It has been scientifically proven how spending more time around the grandchildren results in increased life span of the grandmas and grandpas. This is something the parents of little Sophie know all too well and they make sure their little one spends some quality time with the elderly family members.
Sweet Sophie first met her great-grandma back in 2015 and the two became practically inseparable ever since. Her mom and dad weren’t really sure how both their daughter and the great-granny would react when they see each other for the first time because the old lady suffered from dementia. But it turned out, introducing them to one another was the best thing they could do.
Since then, Sophie visited her great-grandma who lived in Lowestoft, United Kingdom, numerous time and they had so much fun together that the videos of their unique encounters were shared with the whole world.
The moment Sophie saw the sweet lady, she got closer and started singing to her while the two snuggled into each other. The air in the room was filled with the lovely voice and the lyrics of the song “You Are My Sunshine.” This really was a moment to cherish and to remember.
“Sophie 1st visit to her great nana ( who has suffered dementia) and grandad,” Miller wrotein August 2015. “We were worried what her reaction would be but what happen next surprised us.”
Yvonne Miller, Sophie’s grandma, was the one taking the videos they later shared on the social media. People who got to see them agree how this is the right way of raising a child, by teaching them how to love and respect the elderly.
Unfortunately, the great-grandma passed in October, 2017, but the videos are there to remind little Sophie of the special place this lady had in her heart and in her life while growing up.
“Am sad to say that our Mam/nana and great-nana has passed away yesterday morning,” Yvonne Miller wrote in the caption on Oct. 11, 2017.
“My heart breaks that we only missed her passing by a few minutes but I think that’s what she wanted.”
“She suffered with dementia the last couple of years. She now can rest in peace. She taught me so much on how to be a good mother and now a good nana,” Miller wrote.
“She was a strong women in every way and I looked up to her so much. Her quirky personality will live through us all and she will be missed by all her family and everyone that knew and loved her ❤❤❤.”
We are certain that the last days of this great-grandma’s life were filled with happiness. At least she knew she was loved and cared for thanks to the girl with a big heart and her family who taught her to respect her grandparents.
Brantley School District is located in one of the poorest counties of Georgia. This means the school and the students struggle with the shortage of finances and resources for proper functioning. The school motto ‘Reach every student, every day’ is tightly connected to the school’s difficult situation.
The message of the school reached Ashlyn and Brent, a married local couple. They live near the school and that allows them to do something for the kids and the school itself. She travels to the school on regular basis and tries to make a difference for the children.
The poor living condition of the kids is a major problem and it motivated Ashlyn’s actions. Furthermore, the insufficient funding of the school is a major problem for proper functioning of the institution and achieving the desirable results. Luckily, besides Ashlyn and her husband, Ellen’s done something that may help the school to widespread their message across the nation.
Materialism is not the only thing that the students need. The goal or the plan is to make every student feel special. Furthermore, promoting the students’ values and their capabilities and skills is another thing this couple is fighting for. They need to know that someone does care for them. The teachers of the school add that they want to follow Angel Scwindt’s quote:
“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”
Many people dream of luxurious big houses, with several bedrooms and grand expensive bathrooms. However, there are people who just love simple and small houses, avoiding huge expenses. Furthermore, having a big house means lots of money for maintenance, while simple houses do no require expensive repairing and fixing. What’s even better, simple houses can be afforded by almost anyone, without any major impact over the family budget.
The Lillevilla Escape
Lillevilla Escape is the name of a single-room small house. This simple house is made of one big room and it is sold on Amazon for just $4,200. Lillevilla manufacturer’s 113 square feet plan of the house is very simple and it’s all in one. Another positive side, besides its low price and simplicity, is the relatively short time period for installation of the house itself.
The order is placed on-line and it takes less than a month to be shipped and transported to the desired location. The house weighs some 3,000 pounds and it provides a comfortable place for those who will purchase it. In order to cut down the expenses on heating or cooling, the manufacturer recommends adding insulation.
Assembling is easy!
You get everything with the purchase, except tools. The assembling is very easy and it only takes two people to do the job. Of course, you will need the tools, but once you supply them, the house can be assembled relatively quickly.
Inside the house
The house has all elements of any other house. The big room provides comfortable and lovely living space. The arrangements of the elements are up to the owner, but anyhow, the room is big enough to place sofa, armchairs and a table. Adding decoration on the walls makes this room even more pleasant for the eyes.
You can always remodel, add or remove elements. Using decor, night tables and lamps may improve the room’s comfort. Personal elements, pictures or souvenirs, add ‘soul’ to the room and make the house warm. Changing elements is up to the owner and the inside of the house reflects the owner’s vision of comfort.
One beautiful and very useful feature of the house is the accessibility to the outdoors. The main room opens directly outside, no halls or passages, directly into the yard. This house may be very useful for those people who enjoy being in direct contact with the nature.
The porch is unavoidable!
You can’t skip the porch. People who purchase these types of houses enjoy installing the porch since it’s one of the house’s best feature. Having a porch in front of the house with a direct view of the nature is just great. Adding to this few chairs and a table, the comfort and the joy are guaranteed.
Additional options
With $4,200 you can purchase the basic plan or design of the house. However, if you do have the money and the desire to buy something extra, Lillevilla offers extra elements. Whenever you feel like you need extra windows, shutters, flower boxes or doors, you just make the purchase. The installation of these extra elements is also easy and very fast.
These houses are eco-friendly. This house is just perfect for those people who do not want to have a major impact on the environment. The materials are not hazardous and the impact on the nature is minimal. Lillevilla House is the perfect house for nature lovers and nature activist. This small house offers huge comfort and environment-friendly shelter.
Parenthood means lots of responsibilities, duties and busy schedule. It is not easy to be a parent. The family problems, in addition to the jobs we do and the pressure we feel from third parties, may result with having a very stressful and frustrating life.
A recent study has shown that large number of married women find their husbands as bigger source of stress than the kids themselves.
The main reason for such opinion is the husbands’ behaviour. In other words, the wives believe that their husbands act like children even though they are grown up men. Jokingly, some of the participants of the study say that there is not even a difference between the husband and the kids. There may be some truth in it, according to other similar studies conducted in the recent period.
One British study that has been published recently shows that men mature emotionally later than women. The study also shows that men reach their ’emotional maturity’ in their 40s, while women reach it in their 30s. There are some participants’ claims that state men actually never stop being immature.
Every person understands emotional maturity differently. Usually this immaturity includes playing video games, eating a lot of fast food, burping and showing off. Some researchers call this type of behaviour as ‘Peter Pan syndrome’.
Different study – similar results. The source of wives’ stress is pinpointed once again.
Similar to the other studies of this type, half of the women stated that their husbands are the main source of stress. These results may surprise many, since the general opinion is that children are the source of parents’ stress.
