Siblings Sleep Late....

I've been up for 4 hours on Sunday, and my siblings are still sleeping. I think it's because I wear them out. They very reluctantly tagged along yesterday for a day trip to Philly to get me out of the house and to take a tourist bus ride through the city of brotherly love. Yup, even though we live here, we

acted like out of towners. As you can tell from Big Bro's face in the picture, they weren't too happy. At least no one they know saw them and knows they were riding the open top bus through town like tourist nerds.... Not until now that is. This got me to thinking about my great siblings and all of the other siblings out there who are lucky enough to have a "special" brother or sister. I mean, brothers and sisters are great to have if your "special" or not, but siblings of special needs kids like me are a little different. They may complain a lot, but they do things that many kids their age never imagine. They deal with some stresses that adults would be challenged with, and all the while, they continue to impress and succeed and overachieve. My Big Bro got accepted to American University this week, his "first choice" college. He was also accepted to every other college he applied to and received scholarships and invitations to special honors programs along the way. I am proud because I know I played a part in his success. I helped make him who he is. My Big Sis is the same way. Quietly overachieving throughout the chaos of our family. She won a prestigious American Legion Award when she graduated middle school. The award is given to one boy and one girl from the class for their strong demonstration of character and good citizenship. Those who receive a medal must exemplify six qualities that define character: courage, honor, leadership, patriotism, scholarship and service. I know that with my little messed up brain, I couldn't help her with patriotism or scholarship, but I definitely helped her with courage, honor, leadership and service. Siblings of kids like me should be noticed more for all of the unwanted stuff they need to put up with and for all of the caregiving they need to give to someone who can be quite difficult at times. These are the people that this world needs to be its future leaders and thinkers. So, to all the siblings of special needs kids out there, I applaud you even though you don't seek applause. Please share my blog with anyone who deserves a little applause, and next time you see a family out and about with a special needs kid, give their brothers and sisters a thumbs-up, they'll know what it means.

Strong Womenz

First off, I must apologize for missing a post last week. My family went to NYC to see the Arctic Monkeys without me, so I couldn't post. I've forgiven them by now.... 

I guess since it's Valentine's Day I am obligated to post about love and roses and candy hearts....yuck! No thanks Hallmark, I'm not falling for it. If you aren't lovin' your loved ones all year long, your roses are gonna stink. What I will do on this day is give a shout out to strong women everywhere since it sort of fits the mood of the day. I got this idea because today is the eve of my Big Sis' birthday. Yup, Little Lotta, Juicy, Sarah Little Hands and any other nick name Dad gave my sister along her journey is going to be 15 tomorrow. She is one of my biggest heroes. Smart, athletic, beautiful, plays a mean saxophone and cares about others. Like lots of strong women I know, she is unassuming until it's time to shine. She is a true "red light" performer. When the spotlight goes on, she never fails. When the spotlight goes off, she doesn't brag. She's also dealt with a lot being the sister of two brother's who have some serious challenges involving things that a little girl should not have to think about. Thank god for her and Mom being strong women, or we would fall apart. That brings me to Mom. She's a lot older than 15, so I suppose that's why she's even stronger than Big Sis. She truly amazes me every day. She too is smart, athletic, beautiful and cares about others. She can't play the sax however, but I'll let her slide since she can run faster and farther than anyone I know. I'm just glad she doesn't keep running and comes back every time because I don't know what I or the rest of us would do without her. Dad, Big Bro and I are some lucky guys, and never take them for granted. Oh, and neither of them are afraid to bait their own hooks and take their own fish off the line as you can see in the pics.

I hope this post inspires you to take notice of the strong women who make a difference in your lives and that you take advantage of this "Hallmark" holiday to tell them that you appreciate their strength because even though their tough, they need a little TLC too. Plus, they may shovel your driveway for you if you're nice :-)

Don't Lower The Baskets

I've been in the gym shooting baskets a lot lately due to all the snow on the ground. It got me to thinking about how much we lower the bar these days. It's easy to expect less of people and be happy when they exceed those mediocre expectations. Whatever happened to setting the bar high and stretching ourselves to achieve at our max ability or over it? I always shoot on the regulation basket. That's 10 feet in the air. Literally 6 feet taller than me. I couldn't make it when I first started, but after lots of tries, I make it almost all the time now. I can even hit a few from the real foul line. I'm not bragging but merely trying to make the point that no matter how high the bar, or basket, and no matter how much you think you can't, you usually can if you try. It's even more achievable if you have people around you to coach and teach and encourage you. The following quote says it all...I think it's from Michelangelo....who knew a Ninja Turtle could be so smart.

