just feeling sorry for these people or being nervous in our surroundings; we have to be advocates for individuals with disabilities and serve them where it is most convenient for the family.
I love what I do and would not trade it for anything!
View from the indoor track looking down on the treadmills.
Computer where you keep up with your fitness plan and your progress.
Indoor Pool. Heated for use in the winter too.