One participant said:
“A 7-year-old is going to be a 7-year-old. But a 35-year-old acting like a 7-year-old is more stressful, because they should know better.”
Another participant added:
“Often times it seems like I am the only adult in my house. My husband and daughter compete with me for my attention.”
Besides the sources of stress, the study also focuses on the relationship between the parents and the kids. The results have shown that the fathers usually have a ‘friendly relationship’ with their kids. The fathers usually do not hesitate playing with their kids and engaging in various leisure activities.
On the other hand, the mothers are concerned with more serious activities. The health, education and behaviour are usually the mother’s duties. It is up to her to deal with these crucial aspects of the child’s life. Having this in mind, it is expected women to be more stressed than the men.
Regarding this, one woman says:
“My husband is a really great dad, but I do find marriage to be stressful. I’ve had to put so much energy into my marriage,” one of the responders said.
Communication may be the solution.
The crucial thing in overcoming these stress-related problems is communication. Wife-husband communication and mutual understanding may fix this unbalance and hopefully lower the stress level in the family.
Communication between both parents is very important in solving everyday problems. That way, the duties may be divided and the responsibilities will be taken equally by both of them. If only one parent takes the majority of the responsibilities then the stress in unavoidable.
In addition to that, an attention is paid to the cohesion of the family. In other words, the stress is higher in families where one parent usually forbids everything, while the other allows all of it. Acting in the same way reduces the stress that affects the parents.
Chores – another source of stress.
So far the immature behaviour of the husband has been pointed out as a major source of stress. However, the studies have shown that the unequal split of the chores may also result with some significant stress and frustration.
Unbalanced split of the chores and household tasks usually affects the harmony of the family, especially the husband-wife relationship. This is an additional source of stress, besides the already mentioned, and as such may have some serious consequences. Therefore, having an equal share of responsibilities, duties and chores is the crucial element of the family’s success.
The third factor – ‘time stress’!
Doing things on time, beating the clock and following schedule of duties very often make us stressed and desperate. The time pressure makes us feel frustrated and that may lead to blaming ourselves, or the people around us, for the possible failures. This is a very unpleasant situation for every person and unhealthy environment for the family.
One of the
participants, regarding this, adds:
“I feel like I am figuring out a lot about parenting on my own without the input of my husband. This stresses me out because when something goes wrong, it is all my fault,” one of the moms in the research told.
Once again, communicating with your partner may be the key to the success. We all struggle to have the perfect marriage, and this may be the crucial thing in achieving that.
The tragedy in Santa Fe deeply touched the nation. 10 innocent people lost their lives and 13 were injured. That was a devastating news that shattered the nation.
The students, the employees of the High School and the first responders were invited to the Game 5 of the Rockets Western Conference Finals.
A group of nine girls were supposed to sing during this event. Prior to the singing, the girls observed a moment of silence, a situation that caused people react in totally different way.
Many pictures were taken of this moment, but one sparked a major controversy.
The photo that caused such a controversy features all girls holding hand, except one. The one who isn’t holding hands is the African-American girl. People immediately applied racism to this act and they started thinking the white girls are discriminating the black girl.
One comment said:
“Who the white girls?? Yeah, they did have one job and refused to hold the black chicks hand…their racisms showing BIG TIME.”
Another person wrote:
“Y’all see 2nd girl from the right smirking while not holding her hand.. yeah OK”
A third one said:
“But why is nobody holding the black girl’s hand?”
Such kind of comments were not acceptable by the girl’s mother.
The mother wanted to make the things clear, so she wrote:
“The ‘black girl’ is my daughter. It’s people like you that keep the race crap stirred up. You just look for ways to make things about race. These girls are her friends. You have no idea what you are talking about so you just need to shut up.”
Her idea was to point out that people tend to see negative things where there are none.
“My daughter didn’t want to cry before she had to sing and holding hands would have caused her to start crying that’s the story nothing about race”, she said.
However, the mother’s efforts gave no results. People even asked Lynda to provide evidence that she is the girl’s mother. Having in mind the fact that the girl’s parents are white, the situation got even worse. Lynda indeed had the birth certificate of the girl, but she didn’t want to share such a personal thing. Instead, Lynda posted some photos of the family. Nicole is between her father and her mother.
Lynda wrote:
“I have a birth certificate which you will not be seeing. This is us at senior parent night for the band.”
Because the situation developed into something unwanted, the Nicole and Lynda spoke together in an interview in order to settle the things out.
Nicole Janice told:
“It’s very disappointing that people are going to take a race issue out of a picture with nine grieving girls in it. I grieve in my own different way. I don’t like to be touched. When we had that moment of silence, I didn’t want to grab anyone’s hands because I didn’t want to break down before we sang [the National Anthem].”
Nicole was shocked and couldn’t believe her eyes when she read the comments. She adds that people invented a problem out of nothing.
“When Nicole came out of her room Saturday morning, she was upset that they had turned this into a race thing because she knew what was real. To make something so simple into a race issue was just absolutely ludicrous.” – says her mother.
Lynda and Nicole are happy to settle the things out. Racism is not the thing that people should play around with. The terrible outcome of such experimenting can be very serious.
Nevertheless, the family was criticized for nothing. Later, it was concluded that the photo was photoshopped and Nicole was not the only girl who wasn’t holding hands.
While discussing racism, one person asked Lynda :
“I wonder how you explain racism to her in all your privilege?”
Lynda replied:
“I let her read these posts. Y’all are doing a damn good job.”
If you were lucky enough to grow up with your grandparents by your side, you know the meaning of the purest form of love. There is really nothing these people wouldn’t do for the well-being of their grandchildren. From spoiling them rotten while they are little kids, to taking them to the park, and being supportive all the way, grandmas and grandpas are simply the best.
Actually, this is something everyone is pretty much aware of, even fraudsters and conmen who would do anything to take advantage of the affection these loving people feel for their grandkids.
The so-called ‘grandparents scams’ are becoming popular among criminals who trick the vulnerable individuals into thinking how their granddaughter or grandson are done for and in need of urgent financial aid.
They do this scam by pretending to be lawyers, doctors, and even police officers. The grandparents fall for this easily believing they are getting their loved ones out of trouble.
The first thing the criminals do is come up with excuses of why would they need the money for. Sometimes it’s a sudden surgery, costs for lawyers, or paying for a driving ticket. After they present this well-planned stories, they ask the grandparents to send them the money, which most are willing to do.
This operation isn’t as simple as it sounds. The scammers spend certain amount of time learning about both the victim and their family members. They usually do this by going through the grandchildren’s social networking sites accounts trying to exploit the relationship they have with their grandparents.
Since the fictional situations and problems the scammers present the victims with are sort of embarrassing and personal, the grandparents don’t share them with the rest of the family members or their friends. They believe they’ve been loyal, without being aware they are not actually helping anyone.
The latest victim of this sort of scam was an 87-year-old lady from Quincy.
