There is only YOU

A few years ago, I told Elliot the story of an elderly friend of mine... we'll call him Bob... whose family was very poor. His mother offered to throw him a birthday party even though they couldn't afford it. Bob was thrilled and gave all of his classmates an invitation. His mom scraped together enough money to buy ingredients to bake a cake and give each child a candy party-favor. The day of the party, not one person showed up.

I shared this story with Elliot to explain why people develop certain adult traits. That childhood experience shaped so many aspects of Bob's life. He admitted how it both helped and hindered his relationships, career path etc. And, I hoped it would help Elliot choose his words and actions carefully when interacting with others... because you never know how you might influence someone.

Well, yesterday Elliot was playing ToonTown (a Disney community game - online). Each child has a character (a Toon) that they move throughout ToonTown, interacting with other children from around the world. One child's character sent out a notice to the children currently online that he was having a 'virtual' party. ToonTown instructs the children as to how to get their character to the right place at the right time (it's pretty cool).

When Elliot's Toon arrived, he realized that he was the only guest present. "Mom," he shouted to me while I was doing dishes "This poor kid hasn't had anyone else show up to his party!" I made some small reply of empathy and returned to my task. When I went to check on Elliot 5 minutes later, he was still at the 'virtual' party even though there was nothing for his character to do and no other guests to interact with. I suggested he say 'goodbye' and return to his other Toon games. I was surprised by how adamant he was that he remain for the hosts party (set for a full 20 minutes). Elliot was concerned that "the child behind the toon" was feeling badly and he didn't want to leave the kid alone. So for 20 minutes, Elliot had his Toon walk and skip around the playground area... hoping it was making the host feel less disappointed...

I was touched by Elliot's sensitivity - not surprised, but intrigued I guess. And I thought about how easy it is for all of us to think that "the other people" will show up to a party, sign up on a volunteer list, speak up about bad service..... or donate to a worthy cause. But the bottom line is: We don't know what other people are going to do. And we can't leave important things up to other people. We have to do what is right - in our lives, for ourselves and for others.

Elliot Adler has CMT - his nerves are dying. Whatever nerve and subsequent muscle loss he experiences between now and a cure will most likely be gone forever. So a cure is not only important - but time is of the essence. Please 'show up' for Elliot. Help the folks who are working to find a way to stop CMT's progression - and possibly find a cure. Visit https://www.hnf-cure.org/node/2987 and make a contribution today.

Thank you
Tracy

A morning at the M. Carlos Museum

Visited the Michael C. Carlos Museum this morning to see the Southeast's largest collection of Egyptian mummies. Elliot and his sister Rachel really loved it... and although the mummies and intricately decorated cases were the highlight, they were equally enthralled by all the miniature carvings. The kids love playing with small animals and miniatures so they talked about how great it would be if they could open the cases and play with all the 'cool stuff'. Broken pieces of ancient pottery and hieroglyphics were lost among all the tiny treasures... To each his own! This college museum was larger than we expected and parking was at the edge of campus... All that walking was good for Elliot's muscles but it took its toll. We took lots of bench-breaks and his ankles were so tired by the time we got back to the car that he just wanted to go straight home.

Life in Atlanta

Elliot turned 9 years old on July 5th! And he celebrated his first birthday in his new home... Aunt Caryn outdid herself on the cake - as usual.

Those trips back and forth from Asheville to Chapel Hill were a bit too much... So, after months of planning, the Adlers have moved to Atlanta, GA! Not only does Elliot like the new doctors at Emory, we can get there in 10 minutes from our new home. Last week we just 'popped over' to the prosthetic department to get his new braces adjusted - total drive time and appointment time was less than one hour! "Sweet!" as Elliot would say. To tell you the truth, Elliot's a little disappointed that the long trips to UNC Chapel Hill have come to an end. They provided him with a great opportunity to get out of school for an entire day!

Atlanta has been great. Elliot and Rachel comment often as to how friendly everyone has been - which is quite a statement for such a large city. The only drawback we've noted is the heat. The mountains of North Carolina provided us with a more comfortable climate... Instead of another condo, we're in a house this time. Elliot is loving the big (private) yard and the treehouse/fort inthe backyard.