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

Cheeseburger in Paradise Made Mom Cry

No. My mom doesn't cry when she hears the Jimmy Buffett song. That's my dad, he hates Buffett for some reason. However, I think he secretly likes Cheeseburger in Paradise since he is a fatass and loves cheeseburgers. Sorry dad.... No, my mom cried for a different reason. Let me explain...

Dad imparting his wisdom near Forrest's bench

All this cold weather got me to thinking of warmer times and family fun on our summer trips last year. We do an annual Griswold drive down to Hilton Head South Carolina every year and this past year added a day trip to historic Savannah while there. Savannah is great. I got to see lots of landmarks where my favorite movie, Forrest Gump was filmed. That's me and dad in the picture,  sitting in front of a fountain not far from where the famous "bench" scene was filmed. The bench is no longer where it was in the movie as it became a hazard due to all the tourists taking pictures in the middle of a busy street. It's the South, people, not Times Square. So, on this day trip, we stopped for lunch at a bar, I mean restaurant that has food, along the river in the touristiest (made up the word) part of town. Sitting in front of the bar before you walk in was a homeless guy and his cute little white dog (who ironically looked like my cousins' Cella and Lauren's dog Buffett). Of course I had to play with the dog a little before gruff Dad dragged us away and into the restaurant not even giving the guy a chance to cash in on his dog's hard work. That's cynical Dad. During the meal, I needed to be escorted in and out of the restaurant as usual due to my tantrums and shoe throwing, each time spending a little more time with the dog. Every time we came back in and Mom said we should give the poor guy some cash, cynical Dad would gruffly shut her down telling us all we would not fall for the man's ploy. I think he does this so my Big Bro and Big Sis will learn the ways of the world and not be easy marks for people when they grow up...

After an hour of my act, my act got old and Mom dragged me out kicking and screaming while all of the other patrons watched, jaws slacked. Dad "volunteered" to wait inside with Big Bro and Big Sis to pay the check. Mom instructed Dad to wrap the leftovers to bring to the man outside. Dad rolled his eyes. Mom and I played with the dog a little more and watched the freighter ships go by, but Dad was taking too long so we went back in. When we got to the table, the check had obviously been paid, but Dad was still waiting. That's when the waitress came back with a white paper bag. I wondered if it was a gift for me, but I could tell Mom knew what it was right away  as she started to cry. Yup, compassionate dad had bought a cheeseburger and fries to take out to the man. And he did this so my Big Bro and Big Sis will learn the ways of the world, and not be self centered jerks when they grow up. He explained to them that the man deserved a real cheeseburger if we were going to give him anything at all, not our scraps to further chip away at his dignity, and not our money which might further why he was in that situation in the first place. The cheeseburger was a perfect solution. The dog even got our scraps.

So, next time you pass a homeless person, dog or no dog, on your way to lunch or dinner. Give them 5 minutes of paradise by feeding them a hot cheeseburger and fries. Especially on these cold winter days. If you do, share it with me on Facebook so I can smile too.

Be a Hero not a Zero

I just read a sad news report that authorities may soon be identifying remains of a body found in the river to be those of a severely autistic boy who's been missing for a while. His name is Avonte Oquendo. He wandered out if school one day in Queens NY and disappeared. Even though everyone began a search immediately , it was too late. http://usat.ly/1jcmdpK

Do you realize how many people he may have passed that day or days on way to his fate? It's New York, so safe to say he must have crossed paths with many people. It's also a fair assumption that some of those people would notice Avonte had a problem given the severity of his Autism. If they had just been a hero and taken the initiative to help him, he would be safe with his parents now. 

I have many friends who succeed very well in life in spite of their challenges, 

me included. But there are some challenges we can't overcome on our own, especially when we are removed from our protective environments. Being alone in NYC would fit that bill. I know that if you ever saw me wandering the streets alone, you would grab me and keep me safe. Actually, this happened to me once when I snuck out of the house in my pajamas and was walking down the middle my road. My hero was my neighbor Cheryl, who didn't just assume my parents were watching. She grabbed me and brought me home. Thanks Cheryl. 

So next time you see a kid or anyone for that matter who looks like they might need a little shepherding, don't be a zero, be a hero. 