The lady was already tricked into spending around $4,000 on gift cards that she sent to the criminals. They, however, realized she was an easy target and decided they wanted more money. She agreed on sending them Walmart gift cards that would cost additional $2,000. As she headed to the store, she shared this story with the taxi driver who suspected this elderly woman had been set up.
Richard Spencer, the yellow cab driver, didn’t fall for this strange story and knew the lady had been scammed.
“I said excuse me ma’am, but that is not your grandson,” the cab driver said. “It’s someone posing.”
She told Spencer how someone called her earlier that day saying how her grandson was involved in a car accident that he caused and now he needed gift cards he would use to pay in order to be spared jail time.
“I don’t think so lady,” Richard said to her. “I think you’re getting scammed. I heard this before, you know.”
The trip to Walmart turned into one to the nearest police station.
“I said, no, no we’re not going to Walmart. I’m calling the Quincy Police,” he later said to WBZ-TV. “I said I believe your being scammed and we’re going to try to save you some money.”
It turned out Spencer was right. This grandma was a victim of a scam.
The police, however, says catching these criminals is not easy since they usually operate out of the U.S.
If it wasn’t for this quick-thinking taxi driver, the lady would lose even more money.
“I think it’s one of the scummiest crimes you can do,” the cab driver concluded. “It just goes to show what scumbags they are, they’re too lazy to go out and steal like a real criminal, they go scam people on the phone.”
Everyone praises Spencer’s action. He knew something was wrong and trusted his intuition.
“Thank you Mr. Spencer for caring. You could have chosen to remain silent and ignore the signs. But you didn’t. And for that we say THANK YOU” the police department wrote on their Facebook page.
While Spencer was helping his passenger that day, he got a traffic ticket. But we hope the officers would let him out of the hook because of his kind deed.
February 2 marked the beginning of the second season of Ireland’s Got a Talent. With the same format, Virgin Media One once again began entertaining the audience and the loyal fans. As expected, the judges remain the same. Louis Walsh, Michelle Visage, Denise van Outen and Jason Byrne will try to find out the future most talented Irish performer.
Ireland’s Got a Talent keeps the same format as last year. The first steps that are done are the open auditions held in the major cities across Ireland. If the contestants meet the criteria of the show, they move on to the Judge’s Auditions. This second part of the auditions includes singing in front of a big audience. The major part of the show are the live rounds. In order to move on and be part of the semi-finals, the contestants have to win the majority of the judges.
Tara Jamieson, born in Canada, was one of the contestants in the show. She stepped on the stage and in front of the crowd and the judges she started singing ‘One and Only’ by Adele. The amazed and pleasantly shocked faces of the judges say it all.
Tara is a medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. Her passion for the medicine, particularly paediatrics, is not the only passion she has. Her love for the music is equally the same and because of that she is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music. These two totally different areas are reason for the jokes that are told during her performance. To this, Michelle Visage adds: “[she will] sing to kids while she gives them a shot”.
She gave us an impression of a very relaxed girl who loves being on stage. And she knows how to perform on stage very well. The Judges and Tara’s jokes about the herself prove that the girl is not that stressed, which is a good sign. These jokes were just the introduction to her performance, and man, she performed amazingly.
The semi-final rounds are what all contestant dream about. To be part of that, one has to pass through a process of selection, done in two ways: phone votes and judges’ votes. Each semi-final round selects two winners, ready to face each other in the final round.
The public voting is the only factor that determines Ireland’s Got a Talent winner. Besides the nation-wide fame, the winner also gets € 50.000. The winner even gets her/ his own prime-time Christmas TV special. No wonder why so many contestants try to win the show.
Play the video and enjoy with this beautiful performance!
Steve Harvey – you just can’t miss that man on TV. His dedication to entertain us and keep us laughing resulted with numerous shows. Whether it is on the Internet or on TV, it is always easy to find Steve’s shows. For years he has been making the nation laugh and he still continues doing the great job.
Steve Harvey’s career started in 1985. During this time, he has been acting and performing as a stand-up comedian in several local club. That experience helped him to master his skills, especially acting. As a result of that he made it to the finals of the Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search.
That was just the beginning. Soon afterwards, he ended up hosting Showtime at Apollo. The nation-wide success was guaranteed with his The Steve Harvey Show. Nowadays, his Hey Steve is amusing the audience like never before. This talented comedian and host never fails our expectations.
Hey Steve prepared us another pleasant surprise. This time, the show’s star was accompanied by an elderly lady. Since Steve Harvey is well-known for his interaction with the audience, he almost never refuses a proposal given by the crowd. The lady proposed a challenge and of course Steve accepted it.
The lady asked Steve if he can show some of his moves on the dance floor. Steve was more than glad to accept it. Their dance began slowly. They took their positions and started amusing the crowd. Even though they have never planned anything prior the show, they looked like a perfect dancing match. As the music was speeding up, so these two dancers started dancing more energetically. The fun they had is obvious and the crowd enjoyed in this lovely act.
Nevertheless, in his professional career Steve Harvey proved that he is not good only in acting. In 2009 Steve became a best-selling author with his relationship advice books. His thinking and pieces of advice are appreciated by millions of readers. In 2010 he even took over Family Feud. He indeed amazes us whenever a project is undertaken by him.
Steve’s special characteristics is that he knows how regular people think and feel. His life prior becoming a famous host helped him a lot in understanding people. People indeed feel that Steve is part of them, not considering him as those untouchable celebrities.
The common understanding that the family is strong and compact only if the its members share the same genes and physical characteristics is slowly losing its popularity among people. We have witnessed that families that do have related DNA or genes fall apart and lives are being destroyed. There is, however, something totally different that keeps the families together.
Jessica Satterfiled and her husband proved just that. Families can be happy and they can enjoy the life no matter what’s the DNA code of its members. They are showing the world that being physically similar does not guarantee a stable and happy family.
Jessica and her husband are parents of three healthy, happy and beautiful kids. They have adopted them when they were younger and now they try to raise them up into independent adults. They share everything and talk about various different topics. Like every family out there, they enjoy the life.
However, this family differs from the rest in one thing. The kids have different skin color than the parents. During the years, this skin color difference has caused many people to stare at them and wonder what’s going on. From time to time strangers will give them surprised looks and that sometimes puts the family in an awkward position. One such situation occurred while the family was out in a restaurant having their lunch.
All five members of the family decided to eat some burgers in a restaurant. While they were having a good time and enjoying each other’s company, Jessica noticed an old man staring at them. She began feeling even more uncomfortable when she saw the old man approaching them. To her surprise, the man said something very unexpected.
The old man shook her husband’s hand and said:
“I just wanted to tell you that you have such a beautiful family.”
This stunned them. They were left speechless when they saw the man, with tears in his eyes, saying such a good thing. Jessica nor her husband chased the old man, they didn’t get his name, but this line of words shook their emotions. They will remember him for the rest of their lives.
