The three of us were eating an early dinner at Souper Salad (with all the other old fogeys in El Paso) when I read a text from Brei. She competed in her first Crossfit meet today, and did exceptionally well. We were impressed, of course! Dad asked the question, "What do you think motivated her to train for that?" Before I could say a word, Kris blurted out, "A new outfit."
I couldn't stop laughing.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Friday, April 8, 2016
Rosita
Most days, Kris walks himself down to Circle K to get his Dr Pepper fix. It's been quite an evolution to get to this point, but it seems to be the best solution to accommodate his habit and my aversion to it.
The obvious pluses are that he's walking almost 2 miles every day and that he's made some good friends in the ladies who work at Circle K. Also, many of our neighbors and friends are aware of his treks and let us know when they see him. Some have offered him rides, but he never accepts - thank goodness.
"I'm a good walker", he often tells me.
Since it was cold and windy yesterday he was willing to let me drive him down before I left for work.
On the way:
"Maybe they brought Rosita back. I like that girl. She talks Spanish. I don't. My brothers, they're good at Spanish.
Long pause.
She has the hots for me."
As soon as we walk in two ladies call out "Hello, Kris!", and he beams. Then he shows me the new displays for Coke and Dr Pepper. He loves all the Batman vs Superman hype. In the doughnut display case we notice some special Batman and Superman sugar cookies. I ask him which one he would choose - it's Batman, of course. And then he picks a Superman cookie to bring home for Bertha :)
After paying for his drink and the cookies, we are turning to leave. There are three or four people in line behind us when he stops and calls back to the ladies,
"Bring Rosita back. She's hot!"
The obvious pluses are that he's walking almost 2 miles every day and that he's made some good friends in the ladies who work at Circle K. Also, many of our neighbors and friends are aware of his treks and let us know when they see him. Some have offered him rides, but he never accepts - thank goodness.
"I'm a good walker", he often tells me.
Since it was cold and windy yesterday he was willing to let me drive him down before I left for work.
On the way:
"Maybe they brought Rosita back. I like that girl. She talks Spanish. I don't. My brothers, they're good at Spanish.
Long pause.
She has the hots for me."
As soon as we walk in two ladies call out "Hello, Kris!", and he beams. Then he shows me the new displays for Coke and Dr Pepper. He loves all the Batman vs Superman hype. In the doughnut display case we notice some special Batman and Superman sugar cookies. I ask him which one he would choose - it's Batman, of course. And then he picks a Superman cookie to bring home for Bertha :)
After paying for his drink and the cookies, we are turning to leave. There are three or four people in line behind us when he stops and calls back to the ladies,
"Bring Rosita back. She's hot!"
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Reflections
The other day Kris and I jumped in the car to run some errands. He's always fun company, but when we were putting on our seat belts after our last stop I noticed he had an odd look on his face. I paused and looked at him more closely. He was staring at me quite intently, mouth slightly open, not smiling and not responding when I asked him if he was OK. I asked him again, and then I noticed what he was doing. He was holding the seat belt buckle, trying to get it to reflect the sunlight into my eyes! I don't know who taught him that trick, but it made me laugh out loud :)
Friday, November 6, 2015
Mmmmm, yum!
Keven loves Oreo's. Not always, but frequently there will be a package of the double-stuff in the pantry. Kris usually ignores them - "Not soft enough. I'm a softy."
But he must have had a craving. We found the packaging of a bag of Oreo's in the trash .... with half a dozen or more cookies licked clean.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
New Shoes, BFF, and Brotherly Love
Kris and I had a great day today.
Almost immediately after I returned from Tulsa he showed me how the strap on one of his shoes had broken. Since shoe shopping has been quite a challenge in the past I was kind of dreading the experience, but today we found 4 pair of shoes that he really liked. When asked which pair he wanted, he immediately chose the black pair with blue trim that I secretly hoped he would. He thanked me for them 3 different times between the store and home, and was quite excited to show them to Keven.
As we left Subway with his sandwich we encountered a Dona Ana County sheriff (older and mustachioed, looked a bit like cousin Jeff) and a New Mexico highway patrolman (younger and quite debonair).
"Well, hello!" said the highway patrolman.
"Oohhhhhh," said Kris. "It's you. I've seen you before. My cousin Jeff was a policeman and my Uncle Kim too, and ....." and he was off!
These two kind men stood and listened to him go on and on, throwing in a few comments and asking questions when they could. Initially I thought that the younger one might have already met Kris at Circle K or something, but eventually realized that this was the first time. Kris was just so excited about the uniforms and the connection to his cousin and uncle that he must have felt an instant kinship. I really appreciated the time and interest they took in him, and their natural ability to talk with him. He beamed all the way home, continuing to talk about Jeff and Kim and everything else that came to his mind.
When I went to put something away in the pantry this afternoon I noticed a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, already opened, on the floor.