Thanks For Nothin...

My Mom gave me a great idea for this week's blog post. She told me to thank my friends for not making me special. No, she didn't bump her head, she's right on point. Let me explain. I currently  have way more friends than Mom, Dad, Big Sis and Big Bro put together. Sorry to brag, but it's true. I have great friends at Shady Grove Elementary, the Ambler Y, Challenger Baseball, Wissahickon Middle and High School to name only a few. I've even poached my parents' and siblings' friends. If I ran for mayor, I am fairly confident I would win.... 

Now to what I am thankful for. I am most thankful for what my friends don't do for me. Almost all of my friends make me feel, well, not-special. I am Sam and they treat me like Sam. And for that, I cannot thank them all enough. Look, I know I'm different and have the need for help that they don't, but in the end, don't we all. We're all different last time I checked. By not treating me special, they don't make me feel too different from them. I know it's hard for people not to treat others with special needs with kid gloves or too protectively, and I know they don't do so with poor intentions. But the more you treat someone with special needs just like you treat everyone else, the more you make them feel like everyone else. So, to all my readers, learn a lesson from my great friends and treat everyone the same no matter how different they are from you...

It's 2014. Do Something Good.

It's my first post after the holiday break. I've been playing with all of my toys over and over. I should be hired by the toymakers to test the toys for repeated abuse. I've only broken 3 so far. I've also been skiing in Vermont with a friend who is also a special needs ski instructor with whom I have skied for the last 3 years, Mark James.  With Mark's help, I was able to ski without a tether or harness for the first time this year. This means that I will be a terror on the slopes fairly soon. Even though it is Mark's job to help me, he obviously does his job for other reasons. He treats me like a normal person while being the most patient and enthusiastic instructor. He withstood some abusively cold conditions while using his bare hands to fish out a kleenex to wipe my nose which would continuously form snotsickles as Dad calls them. Always with a smile, Mark never gave up on me. He was as ecstatic and proud as my parents to see me ski without the tether. Spending time with Mark got me to thinking about people like him who seem to make the lives of others a little better, especially the less fortunate. They don't do it for money or fame, but my guess is, they get rewarded in ways that money or fame cannot compete with. There are lots of buttheads out there who make lots of money or have lots of fans who do nothing for anyone which is sad. I won't embarrass people like Kanye, the Kardashians, Miley, Tiger or A-Rod by naming them, but you get the point. During this time of year when everyone swears they will better themselves by making some soon-to-be-broken New Year's resolution, why not just commit to doing something good for someone else this year. You don't have to teach a handful like me to ski or swim or play tennis like Mark James or my great swim instructors at the Y, Cait, Christine and Lauren, or my Big Bro and Julia of Tennis Buddies, you just need to do one small thing for someone who isn't like everyone else. With that, I would like to start the new year by thanking everyone who made a difference in my life in 2013 and everyone who will make one in 2014. Happy New Year everyone!!!!

My Yule Blog

I snuck away from my crazy family so I can write you a special Christmas edition of my blog. Things are crazy around my house this time of year. Imagine my entire family in a snow globe. Now start shaking it vigorously on Thanksgiving and don't stop until New Years. Get the picture? Dad is like Clark Griswold putting up trees and trains and exterior illumination all while grumbling and complaining even though he secretly loves it. Mom makes sure everyone and everything is taken care of and that all gifts are procured and delivered on time. Big Sis baked hundreds of cookies and is still baking. She eats lots of them to keep the inventory manageable. And Big Bro is making sure the couches aren't stolen before our big party. Sometimes he leaves his post to watch me or go buy gifts :-) Truthfully, he too is in the spirit. Even though there is lots of stress and yelling and hard work, I wouldn't have it any other way. These people are MY Santa. Santa isn't some stagnant image created by marketers who want to sell product, Santa is real and he's the people around you who make you feel loved this time of year. Santa is you! It's the spirit you have, to make the lives of others a little better even if it's one day a year. You can be a holiday hero like Santa. Just for fun, below are my top 3 fictional holiday heroes who embody the spirit this time of year.

Clark Griswold


Clark never gives up in doing whatever it takes to make the holidays perfect in their very own dysfunctional way. Just like my family, except I'm the squirrel in our house that disrupts the whole event...