The family is accustomed to hearing words of surprise and in all these years they have been stared at very often. This man’s compliment was something totally different. Unexpectedly, the man’s acknowledge of their success as a family made them very happy and proud.
Regarding her family, Jessica says:
“Families don’t have to match to be a family. What makes a family is their love.”
Jessica’s words are true. Love is the thing that bonds us and keeps us strong and united. The moment we lose it, is the moment when we realise that we are alone with no one besides us. That sucks!
It’s in the humans’ nature to strive to love and be loved. This feeling that is described by many as the strongest of all helps us overcome obstacles and ordeals and is capable of healing our heart and soul. But when it comes to romantic relations and that type of affection, not everyone gets to find the soulmate whom they would spend the journey called life with. Those that do, however, know they are lucky to have someone they could rely on when things get rough.
Kris Scharoun-DeForge and her husband Paul Scharoun-DeForge are a perfect example of how love conquers all. These two met some 30 years ago, and have been married for the last 25. If this doesn’t really sound like something special to you, you’ll change your mind once you learn these spouses both have Down Syndrome. They are longest married couple with this condition and their story continues to inspire people around the world.
The affection they feel for one another only grows bigger with each passing day. They speak of their relationship with sparks in their eyes and give us hope that one day, we could have what these two share as well. They also teach us to never settle for anything less.
“I looked into his eyes and saw my future. He opened up my world.”
Both Kris and Paul never miss a chance to let the other one know how much they are loved and cared for. Every Valentine’s Day, this loving wife crafts a handmade card for the love of her life and the two have a romantic dinner at a restaurant. This has become sort of tradition throughout the years. The last year’s holiday was, however, even more special because they were given the chance to tell the whole world how true devotion and fondness break all the barriers by celebrating their 25-year anniversary. As many believe how people with Down Syndrome aren’t capable of getting emotionally involved in a union, Scharoun-DeForges prove those people wrong and are going stronger than ever.
Sadly, Paul started suffering from dementia which is currently in it’s early stage, but it required that he was placed at a facility where he would receive all the care needed for him to function properly. His wife never leaves his side and is paying him frequent visits, constantly reminding him how much he is loved and cared for.
She said: “When they told me, I started to cry. He’s my life. I don’t want to be without him.”
It’s amazing how in this world full of people who would like to see you fail, Kris and Paul never gave up on one another. They are each other’s support and are very lucky to have found that special person. We wish you a long and even happier life. You indeed are a true inspiration.
Alan Jackson is one of those music stars that modesty overcomes fame. The 60-year-old country music star is one of the best sold country music singers.
With more than 80 million records sold, he is undoubtedly one of the best-known representatives of this music genre.
He is member of Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Furthermore, Alan Jackson owns two Grammy awards, 16 CMA awards and 17 ACM awards.
However, even with all these recognitions, Alan Jackson is still keeping his modesty on higher level. As an illustration, here are his words spoken to the Rolling Stone:
“Even though I’ve done a lot, I still don’t feel quite worthy, but I feel like it’s an honor to qualify for what it requires to be in here with these great people.
“I’ve always tried to make music my first priority – not being a star, not being in the spotlight, just trying to make music that I loved.”
Luckily, we have his daughter Alexandra Jane Jackson. She knows her father’s values and status and does not hesitate talking about the music star. Regarding her father, Alexandra says:
“I see you as: my best friend, the guy that taught me how you treat people matters more than anything else and taught me just how to stand on my own two feet,” she said.
Alexandra is one of the three siblings. Alan and his wife Denise have three daughters, Mattie Denise and Dani Grace. Since 15 December the couple’s marriage is full of love, respect and mutual support. On one occasion Alan even credits his wife with getting his career off the ground.
Alexandra’s tribute to her father continues:
“You’re every daughter’s dream father. Thank you for raising us in a house filled with Jesus and music, and always making sure we knew whatever our dream was could be our reality.”
Thanks to Alexandra’s tribute we can learn something about the private life of this music star. Even though he is extremely popular, with millions of fans, he does not forget his family and his duties as father.
This kind of modesty and giving priority to you family is a rarity in the world of celebrities. Alan Jackson is a very good example for the future music or film stars.
Now, we would like you to enjoy with one of Alan’s songs!
Generally speaking, we do not like to be interrupted. Whether it is a speech, a play or a song, we usually get annoyed if someone interrupts us. It’s an unpleasant feeling that can lead into failure of the success of the things we planned to show the audience.
Sometimes we can manage such a situation, depending on the nature of the interruption. In most cases such situation, like it or not, can cause some unwanted feeling overcome our bodies.
Being interrupted by someone or something can make us nervous and distracted. The unexpected distraction can defocus us from the things that we have had in our minds. However, Kelvin Moon Loh, a Broadway actor, is not like the rest of us.
Since Broadway shows are expected to be one of the finest performances in the world of stage acting, they require high concentration and focus. With that in mind, Kevin and his team started their play ‘The King and I’. However, in the middle of the show, very unexpected visitor disturbed the flow of the show.
A kid diagnosed with autism started shouting loudly in the middle of the act.
What Kevin did after this situation is not something most us will do.
Broadway shows are expensive part of fine arts world. With such high price for a ticket, the audience and the actors expect to have a show almost like a perfection. Slightest disturbance may be strongly criticized.
Kevin’s show was going very well. However, during a whipping scene, the kid started reacting quite loudly. He started shouting and his mother had to take him out of the theatre.
When the kid interrupted the show, part of the audience was not happy to witness that, while some of them had understanding about the incident. With all these mixed feelings in the audience, Kevin realised that he had to do something to settle the things out.
Kevin posted a letter on the social media regarding the kid’s interruption.
Kelvin’s letter
“I am angry and sad,” he wrote.
“Just got off stage from today’s matinee and yes, something happened. Someone brought their autistic child to the theater.
That being said- this post won’t go the way you think it will.
You think I will admonish that mother for bringing a child who yelped during a quiet moment in the show. You think I will herald an audience that yelled at this mother for bringing their child to the theater. You think that I will have sympathy for my own company whose performances were disturbed from a foreign sound coming from in front of them.
No.
Instead, I ask you- when did we as theater people, performers and audience members become so concerned with our own experience that we lose compassion for others?
The theater to me has always been a way to examine/dissect the human experience and present it back to ourselves. Today, something very real was happening in the seats and, yes, it interrupted the fantasy that was supposed to be this matinee but ultimately theater is created to bring people together, not just for entertainment, but to enhance our lives when we walk out the door again.
It so happened that during “the whipping scene”, a rather intense moment in the second act, a child was heard yelping in the audience. It sounded like terror. Not more than one week earlier, during the same scene, a young girl in the front row- seemingly not autistic screamed and cried loudly and no one said anything then. How is this any different?
