Mattia Hears for the First Time

After a ten month hearing aid trial period that did not produce results, two year old Mattia was awakened from his nap...by sound.

From Women to Woman

My friend and I went to dinner tonight and hit the gelateria for a cold one. We walked towards the center and she asked me to sit down. There before us was a circular bench with a plant in the middle, half in the dark, half in the light. I sat on the brightest part of the bench and my friend said, "Hmm. You chose the light and not the dark. And that, my friend, is the type of person you are."
She was correct. And I consciously headed for the light, I actually felt a shiver of revulsion when I saw that dark side of the bench.

My friend is wise.

During my time in Baltimore we often visited my grandmother in the nursing home. She did not once recognize me, but she talked about Jodi who moved far away and left her there. She told me she loved Jodi. I told her Jodi loved her, too, that we were close friends and I would kiss her for her. Everytime Jordan or I would explain to her that I was Jodi, she would look me straight in the eyes and say, "YOU are not Jodi."

My grandmother is wise.

I haven't written because I have been emotionally blocked trying to, struggling to figure things out.

Diane is one of the moms I met through the Ci Circle. I have sent her many messages during the past two years and followed her son John's successes. We have so many things in common. She and her three kids came to visit us in Baltimore and we did pizza and bowling. We talked for about twenty minutes as our kids bowled. She went through a period of her life where she became a strong advocate, studied laws and became informed to help families of children with hearing loss. A strong advocate.
Maybe we, as mothers go through a cathartic moment where helping others enables us to understand our own personal journeys.

Diane is a wise woman.

I would like to reach that wise woman status.

Back to Tuscany!

We're headed back to Tuscany after a calm, relaxing trip with family and friends...Jordan and Sofia can't wait to see their dad - and I can't wait to de-supersize myself and get back to work!(love this video)Thank you so much to everyone for making our trip home memorable...

The Promised Land

 

We took the MARC train from Baltimore to Union Station and hopped the Gallaudet shuttle. The shuttle was Jordan's first introduction to ASL. He saw everyone on the shuttle signing, and there was silence.
He looked at me and said, "Does everyone talk like this?" He made some gesture.
I said, "Yes, but the signs are words and that's communication. They're deaf just like you."
We continued our conversation in Italian as everyone else signed.
We got off the bus and a nice Doctorate in Philosophy told me where we needed to go, which was just across the street here.

 

Paula Tucker had sent me an email a month ago asking me if we wanted to tour Gallaudet, and I said yes. She is absolutely the nicest woman and was extremely helpful and generous with her time. She also gave me the name of a person to contact in Israel and blew Jordan away with videophone technology (I thought of Karen Putz the entire time) and the double screen mega-MAC computer.

My first impression...silence. A university campus in silence. Not many campuses are rocking in the summer, and Gallaudet was in the middle of a summer program called Jumpstart, which provides an intensive ASL course for oral, av students attending as all courses are in ASL, but the silence was thought-provoking.

Everywhere we turned there were deaf empowerment pictures, posters, history, etc. Loved that!

 

We arranged everything very last minute with Paula, and Julia from the visitor's center was luckily and miraculously able to organize a tour for us. We had Patrick signing, Emily interpreting for me and me interpreting for Jordan.

 

At the end of the tour, after telling us about Gallaudet, Clerc, the coffin door and the Presidents' house filled with ghosts, Patrick asked me if I had any questions. I said, "I have a personal question, Jordan's going into high school, he's mainstreamed and kind of terrified. Any advice?"
Patrick said, "Totally normal, I was mainstreamed, too. He'll just need to work harder."

Work harder.
Gallaudet is filled with students who have always had to work harder and there's something about the campus that breathes a collective sigh of relief.

After four years, I finally met Sharon, who was the first person to interview my dad and me after the book was released. One of those internet friendships with all of everything called life shared over the years. Beautiful person who loves, loves teaching at Gallaudet.

 

Before going to bed, Jordan and I had a pow wow. He asked me if he was the only deaf person who could speak. I said absolutely not. I asked him if he realized that for the first time he was sitting in a classroom with all deaf students, instead of sitting in a classroom with hearing students his whole life and being the only deaf student. I think that question surprised him, because he had not realized that, but I could tell he kind of liked the idea. He said he liked hearing and speaking but that he had felt comfortable at Gallaudet.
Then he told me he'd like to learn sign language and to keep blogging because he would like to write a book about the life of a deaf child...him.
*Smile*

 

Something tells me that despite the fact Jordan's just entering high school, the official hunt for college has already begun...

Jordan, Gallaudet and I...Tomorrow

*Smile*
Anything in particular we should see??
SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

Palindrome

Sofia Madyson handed me a fortune cookie after a dinner at the Chinese Buffet and it read: "Water can not only sink a ship...but it can keep it afloat."
And my mom just showed me this video...

Blue Snowballs and Good Times

We are truly blessed...and having the BEST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!