George Bailey

Selfless George impacts everyone in town, loses everything because of his dufus Uncle Billy and mean Mr. Potter, only to be redeemed in the end by all of the friends whose lives he touched. This movie makes dad cry even though he would have put Uncle Billy on Mr. Potter's lap and wheeled them both off the bridge.






Yukon Cornelius

Yukon accepted and helped out the misfit toys. Plus, he was the Rankin and Bass bad ass who took on the Abominable Snowman long before Luke Skywalker killed him in the Empire Strikes Back.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

Since it's a few days before Christmas, I want to ensure that I don't get any coal in my stocking. In an effort to be completely honest, I need to confess something to a few of my readers. It has been brought to my attention that some of my readers who don't know me too well, think that I actually write all of my own posts. You can't imagine how flattered I am that people think this considering just how "special" I am. I hope to meet you someday so you truly understand what that means. While I am pretty amazing, I am also pretty low on the IQ scale.

My confession is that my dad ghost-writes my posts for me because I don't know how....yet.  He takes my inspiration, and writes just how I would think about things and helps me achieve my goal of making people smile which is one skill I was definitely blessed with. Hopefully more people will end their week with a smile as a result. 

So, I hope this revelation doesn't stop you from reading and sharing my blog. It truly represents me and my point of view, not my Dad's. If my Dad wrote what he thinks about, we would need a coal shoot in our house...

Who Is Your Person Of The Year?

Pope takes a selfie....

This week, Time Magazine selected Pope Francis as their Person of the Year. This blogger could't agree more with the selection. As Time stated, the Pope, aka Jorge Mario Bergolio was selected, "For pulling the papacy out of the palace and into the streets, for committing the world's largest church to confronting its deepest needs, and for balancing judgement with mercy" Finally, a Pope who seems to follow WWJD. Congratulations Jorge! 

Time selects the winner based upon candidates being the most influential, good OR bad. I suppose that's why Miley Cyrus twerked her way into the top five finalists. Wonder what the Pope would have said behind closed doors if he lost to her. Maybe he would have learned to twerk :-)  The Pope's selection got me thinking about all of the people we know who are our "Person of the Year" for being the most influential in our lives...Not everyone has the same stage as Time's winners but they are still stand-outs for us. So, I plan on naming my Person of the Year every year at the same time Time names theirs and I suggest all of my blog followers do the same for that person in your lives who stood out and influenced you the most throughout the year. 

My selection this year is none other than my Big Bro Stevo. He had quite a year dealing with his immune condition and a sobering cancer scare while nailing his college entrance exams. He fought hard to keep his grades up to mom and dad's expectations and kicked-butt in the college application and essay process. At the time of this blog post, he has been accepted into Pitt, Penn State main and GMU. No turn downs yet, with more acceptances to come I am sure. He also turned his senior service project into an amazing tennis program for special needs kids like me. He could have "mailed it in", but didn't. He and my friend and neighbor Julia made a difference in the lives of lots of my friends who are challenged and an even bigger difference in the lives of their parents and the people who came out to volunteer each week. Even though he complains about me a lot, I look up to him every day and he is my hero. I'm going to miss him when he goes to college, but know he will always be someone who makes a difference in my life and the lives of others. Congratulations Big Bro for winning my first POTY award.

Who wins your Person of the Year award for 2013? Please comment on my blog or Facebook with your winner so they know how important they are to you. 

Oddballs

Mom and Dad "celebrated" their 20th wedding anniversary this week. They are oddballs. Yup, considering the divorce rate is roughly 65 percent, and slightly higher for parents of children with special needs, they are not the norm. Now while the oft-quoted 80% divorce rate for parents of special needs children is not supported by facts and most likely untrue, I understand why people use that number when praising themselves for still being married when they have little buggers like me draining most of their energy. I think they just assume the number is 80% or higher because of how stressed they feel. They want to say the number is closer to 100%, but they know that would be breaking the truth rather than just bending it a little. I give them a pass on their white lie since they are probably trying to hang their hat on something in their lives that is positively against the odds rather than negatively against the odds like having a kid with special needs. Well, the truth is, every relationship is difficult and the addition of a child with special needs or a child with health issues just magnifies the difficulty. In the end, they are not really odd, they are just great parents like the majority of parents. The oddballs are the parents who don't love their children, and I'm hopefully confident that that population is a small minority. So while we should still celebrate wedding anniversaries as a testament of two people's love for one another, I think we should start celebrating parenting anniversaries starting with the birth date or adoption date of someone's first child. Since I am a champion of inclusiveness, this gives all my friends who have divorced parents or have two moms or two dads or one mom or one dad a chance to congratulate their parents for being awesome. So, happy "wedding" anniversary Mom and Dad. And when Big Bro turns 18 in June, I look forward to wishing you a happy 18th Parenting Anniversary! (message to Hallmark who have created numerous holidays and anniversaries just to sell more corny cards, I own this one)