His voice pierced the theater. The audience started to rally against the mother and her child to be removed. I heard murmurs of “why would you bring a child like that to the theater?”. This is wrong. Plainly wrong.
Because what you didn’t see was a mother desperately trying to do just that. But her son was not compliant. What they didn’t see was a mother desperately pleading with her child as he gripped the railing refusing- yelping more out of defiance. I could not look away. I wanted to scream and stop the show and say- “EVERYONE RELAX. SHE IS TRYING. CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT SHE IS TRYING???!!!!” I will gladly do the entire performance over again. Refund any ticket because-
For her to bring her child to the theater is brave. You don’t know what her life is like. Perhaps, they have great days where he can sit still and not make much noise because this is a rare occurrence. Perhaps she chooses to no longer live in fear, and refuses to compromise the experience of her child. Maybe she scouted the aisle seat for a very popular show in case such an episode would occur. She paid the same price to see the show as you did for her family. Her plan, as was yours, was to have an enjoyable afternoon at the theater and slowly her worst fears came true.
I leave you with this- Shows that have special performances for autistic audiences should be commended for their efforts to make theater inclusive for all audiences. I believe like Joseph Papp that theater is created for all people. I stand by that and also for once, I am in a show that is completely FAMILY FRIENDLY. The King and I on Broadway is just that- FAMILY FRIENDLY- and that means entire families- with disabilities or not. Not only for special performances but for all performances. A night at the theater is special on any night you get to go.
And no, I don’t care how much you spent on the tickets.”
Morals
Kevin’s letter is a great message sent to all of us. Being interrupted, no matter the level of defocusing of our concentration, is not the end of the world after all. Judging kids with mental disabilities, or the parents that try to give that kind of kid a normal life, is very wrong. As Kevin points out, some plays are for the whole family and, as such, is it ok to exclude some of the family members from enjoying the show?
Kevin did a great job with the letter. Whether you agree with him or not, he indeed made his point quite clearly. How would you react in such situation?
Every day we can see the effects of the pollution. Keeping the environment safe and clean guarantees healthy life, for us and for the animals and plants surrounding us. That is a task that all of us should have in our to-do list.
A great story comes from Australia. The city of Kwinana is fighting the pollution of the environment with a fairly simple installation. In other words, the city authorities have installed a filtration system in Henley Reserve by using net. The net itself is placed on the outlets of the drainage pipes and in that was the plastic and the debris is kept inside, letting water pass through it. This is a very cleaver and simple way of keeping our surroundings clean and free of plastic other harmful materials.
People very quickly saw the benefits of this installation. The trash that usually goes in the nature is huge and after this new installation people see drastic changes. They are now aware that with simple tools the contamination of the environment can be stopped.
Even the authorities were quite surprised by the success of the nets. Their expectations were way too low in comparison to the caught 800 pounds of garbage in just a few weeks. The work paid off.
Therefore, the success of these nets in Henley Reserve made the authorities think about installing such nets all over the city. The goal is to minimize the pollution of the environment. Compared to the more sophisticated filtration systems, this net installation costs some $10.000 and that makes it quite profitable.
The process goes like this. After the installation of the nets on the outlets, the nets are gradually being filled in with garbage. As soon as the nets are full, they is loaded on trucks specially used for this purpose so they can be transported to trash-sorting places. The recyclable materials are kept and the process of recycling starts.
When the net is emptied and the garbage transported, the nets are reinstalled on the outlets. The process starts all over again.
Kwinana proved that with small efforts, minimum budget and willingness to protect the environment, we can do miracles. This an idea that many other cities should take into consideration.
James Tadman’s life turned into hell in just a period of several months. The happy family life he has been hoping for vanished in just a blink of an eye. Losing his two-year-old daughter was the devastating event that ruined his life.
Marcie Tadman’s life was too short. This cute little girl was admitted to Royal United Hospital in Bath, England upon doctor’s conclusion that she had pneumonia. However, as soon as the treatment for pneumonia started, another deadly threat came – she suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Little Marcie’s heart could not survive. This little angel passed away on 17 December 2017. Marcie had sepsis. James’ life fell apart. After his wife’s death, this tragedy was too much for him to bear. Regarding this, he says:
“SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID ‘OKAY DADDY’” BEFORE SHE “WENT LIMP”.
THE DEVASTED FATHER WENT ON TO SAY:
“AS YOU CAN ALL APPRECIATE, MY FAMILY AND I HAVE BEEN THROUGH HELL AND NO WORDS CAN ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE HOW WE ARE FEELING.”
“WE HAVE LOST A VERY BEAUTIFUL, CARING LITTLE GIRL WHOSE SMILE WOULD LIGHT UP ANY ROOM AND MELT ANY HEART.”
“WE PUT OUR TRUST IN THE ROYAL UNITED HOSPITAL, ASSUMING THAT OUR LITTLE GIRL WOULD BE GETTING THE VERY BEST CARE BUT TRAGICALLY THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.
“THE HOSPITAL’S OWN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION HAS IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF FAILINGS AND THESE HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY ONE EXPERT AS ‘SYSTEMIC’ IN NATURE.
“WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNT AND THAT EVERY CHILD THAT RECEIVES TREATMENT AT THE HOSPITAL IN THE FUTURE WILL BE BETTER PROTECTED.”
“THE ONLY CRUMB OF COMFORT I CAN TAKE FROM THE IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION I FIND MYSELF FACING IS THAT MARCIE HAS BEEN REUNITED WITH HER MUMMY, MY WIFE, WHO SADLY LOST HER FIGHT AGAINST CANCER IN JULY 2017.”
The symptoms that this girl had somehow remained unchecked. Just a day before Marcie’s death, James took her to the ER. She had all of the sepsis symptoms. Dr. Claire Verey now regrets for not checking and testing the girl for sepsis. A mistake that took her life. During the official inquiry, the doctor said:
“MY DIAGNOSIS WAS BASED PURELY ON THE MARCIE I SAW IN FRONT OF ME.
“IN MY MIND, MARCIE TADMAN WAS DEFINITELY AN UNWELL CHILD.
“I RECONCILED ALL THE OBSERVATIONS I HAD IN FRONT OF ME WITH BACTERIAL PNEUMONIA.
“THIS IS MY ONLY EXPLANATION FOR NOT DOING ALL THE SEPSIS TESTS.
“I CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN WHY SEPSIS DIDN’T POP UP IN MY HEAD.
“IT’S JUST I GENUINELY FELT THAT ALL THE SIGNS POINTED TO PNEUMONIA.
“RATHER THAN USING THE SCREENING TOOL I USED MY OWN JUDGEMENT LOOKING AT MARCIE AS SHE WAS IN FRONT OF ME.
“I APOLOGISE WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO MARCIE.”
