Leo Clement

Courage is simple really. Anything in life takes varying amounts of courage. You don't need huge amounts of courage to get up and go to work in the morning, not as much as say, getting up and into a hot air balloon drifting on random winds hundreds of feet above the safety of land.  But even with feet (or hooves) firmly planted, copious amounts of courage are often part of our daily life. Most of us may say, gee I don't have the courage for that, so I will stay safe; stay on the trail that is marked, the trail that is known, and the trail that is safe. But most of us also know that sometimes life presents a trail that is unknown; a choice that is not clearly labeled "safe." In this case, we can't go back, but it takes much courage to go forward.   Sometimes the choice is made for us, and there is nothing left to do but continue on, or if you happen to be in a hot air balloon, to continue up. I knew Leo was having seizures. They started a

We just got back from our annual trip up to Eagle Craig camp in the Adirondacks. (FYI we didn't run into any escaped jailbirds, as they were caught a couple days before we left.) Can you remember Leo almost four years ago visiting camp after his big head surgery? Whoa check out that swollen noggin! He spent most of his time in his blue special needs chair which he needed to support his head and body. We hauled that thing across the lake in a canoe. We hauled it everywhere. Because Leo couldn't move, much less sit up on his own. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for the blue seat. It provided comfort and security for Leo and time off for my tired arms. However...now, after almost five amazing years of lion boy power, check out the his new blue ride. I find myself forgetting ALL THE TIME about Leo's handicaps: past and present. Is that normal? I suppose there is nothing normal about our parenting journey with Leo. He is the