Tis The Season To Be Angry

Most of you only see my good side which is how I am 90 percent of the time. But when my little brain gets tired or frustrated, I go full "Hulk Smash" mode. Even Dad and Mom who work out every day have trouble holding me down. I had a hulk smash moment on Thanksgiving. While Mom and Dad were working hard to get the house ready for all of our guests, I flipped out playing the Wii and smashed another LED flat screen. That's right, another one. This forced Dad and Big Bro to venture out on Black Friday to get a new one. Dad should be thankful my event was in time for him to partake in the annual running of the bargain hunters, but he didn't see it that way. This would be a recipe for disaster sending the two people in my house who have the most trouble controlling their anger. Big Bro and Dad. Big Bro can't control it for 2 seconds before he resorts to his arsenal of F-Bombs and other words I don't even recognize. And Dad who usually keeps his tirade of calling people some of the worst names ever uttered to the safe confines of his car, but yesterday unleashed some of his classics within earshot of the People of Walmart. Today, our version of the Griswolds will venture out to get a Christmas tree and string up outdoor lights and decorate the house. This usually presents a ripe minefield for the three angry amigo men of my family to have some classic outbursts, so watch the news, you may see us.

So what's the point of this post you ask? Well, amidst all of the anger, there are people who control it in surprising ways, and that is what I am thankful for. People like Big Sis who keeps her anger almost unseen and Mom who should have killed me 100 times by now for some of the outbursts I have, but is able to calm me down before I hurt myself or break something....usually. You should be thankful for all of the people out there who take the high road when most people would get angry. For example, a few years ago my family went to a swanky resort in St. John USVI for a vacation. I'm not sure what we were thinking dragging this circus of disfunctionality to such a beautiful place, but that's my Mom and Dad, never shying away from what normal people do. Well, HELLO, I'm not normal. I always have that little green Hulk just below the surface, which usually rears it's head when we try to sit down and eat at a restaurant. So there we were on the last day of our vacation trying to have breakfast at the swanky resort's beach-side restaurant. We almost made it through the meal with Mom and Dad doing their job of flanking me on each side shoveling food into their mouths with one hand and managing me with the other. Eat some eggs......fix the iPad, bite of bacon....put Sam's shoe back on. It goes on like this until I reach my breaking point and need to be extracted from the scene by Dad while all of the other patrons try not to stare at what appears to be a crazy child abduction. Why someone would abduct a crazy kid like me in full meltdown mode is kind of a funny thought in and of itself. So towards the end of this breakfast, Mom and Dad let their guard down for one millisecond, just enough time for me to get off my shoe, get it into my free hand, and heave it with all of my might across the restaurant.....I can throw pretty far. It was like everything went into slow motion as we watched the Nike flying slowly through the air all tensing and hoping it would land safely on the floor away from any diners. Just then, slow motion stopped, everything sped up, and gravity took hold of the sneaker and yanked it right onto the table of a man and woman at the other end of the restaurant. It smashed the man's water glass which was full of water.....of course.....and then hit his plate and skittered noisily off the table along with his silverware. Before the man could even comprehend what had just happened, my family and I had thrown some money down for the bill, scooped up our belongings and fled the scene to the ferry which would take us away. We finally calmed down as the ferry pushed off and we were surrounded by Caribbean sea. Ten minutes into the ride, Dad's heart sunk as he saw the man who ate my shoe for breakfast approaching us. How lucky, no where to escape to. Dad flipped through a few scenarios in his head of how he would deal with what was sure to be another angry person who didn't understand our full back-story. So as Dad planned his curse words carefully and planned how he would neutralize our new friend if it got to that, Mom looked out for the rest of us. Then, something special happened. The man smiled at Dad and handed him my shoe. He told Mom and Dad that he could see what we as a family have to deal with and complimented them for doing so. That man made a lasting impression on Mom and Dad. Dad thinks of him a lot when he see's other people getting angry over nonsense like Black Friday deals or the barrista getting your confusing latte order wrong. So in this season ripe with anger-producing moments, try to be like the man on the ferry and be nice to someone. They'll be thankful. And to that mystery man, I hope you can someday read my blog and know how thankful I was. Happy Holidays to you....