Furthermore, James explains:
“I EXPLAINED TO MARCIE THAT EVERYTHING WAS OKAY AND THEY WERE GOING TO GO TO ANOTHER ROOM.
“SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, ‘OKAY, DADDY’. WHEN THE NURSE FINISHED GIVING THE FLUIDS MARCIE LOOKED AT ME, TOOK ONE BIG BREATH AND SHE LOOKED STRAIGHT INTO MY EYES.
“I HAD HOLD OF HER OTHER HAND AND WAS STROKING IT, TELLING HER SHE WAS GOING TO BE OKAY, SHE JUST SEEMED TO TURN OFF WHEN SHE EXHALED AND WENT LIMP.”
CORONER MARIA VOISIN LISTED A RANGE OF FAILINGS BY THE HOSPITAL AND RECORDED A CONCLUSION THAT MARCIE DIED FROM NATURAL CAUSES CONTRIBUTED TO BY NEGLECT.
“I CONSIDER THAT PUTTING THESE BASIC FAILURES TOGETHER LED TO THE GROSS FAILURE TO PROVIDE OR PERFORM ANY EFFECTIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT,” SHE SAID.
“I FIND THAT THE GROSS FAILURE HAS CAUSED OR SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO MARCIE’S DEATH.”
With sorrows in our hearts, we express our condolences to James. We do hope this little angel will find peace in the Heavens, since she was an angel even here on the Earth!
There is really nothing as mesmerizing to watch as people performing Irish dance routines. This traditional dancing takes a lot of talent and skills not many can claim. Irish people consider this dancing style that demonstrates breathtaking footwork and balance a huge part of their heritage. If you’ve seen dancers performing this style, you were probably enchanted by those moves of high-kicking, stomping, rigid stances, and twirls.
The video below shows how no one can stay indifferent when the famous music that follows this routine is on. The lively rhythm is so contagious that this adorable little girl decided to join in and show this woman who is dancing on the streets of Galway, Ireland, how skillful she is.
Passersby are gathering around this adorable dancing duo and enjoy the sight. Isn’t this sweet little girl an Irish dancer in the making?
Take a look at her in the video below. You are going to love this!
Cancer is one of the most widespread diseases that can affect anyone, despite gender or age. The diagnosis is devastating, and the battle is long and hard, and takes lots of courage and optimism.
Scientists from across the globe do everything in their power to find a cure, and until that day is here, we can only be supportive and pray for those who are undergoing the ordeal.
When a person is diagnosed, it affects everyone around. But what happens when a child is in question? It makes the parents’ world crush, but they have to be strong and overcome those feelings of shock, guilt, anxiety, and sadness, and be there for their little ones. Just as little McKenna Shea Xydias’ mom and dad are.
This sweet two-year-old toddler experienced some belly swelling some time ago and it alarmed her parents Megan and Michael. The doctors, however, put them at ease saying it’s just a result of constipation.
Soon after this doctor’s visit, McKenna’s teacher called her parents telling them how the girl isn’t feeling good, having a fever of 103F and a swollen abdomen.
She was again rushed to the hospital where they got the same answer as the first time, a constipation. This time, both Megan and Michael knew there was something more serious going on so they decided to do further examination in another hospital.
McKenna was brought to Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta where they were told the shocking news of the little girl having a malignant tumor growing on her ovaries. This particular type of cancer turned to be one of the rarest. Luckily, thanks to these devoted parents, it was diagnosed just in time to take action.
The girl had to undergo a surgery that thankfully went pretty well.
She is currently staying at the hospital where she is expected to recover completely after the chemotherapy sessions she has to receive. Her family is sharing McKenna’s story because they want to raise awareness of this rare condition.
This brave little lady never lost her smile and is an example of how we should never give up fighting. Please pray for her!
Scott and Michelle’s happy marriage was like every marriage out there. They were happy and enjoying life, doing their jobs and spending some quality times together. However, life prepared a shocking surprise for both of them, and for their lovely kids.
One day, Scott’s life turned into nightmare. While attending her classes, Michelle got a call that turned her life upside down. The news she got was devastating.
While Scott was staying home with their kids, he suffered a terrible severe stroke. That was maybe the worst piece of news Michelle got in her whole life.
Upon calling her wife, Michelle immediately called 911. About the horrible day, she recalls:
”He called me and he was slurring his words. He said he had an intense headache and that something was wrong.”
She remembers that day very well. The pain and the stress she felt cannot be described with words. She adds:
”When emergency medical crews loaded Scott into the ambulance, his blood pressure spiked, causing fluid in the lungs.”
The stroke threatened Scott’s life. All vital signs were in a terrible condition. His breathing was heavy, the blood pressure was high and he started losing his consciousness. His wife described all of that:
”It was just very, very bad. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about it.”
As soon as they reached the hospital, the medical team started working on Scott. Taking into account his bad health situation, the doctors suggested Michelle to call close relatives because he may not survive until the morning.
Additional reasons for such deadly outcome are his other health problems. Since his birth Scott had aneurysm. This, combined with the stroke, made the doctors believe his chances for surviving are minimum.
Michelle was devastated. Losing her loved one and the father of her kids was too much to bear. However, knowing her husband well, she secretly hoped that everything will be all right. Scott was a fighter and she believed her husband will win this battle as well.
The doctors were not on the same line with Michelle. They suggested her to let him go and say goodbye. They did not expect him to wake up after the surgery, especially not with that low level of oxygen.
Michelle did not do that. Instead of saying the last goodbye, she kissed Scott. Then, a miracle happened. Scott’s still body twitched and he kissed her back. That drastically restored her hopes.
This new situation encouraged Michelle to fight for her husband. She was trying to convince the medical staff that her husband will survive and there was no need to unplug the life support.
The miracle indeed happened. During the next weeks Scott recovered to that degree that he did not need the life support anymore. Soon afterwards, he woke up, feeling pain and helpless. Michelle says:
“I covered his trach and he started talking to me. The first words were, ‘I love you,’ the second, ‘get me pain medication.’ Then, when the doctors asked him, ‘what are you playing?’ he said, ‘an instrument.’ The doctors started to believe in us.”
When the doctors learned about the new development and the unexpected conversation between them, they started believing in Scott’s fight. He spent 16 weeks in rehab.
Since Scott is a musician, music was the additional ‘medicament’ that helped him. The therapists and doctors very often used music and his instrument during the sessions. His strength and coordination was rapidly improving.
Scott returned home after the 16th week. Michelle described Scot’s mood as follows:
“He went in on a stretcher only moving his right hand, and he left walking with a walker with one hand in the air saying, ‘Rock on,’”
The caring wife provided support and help even home. Scott was never left alone and she gave everything she had just to normalise her husband again. Her spirit did not let her fail her husband, and apparently Scott never intended to leave his family.
