eSpecially Ben

After my post, Brotherly Love , I received an email from a reader who reminded me of this song. I knew the song, but had never really thought about the words and the meaning behind them. I looked it up and thought others might see the lyrics in a new light.   He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother The road is long With many a winding turn That leads us to who knows where Who knows when But I'm strong Strong enough to carry him He ain't heavy, he's my brother. So on we go His welfare is of my concern No burden is he to bear We'll get there For I know He would not encumber me If I'm laden at all I'm laden with sadness That everyone's heart Isn't filled with the gladness Of love for one another. It's a long, long road From which there is no return While we're on the way to there Why not share And the load Doesn't weigh me down at all He ain't heavy, he's my brother. He's my brother He ain't h

Ben and his almost two year old brother, Sean, share a special bond. For one, they both LOVE mashed peanut butter and banana for any meal and Bob the Builder on the DVD. Ben and Sean have a high tolerance for pain. Sean likes to help Ben out, whether it be with walking, eating, drinking or standing up. Ben tolerates all the help Sean gives without trying to bite, pull hair or push him away; treatment not all people receive. It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops over the next few years.

Over the past few weeks, Ben has had testing, evaluations, IEP (Individual Education Plan) and progress meetings to either determine his developmental level or discuss improvements he has made in a specified time period. I have been thrilled with the progress he has made and the new goals set for him. The psychological tests I have completed feel strange to answer because so many items do not relate to Ben because he does not talk or have typical physical abilities. The questions do not seem to apply to him. But he needs these tests in order to receive aide, so I complete them and hope for the best. Testing and evaluating are all part of life - and in truth, I like to have specific documentation outlining goals and progress. But there are other times when Ben has blown me away with things he has done that are not measured on a Lickert scale or answered in a question on a test. Those are the times when I give Ben extra credit. At 1:30am, Ben woke up for a drink. As I was sitting

As soon as I took this out of Ben's book bag, I smiled. I saw Gene Kelly twirling around in this artwork.

While I was reading to Logan, I left Ben and Sean to their own devices. Ben was in the library watching his usual Bob the Builder video and Sean was just hanging out. When I came back about 20 minutes later, I noticed Sean sitting in front of Ben's second bowl of oatmeal and it was almost empty. I watched as Sean got a spoonful, climbed down from the chair, walked across the hall to Ben and fed the oatmeal to him. He did it two more times until the bowl was empty. He must have been doing it the whole time I was away. Can't even use words to describe how I feel when I witness this type of understanding, love and caring, especially from such a little guy. Sean will be two in March.

  On Mondays, my husband is at school well past the boys' bedtime. In order to make those evenings fun (and help me cope), we have "Three Musketeer Mondays" - the boys eat, bathe and then watch a movie before going to bed. Check out other photos at Special Exposure Wednesday .

Free valet parking, a colorful gown to wear, Bob to the Rescue on the TV, warm towels for the body and drugs to numb the pain - all at the special emergency room for children. It all started on Saturday morning. As we walked into the gym at the YMCA, Ben abruptly sat down to watch a volleyball match. Not wanting to be late for swim lessons, I hurried a reluctant Ben to the pool. He'd never seen a volleyball match, let alone one played by teenage girls in very short shorts. Ben had a fantastic swim lesson - the instructor let him maneuver along the edge of the pool alone using his arms to reach the steps, about 5-6 feet away. This was hard work for him and a big accomplishment. The volleyball match was still underway as we left the pool area with me holding Ben's hands. He led me to the game, let go, plopped down and started crawling quickly to the bleachers. I told him he had 5 minutes to watch. Ben tried to climb up on a random man's pants to get a better look. I