How to Cheat at Cards

I must confess, I really don't play cards. I can almost count to 20 but what the heck number is Jack??? Anyway, this post is not about poker, but about the cards you are dealt in life and how you can help others cheat them a little. Every day, people are dealt crappy hands....like mental handicapped for you (gee thanks), rare autoimmune thingy for you (sorry Big Bro), cancer for you, stroke, heart attack, layoff, etc etc. You get the picture. Unfortunately, you can't change these hands before they are dealt, you can only fold or bluff your way through them. Some people win that game, some lose. So let's get to the cheating part. You can play dealer every now and then, and stack the deck in favor of someone else. That's the catch...you have to deal to someone else. For instance, I was dealt the old 7-deuce off suit (look it up) which is pretty bad, but throughout my life I have been slipped a lot of Kings, Queens and Aces. No matter how temporary the game....a day, a week, years, a good hand is a good hand. So think about someone you know who is trying to bluff their way through life with a crappy hand, or worse yet, ready to fold, and deal them a good hand. Help them in any way you can afford whether it is with time or money. If you don't know anyone, or really want to help a family with the worst cards imaginable, read on for a suggestion.

Every year around this time, when everyone is loading up on food and gifts for the holidays, Big Bro, Big Sis and I help adopt a family through a wonderful non-profit called the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund. Kelly Anne Dolan was a little girl diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Her parents Peggy and Joe learned how the serious illness of a child can affect an entire family—emotionally, physically, and financially. After six-year-old Kelly lost her battle with the disease in 1976, Peggy and Joe created the Fund to help families dealing with the illness or disability of a child. Every year around the holidays, the Kelly Anne Dolan Holiday Adopt a Family program helps families who have been devastated by the emotional and financial fallout of a child suffering from serious health problems by lining up adopters who will buy gifts for these families who cannot buy them on their own. We are talking about everything from toys that kids wish for to gift cards so that these families can have a holiday meal or buy the barest of necessities. You get the family's story when you volunteer, and after reading just one of them, you will realize just how bad the deck has been shuffled for some people. So take some time as you prepare to spoil the ones you love this year, and deal a winning hand to someone who desperately needs it. 

Thank Someone!

This is a picture of me and my friends Cait and Nate. They work at the Ambler YMCA. I recently presented them with an Impact pin for all of their hard work making kids like me feel normal at the Y's Ability Teen Night. I wanted to thank them for the good things they do, and how they really care about people. When is the last time you thanked someone who makes a difference in the lives of others? I'm not talking about an email or a text, but rather a "look them in the eye and shake their hand" thank you, or, an old fashioned hand-written note. You still know how to write a note on paper with a pen, don't you? Your homework assignment for this weekend is to personally thank a friend, loved one or even a stranger who does something good in the world. Trust me, they will feel great and you will feel even better. Please share this post with your network so my blog starts to get more readers.....for that I THANK YOU !!

Bad News? Are you and Egg or a Rock

Some people get bad news all the time. Some infrequently, and others may have been lucky for now but are due. No matter what, when that big bad boot of bad news comes kicking your way, you will be either an egg or a rock. Some people are like eggs, crushed very easily by the slightest tap from the boot, offering up their squishy yellow insides with ease. Other people are like rocks. The boot can kick and stomp them, but they remain rock hard. They may have a few dents and scratches, but they're still rocks. Remember this, eggs make chickens...rock makes mountains. Which are you going to be?

Fear

This was the first Halloween in my life that my crazy little brain decided to really learn what fear was. I sort of knew, but not like this. I had trouble walking through dad’s zombie graveyard every morning and I could only trick or treat for a little bit before I wanted to come home. I even had to sleep with mom one night. But I’m not embarrassed because upon learning what fear really is, I also learned what bravery and courage really are. I also realized that I know so many brave and courageous people who face some pretty frightening things on a daily basis and you wouldn’t even know it from the way they live their lives....as if whatever is they fear doesn’t even exist. So next time you are afraid, take the opportunity to be a brave person. I’ll end with a quote from Game of Thrones, my Big Bro Stevo’s favorite show because Stevo is the bravest person I know…

“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'

'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”