For Scott and Michelle, the road to normal life was way too long. Nevertheless, she says with a smile:
“He’s playing guitar again. He plays the drums. It used to be he couldn’t swallow. He had a feeding tube for nine months, but now he can eat anything he wants.”
Luckily Michelle and Scott will continue living side by side, getting old and hopefully see their grandchildren running around their house.
People who are not accustomed to speaking or singing in public know how difficult it is. Amateur singers, actors and even motivational speakers are usually nervous and anxious just because of the close presence of the audience. Frankly speaking, that’s quite normal. Whenever you have to face up with a crowd you think about not doing a mistake or embarrassing yourself. However, Isaac Bryant does not quite agree with that.
The Division III District Wrestling Championship in Troy, Ohio for Isaac was suppose to be just a competition for showing of wrestling skills. The junior at Mechanicsburg High School has been preparing and training hard in order to be noticed on a sports level, but, he ended up being noticed by something totally different.
As he was trying to relax a bit before his match, the official announcer’s voice caught Isaac’s attention. The announcer informed the crowd that he was looking for a person who is willing to sing the National Anthem. Because the person that was supposed to sing the song hadn’t showed up, the organisers were left with no substitution for her. At that moment Isaac decided to save the day and step up. He sang the anthem and amazed the crowd.
Even after the competition closed, Isaac was still not aware of his actions and accomplishment. He explained:
“I was dazed and confused and I just thought they might just need somebody to do it.”
Luckily, everything was filmed by Mia Richardson’s camera. Isaac’s singing ended up on-line and in just a week his video was seen more than 550.000 times. Isaac’s performance during the competition was also noticed by the media. He and his parents even got interviewed by people like Steve Doocy or Brian Kilmeade. Isaac’s sensational action was even featured on Fox and Friends. This unexpected and spontaneous act gave him a fame-like status. However, according to Isaac, he would not be able to do it if it wasn’t for his friends support.
Fox and Friends, while they were interviewing Isaac, tried to find out more about Isaac’s singing skills. Regarding that, Isaac answered:
“I sing a lot. I guess that’s kind of a part of me. That’s what I do. I’m a little bit of a performer if you haven’t noticed.”
You can image his parents’ happiness. Their proud son was shown on national TV channels and featured in TV shows. As his mother says:
“ I was just so proud. We were used to the voice but I guess it was the heart he put into it. It brought tears to our eyes.”
His father does not hesitate saying good things about his son. He adds that he was not surprised seeing his son singing well since he knew his skills and abilities. Isaac has just confirmed that with his courage to sing for the nation.
That night marked Isaac as a brave young man. Reflecting his own feelings and views, Isaac thinks that TV shows and interviews are more stressful than the actual singing in a full arena. Hm, interesting. Do you think the same?
Take a look at Isaac’s performance below.
Hear the voice his family and friends are proud of with this video!
Acceptance of the others is what makes us humans. In the past, people who were a bit different were also treated as such. Nowadays, however, we are all more open-minded towards those who are not like us, and that’s a good thing having in mind this world belongs to everyone just equally.
If we are about to create harmony, we should embrace the differences, not being ashamed of them, as at the end of the day, it may turn out we are the ones who end up being ‘different’ and not fitting the society’s standards.
The following story is an eye-opener that will make you think about the ways you treat others.
A soldier was finally coming home after having fought in Korea. He called his parents from Los Angeles. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me. “Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”
“There’s something you should know,” the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”
“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”
“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”
Hearing these words coming from his parents, the son ended up the conversation and didn’t call them back in the following days. One day, the phone rang and the parents though it was their son again, but it was the Los Angeles Police that informed them their son was dead. They believed he committed a suicide by jumping off a building.
When these desperate mother and father went to L.A to identify their son’s body, they were left in complete shock when they realized the handicapped person was their son himself. He lost his limbs back in Korea.
We assume the parents must have felt devastated knowing they rejected their own son only because he was now different. The thing is that many of us are likely to act the same way these parents did. But I do hope this story will serve as a lesson that we should all be more open towards other people.
The oceans and the seas still remain mysterious places for researchers and people who love marine life. Deep sea hides creatures that look alien and in many cases creepy. We have rare opportunity to see what really happens in the seas and how the animals spend their days in their habitat.
Captian Dave Anderson gives us an opportunity to see how the aquatic animals enjoy their life. We are not going to see deep sea weirdly shaped animals, but very lovely and well-known mammals. Anderson uses his drone to show us the beauty of our seas.
Anderson uses his GoPro camera to film the sea from above. The footage begins in Dana Point in California and at the beginning it’s a normal sea view. Calm sea, small waves and few boats. However, very soon the camera captures a pod of dolphins. The dolphins slowly rise from the water and they peacefully move through the sea. The view is so adorable!
Dolphins are not the only animals captured on the camera. The GoPro camera is filming the waters around Maui, Hawaii. The footage the camera shot in this region is marvellous. Here, we can see a mama whale and her baby calf. Both of them are playing peacefully, while swimming side by side. The humpback whales’ social interaction is once again caught on camera. While the mother whale and the baby calf are having great time together, another whale is watching over nearby. What a sight!
Jimmy Fallon again blew our minds with his extremely amusing “The Tonight Show”. Just by watching him and his comical acts, the laughter is guaranteed. Adding to all of that another funny man, you get a mind blowing comedy show.
Who doesn’t laugh and enjoy with Jamie Foxx talented acts? I bet no one. This time the forces are joined, Jimmy’s prepared games and tasks and Jamie’s multi-talent abilities amused the crowed like never before. Once again we could see that Jamie is not only a great actor, but very good singer as well!
Jimmy’s famous ‘Wheel of Musical Impressions’ has never been more entertaining. He didn’t have to say twice to Jamie to step up and take the microphone in his hands. And man, he sings! Starting with Mick Jagger’s song, Jamie nailed all songs planned for the game. Loads of laughter, positive energy and jokes fill up the studio. For sure, Jimmy has to expend the list for the next time when Jamie is a guest in the show.
However, the real final spin is the later part of the Jamie’s performance. He impersonates a female. Nothing more humorous than that. Jamie made sure your smile is on your face. Both comedians did a great job! Their plan is working, we cannot stop watching and laughing at their extremely funny performances.
‘ThrowAwayForPancakes’ is the Reddit nickname of a guy who posted a very uncommon story on-line. His dinner at the restaurant turned out to be very eventful. While he was enjoying his meal, he overheard a conversation between a nicely mannered young woman and a complete douchebag of a guy, who by the way must have been on a date. Since the conversation was heading to the worst, ‘ThrowAwayForPancakes’ planned to step up and settle the things down. As soon as he got up from the chair, an older man stopped him and everything went in a completely different way.
Being a single unattached person means that you have to work and earn just to satisfy your own needs and luxuries. When you get married and when you have your own family, then the things change quite a bit.
You have to work very hard and earn enough money to satisfy everyone’s basic needs. However, we have witnessed cases where some people do not do that and they are actually misusing the system just like that they claim their bread and butter.