Almost immediately after I returned from Tulsa he showed me how the strap on one of his shoes had broken. Since shoe shopping has been quite a challenge in the past I was kind of dreading the experience, but today we found 4 pair of shoes that he really liked. When asked which pair he wanted, he immediately chose the black pair with blue trim that I secretly hoped he would. He thanked me for them 3 different times between the store and home, and was quite excited to show them to Keven.
~ ~ ~
"Well, hello!" said the highway patrolman.
"Oohhhhhh," said Kris. "It's you. I've seen you before. My cousin Jeff was a policeman and my Uncle Kim too, and ....." and he was off!
These two kind men stood and listened to him go on and on, throwing in a few comments and asking questions when they could. Initially I thought that the younger one might have already met Kris at Circle K or something, but eventually realized that this was the first time. Kris was just so excited about the uniforms and the connection to his cousin and uncle that he must have felt an instant kinship. I really appreciated the time and interest they took in him, and their natural ability to talk with him. He beamed all the way home, continuing to talk about Jeff and Kim and everything else that came to his mind.
~ ~ ~
When I went to put something away in the pantry this afternoon I noticed a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, already opened, on the floor.
"Hmmmm, where did this come from?" I asked out loud.
Kris looked concerned.
"Have you seen it before?" I asked him.
"It was in the street, somebody left it there. Still good."
"Did you bring it home when you went to Circle K yesterday?"
"Yep. Maybe my brother wants it."
Thursday, July 2, 2015
A ♥ Molly
Last weekend Kris and I headed over to Tucson to join in the festivities celebrating the end of Ben's residency program (and about 13 years of schooling). Yea Team Gonzali!
Along the way we played leap frog a few times with another minivan that had a California vanity plate reading "A ♥ Molly". I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "A". Why not an "I" or "We", or just "♥ Molly"? And how does Molly feel about the whole world knowing this?
Does the "A" stand for Anthony or Anderson's or Anybody? Obviously, I had a lot of time on my hands and not much on my mind.
Just west of Lordsburg it was my turn to pass them again when they slowed down a bit. Almost immediately I noticed them accelerate and start passing us. But instead of passing they pulled up alongside of us and just stayed there. Alright, I decided, maybe they recognized us or something. When I looked over all I could see was an adorable little girl, probably about 4 or 5 years old, laughing and waving wildly at us with her long blonde hair blowing in the wind of the back window that had been rolled down. I laughed and waved back, and then realized that she was a Down's syndrome child! My guess is that her name is Molly.
"Oh Kris, look!" I said. "She's waving at you, she's so happy to see you!"
Kris looked over, and seemed quite surprised and a bit uncertain, probably because he didn't know who she was.
I suggested he wave back, and he gave a big smile and a little wave, and then they sped ahead.
I loved this random and simple exchange, and the exuberant joy this little girl shared with us. I love that the Down's syndrome support community has come so far since Kris was born, when families were usually encouraged to leave their babies in the care of the State. Once again I felt overwhelming gratitude that Hallie and Ralph Jensen made the decision to keep Kris with them, thus blessing all our lives.
L ♥ Kris
Along the way we played leap frog a few times with another minivan that had a California vanity plate reading "A ♥ Molly". I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "A". Why not an "I" or "We", or just "♥ Molly"? And how does Molly feel about the whole world knowing this?
Does the "A" stand for Anthony or Anderson's or Anybody? Obviously, I had a lot of time on my hands and not much on my mind.
Just west of Lordsburg it was my turn to pass them again when they slowed down a bit. Almost immediately I noticed them accelerate and start passing us. But instead of passing they pulled up alongside of us and just stayed there. Alright, I decided, maybe they recognized us or something. When I looked over all I could see was an adorable little girl, probably about 4 or 5 years old, laughing and waving wildly at us with her long blonde hair blowing in the wind of the back window that had been rolled down. I laughed and waved back, and then realized that she was a Down's syndrome child! My guess is that her name is Molly.
"Oh Kris, look!" I said. "She's waving at you, she's so happy to see you!"
Kris looked over, and seemed quite surprised and a bit uncertain, probably because he didn't know who she was.
I suggested he wave back, and he gave a big smile and a little wave, and then they sped ahead.
I loved this random and simple exchange, and the exuberant joy this little girl shared with us. I love that the Down's syndrome support community has come so far since Kris was born, when families were usually encouraged to leave their babies in the care of the State. Once again I felt overwhelming gratitude that Hallie and Ralph Jensen made the decision to keep Kris with them, thus blessing all our lives.
L ♥ Kris
Thursday, June 11, 2015
I Scream, You Scream!
Before
After
I can't believe he ate the whole thing. Boy, was he happy!
Even though I was tricked into taking some unnamed children to Leatherby's, I can honestly say I didn't mind a bit :)
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