CAL RIPKEN JR. ENDORSES RALLY CAPS!!!!

DAD...THIS ONE'S FOR YOU...



"Rally Caps is a heartwarming book about perseverance and courage. Congratulations to Steve and Jodi for taking the challenges in their lives and turning it into a wonderful book that helps teach valuable lessons of acceptance and resilience to kids and adults alike."
Cal Ripken, Jr.


I feel overwhelmingly honored and privileged to write this blog today and to probably shock my father into a heart attack at this very moment. How ironic that I just returned home with the completed Italian translation of RALLY CAPS in my hands to find an email with Cal Ripken Jr.'s endorsement of a book that was created and written for the purest of motives...love. Cal Ripken Jr. has always been a role model, class act and inspiration to so many children worldwide, and it is only fitting that he is the USA Good Will Ambassador. He is the inspiration for the main character in RALLY CAPS based on his work ethic and love of the game of baseball. Cal, thank you so much for believing in our book's message that "Nothing is Impossible." And...thank you, really, John - you are an amazing and cool person...you will get a huge kiss either April 1, 2, 3 or 4th *smile*

Yesterday was Jordan's *interrupted by another message from Marty :)* day, I mean big-time! Yes, Romeo-Jordan struck twice with the ladies. When I picked him up from school, he proceeded to tell me that not only did he give his Valentine's Day gifts to Martina and Sara, but that he was just not even the smallest bit shy about giving them. What a stud! Note: the gifts were two GO101 tees with the word INNAMORATO ("In Love") written across the chest.

He said that when he gave the gift to Martina, she got all choked up and almost cried. He wrote on the bag, "Happy Valentine's Day, thank you so much for always helping me." He then told me that when he gave the gift to Sara, she hugged him and he was so excited that he ran to the bathroom and screamed! As we headed for the pizzeria to get some lunch, he told me that another friend of his gave a green ring to a girl in his class, but that he was really shy and kind of gave it to her with his head hidden. Adorable.

The day did not end there, oh no, it gets even better. After we finished eating lunch, I dropped Jordan back off at school because he had to prepare for a solo guitar performance. He was very nervous about performing because it was his very first time doing so in front of a crowd. All I can say is TEARS! There were about fifty people in the audience composed of parents and students. The professor called the students one at a time to perform their musical piece. As I have said before, Jordan attends the Leonardo Da Vinci middle school that specializes in Musical Education; he studies the guitar. These kids were amazing, very well-prepared and intense. The third year students cheered for their classmates and basically went crazy after each friend finished the performance. When it was Jordan's turn to play, the audience went crazy for him, yet he calmly took his place, set up the instrument and began to play.

I stopped breathing. He began the piece by Mozart, which was "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (I'm so ignorant, I never knew that was by Mozart, and I've been singing it since I was a toddler)and immediately messed up.
Was my boy phased? - hell no! He began again and played, I swear, the most beautiful rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" I have ever heard in my entire life. Yes, there was my deaf child with a cochlear implant strumming the guitar and moving his head to the rhythm. When he finished, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and ...he bowed twice.

Yes, yesterday was all about Jordan. God am I a proud Mamma!