The US soldier Patrick Gibson, a father of two kids, witnessed a situation similar to that one. He got so frustrated that he had to share this event on his Facebook page.
One day, on the way home, Patrick stopped at the local Walmart. This normal and usual daily routine was supposed to be nothing special. After he got the basic products that he needed, such as few food items and diaper, he stood in line in order to pay. But, he saw something quite unexpected.
The couple that stood in front of Patrick looked like a normal married couple that earn quite a lot. This notion was triggered by the fact that the couple had two full carts, and two full carts nowadays cost a lot. This would have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for the thing the couple paid with. Patrick got angry and took some photos of this couple’s carts.
Once Patrick got home, he could do only one thing – post on Facebook about his story. Patrick posted two pictures, one of his cart and one of the couple’s cart.
About his own cart he wrote:
“The picture you see on the left is the amount of groceries including diapers that I was able to afford this pay period for my family.”
About the other picture, he adds:
”The picture on the right is of the purchase in front of me in line. If you can’t tell in the picture there are 2 full buggies of groceries including such items like steak and some other very nice choices of food.”
However, according to Patrick, the problem is not in the carts, but something else is very problematic. Patrick paid for his little amount in cash, money that he has earned by working long hours in the Army. On the other side, the couple paid all those groceries with food stamps. However, that was not the only thing.
The couple also used EBT card in order to pay for the $800 bill. The impression you would normally get is that both of them are physically or mentally disabled so they use some state’s benefits. But, that was not the case. They were totally fine and physically fit.
The last drop that spilled the cup is the couple’s private vehicle. Believe it or not, the EBT card and food stamps owners drove brand new Hyundai Genesis. The car costs up to $20.000. That fact finally frustrated Patrick. Patrick also adds:
“I just thought I would take the time to tell this person/family that you are very welcome from all of us hard working/struggling to buy food Americans that have to foot the bill for your fancy steak feast while I skip breakfast and lunch every day (so) that way my wife and children have food to eat every day because $50-$75 dollars doesn’t go very far. So, you enjoy your $800 free grocery purchase.”
Patrick’s post reached many people out there. Large number of the people who saw the post agreed with Patrick and expressed their support. One of them wrote:
“I agree with you Patrick 100%. There are a lot that really need it, but as you said, there are a lot that abuse the system and a lot like yourself that need them and can’t get them, especially you and your family.”
However, not everyone agreed with Patrick. Many stated that he is judging people without even knowing them for real. One comment stated:
“Do you really know their backstory? Don’t be quick to judge someone because you’re angry. How do you know if that person works and their spouse doesn’t work because of problems? That all the money in their pocket is to pay their bills that the new car was a gift? How do you know that’s not the case?”
To this, Patrick responded like this:
“Let’s just call it what it is. We can all sit around and believe in sunshine and rainbows saying the old don’t judge a book by its cover crap, but the reality of it is that so so so many people are abusing the system that was put in place for struggling families. If we can’t even acknowledge that there is a problem, then how can it ever be corrected. And a brand new car as a gift? Really? If they have friends or family with money like that, then its a shame they still need $800 a month in food stamps.”
What do you think? Do you agree with Patrick? Would you also be frustrated and angry like Patrick? How would you react?
As societies are slowly but surely changing concerning the way they see and treat those who are a bit different, the question of whether Down Syndrome is still a social stigma rises. According to new parents of children with Down Syndrome, things do look brighter regarding the full acceptance of these young individuals as valuable members of the community.
Sadly, there are still those moms and dads who are said “I am sorry” by random people when they hear of their special kids. But why should they be sorry? Children with Down Syndrome are likely to enjoy all the benefits other people do.
The stares are still present, but as time goes by we witness greater inclusion and acceptance for people with Down’s, and that’s something that let’s a few rays of hope shine through the life’s dark clouds and assures us that things can be done the right way.
Jessica Egan and her husband were over the moon with the news of becoming parents. However, 11 weeks into the pregnancy, doctors informed them the girl had Down Syndrome.
“When we decided to have a baby, of course, we hoped that it would happen right away,” Jessica said.
“When it didn’t, we found that it was easier to bear because there are so many resources available for people who are struggling to get pregnant. I joined a local infertility support group and made a lot of great friendships with other ladies going through the same thing. When our first round of IVF failed it was disappointing, but we decided not to get discouraged and to keep trying. It was from our second attempt at IVF that our daughter was born.”
“We found out when I was 11 weeks pregnant that our unborn baby had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. At first, we were devastated but it was because we didn’t have any experience with Down syndrome and it was something we were not expecting at all. We grieved very deeply for about three days and then my husband and I decided that we wanted to educate ourselves so that we could be happy and look forward to the birth of our baby.”
What they needed to do was learn about this condition as much as possible so they could prepare for becoming the most supportive parents to the sweet little lady they were about to welcome in their life.
Jessica explained: “Education was the biggest factor in changing our feelings about Down syndrome. We realized that we simply didn’t understand this diagnosis because we didn’t know anyone with Down syndrome. It is natural to fear things that we don’t know or understand, so we reached out to people in our community that had children with Down syndrome and we made some great connections.”
“We began to see that this truly was nothing to be afraid of and that instead, we were lucky for being chosen to have such a special and unique daughter.”
Two months after the loveliest bundle of joy came to this world, Jessica felt like she should share her happiness and her feelings with her family and friends. Her Facebook post, however, took the Internet by storm and was seen by a great number of people.
“When I placed my order I said, ‘Regular amount of chromosomes, please!’ That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too. They called me shortly after my order was in production and said ‘Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in 9 months.’ What?! I was mad!
“All the other orders I had seen displayed via perfect Instagram posts did NOT have extra chromosomes. Well, I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive. I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!! If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it – it is extra cute, extra special, and extra-ordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure.”
Everyone was praising these new parents for their vibrant spirit and how they accepted that extra chromosome as a gift, because not everyone gets to receive it.
“The feedback has been so full of positivity, love, and acceptance that it is overwhelming. I have heard from multiple people who also recently have had a baby with Down Syndrome but are still coming to terms with it and have been in a very dark place. Hearing that my post touched them so completely and helped heal them is humbling, and truly something I will honor for the rest of my life.”
She continued: “When you receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome it is scary simply because it is not what you expected. It is important to let yourself grieve and then realize that this is not bad, it is just different. But all children are different, and there are no guarantees that any child you have won’t suffer from some sort of illness or differences.”
“Children with Down syndrome are more like other children than they are different, and it is important not to spend too much time grieving because in the end, you will be so in love with your child!”
The post:
I hope this mom’s post will make more people open-minded when it comes to even greater Down Syndrome acceptance. We should all know how they are all unique individuals with their own features, their own likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Down Syndrome is just a small part of their individuality.
