Thank you to the wonderful mom I met today!

To the wonderful mom I met today,

As we sat in line waiting for our children to be let in to the Dinosaur Dig exhibit today, we shared knowing glances as our boys raised their hands in excitement and answered every question that the very patient narrator asked. We understood each others need to physically back up our boys as it seemed that with each question they got closer and closer to that very patient narrator until we both thought they may knock her over!! And I had to laugh when I made a comment to you that I would have to assume that the very patient narrator must look forward to her nightly drink after dealing with these kids all day and you said to me, I know I do!!

What I did not expect is that you were keeping your eye on my daughter, Eliza who has atypical Rett Syndrome and you watched as her excitement grew and grew until she could not barely contain herself any longer. As that very patient narrator handed out the tools to each child for them to use in the exhibit you must have noticed that I had planned on keeping my daughter with me instead of letting her participate in the dig. Not something that I would normally do, I had made that decision because when I purchased the tickets for all three exhibits, they had told me that on this one I could not participate in the dig with her and I was not sure if she could manage it alone so I chose to not buy her a ticket. But as she looked at me and said “me too!” “me too!” and I realized that she could handle the dig alone you must have seen my despair because what I didn't see you do was to walk behind me and go back upstairs to the ticket counter and purchase a ticket for my daughter so that she could participate along side all of the other children. I was so thankful and so moved by your sensitivity and your generosity and I just wanted to say thank you! Eliza had the time of her life!

Maine Maple Sunday

A tradition in Maine since 1983, Maine Maple Sunday occurs on the 4^th Sunday in March. Around 95 Sugar houses around the state open their doors to the public to sell Maine made maple syrup and to educate the public about the art of making Maple Syrup. I decided this year that I would take the kids to Auger Hill Farm in Marshfield, Maine for Maple Sunday. It is about a 2 hour ride traveling North on Rt 1 through Down East, Maine. We traveled through some great rural towns including Cherryfield, Milbridge, Harrington, Columbia Falls and Jonesboro before arriving in Marshfield. It was a beautiful day for the ride and thankfully the kids tolerated it well. The owner of Auger Hill Farm, Walter Getchell has been producing Maple syrup for the last 70 years. He has a stunning location high on a hill looking out to some beautiful mountains and fields full of blueberry barrens. We really enjoyed seeing the Sugar House in action and in addition they had an educational video about the history of Maple Sugar and also how it is produced. Of course, the kids favorite part was the vanilla ice cream with maple syrup on it!! We left Auger Hill Farm with a pint of yummy Maple Syrup and a package of maple covered peanuts and a new found knowledge for the kids about the origin of maple syrup. With a quick stop on the way home to  beautiful Schoodic Point to watch the waves crashing over the rocks, It was a wonderful family day.

Flying a kite

I don't know about the rest of you parents but winter is finally taking it's toll on me. By my own choosing, I live in a location in this country that is still in the grips of winter. I look out my window and am still looking at 4 ft snow banks and temperatures in it's teens. As I speak to the rest of my team here at SpecialGlobe down in Atlanta, they are planting gardens, sunning on their decks and wearing shorts!! UGH!! I choose to live on Mt Desert Island because it is truly one of the most beautiful locations in the world. We are constantly being written up by the top travel news sources for best beaches, most beautiful Islands and top summer destinations. It is striking in all of it's natural beauty. Home to Acadia National Park, we see 2.43 million visitors per year, most in the summer.

We woke yesterday to another day of poor weather. Rain this time, at least not snow. The kids and I have been staring at the same 4 walls of our home for what seems like forever. We have all been sick in various stages over the last 6 weeks, as have many families this winter. We decided to ignore the weather and get out and get some air. We packed our kite and headed down to Sand Beach in Acadia National Park. In the summer this beach is full of tourist but yesterday we had it all to ourselves. Due to the weather the seas were quite rough and in the mist it reminded me again of the raw beauty of this place that we call home. It was a perfect day to fly the kite. The kids and I enjoyed spending a few hours running around, digging in the sand and searching for treasures. It seemed to renew and rejuvenate all of our spirits and remind us that warmer days are not far away and the crocus will soon be in bloom.

Eliza's Trip to Rhode Island

One of the things that is incredibly special to me as a mom is my daughter Eliza's ability to finally put thoughts and feelings together and communicate those to me and the world around her. It has opened up her experiences and her ability to communicate with her teachers, her friends and even strangers, much to my chagrin. As I had said in an earlier post, the doctor's had told me when she was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at the age of one that she would never speak so to hear her voice and her thoughts are a complete blessing that I am thankful for each and every day!!

At school, Eliza has recently taken to writing stories about her favorite things and experiences in her own words so I thought that I would share her latest story with all of you. It is a story about a recent trip that Eliza, Henry and I took on the spur of the moment.

Eliza's Trip to Rhode Island

" Over vacation Eliza was sick. Mom was sick. Henry was sick. On Thursday Mom felt better. Eliza felt better. Henry felt better, too. They packed their luggage. They took their swimming stuff and clothes. They got in the car. Mom drove. Eliza rode in the back seat. Henry rode in the back seat. Mom drove and drove and drove. It was a long trip. They stopped in Newport, Rhode Island at a hotel with a big swimming pool. "Mom watch out!! Mom, Shark! Run! ". After swimming, Eliza took mom to the restaurant at the hotel. They had cheese pizza. It was yummy. They slept at the hotel for two nights. It was a perfect trip."

On the evening that we returned from this trip Eliza looked to me as I was putting her to sleep and said "Thank you so much Mommy for taking me" I know how much she loves these adventures that we go on and how much she grows through the experiences and it is for that reason that I am so personally passionate about SpecialGlobe being a vehicle of empowerment for these wonderful families out there to travel the globe. 

No trip will ever be 100% perfect for any family but it's funny how that works because inevitably we always forget the bad times on a trip and focus our memories on the very best.

The Subway

I recently took a trip to Boston with the kids to visit The New England Aquarium. We decided to take the train into the city and Eliza and Henry really enjoyed that. A really nice tip is to pay the extra $8.00 per ticket to upgrade to Amtrak business class. This allows more room and it's own bathroom as well as easy access to the food concierge . When we arrived in North Station I had to make a decision about how to get over to the Aquarium. Taxi or Subway. It had been years since I had been on the subway but had known it well in my early years and thought the kids would love it. I had been sure to wear a backpack so my hands were free to hold onto Eliza and Henry. Henry is a highly energetic 5 year old that I could lose in a moment and Eliza is a child that requires one to one assistance for safety reasons. As the years progress she seems to get quicker and quicker and I have had more than one heart stopping occasion of losing site of her for a moment. We entered the subway and the kids eyes were as big as saucers , it was awesome!! The people, the smells, the sounds and the energy were so new to them and they took it all in. I found my grip on them getting firmer and firmer and I had wondered if I was cutting off the circulation to their beautiful little hands. I realized that things were different in the subways now when I went to put my money in for tokens. There were ATM looking machines everywhere and I was not sure what I needed to do. Knowing that I could not let go of either child, I proceeded to walk over to the security window and swung my leg up in the air and knocked on the glass with my foot, quite an image, I know. Good thing we didn't all fall over. Anyway, a very nice women came out and walked me through the procedure and away we went. As we stood waiting for the T to arrive I watched the kids reactions to the new things that they were experiencing. The saxophone player, the homeless man fast asleep in the corner, the lover's displaying their affections for each other. I was so delighted that Henry did not choose at that moment to ask me the why's of everyone's behaviors and instead just sat and took it all in. Finally, the train arrived and we hoped in and away we went and I felt such success in giving my kids a new experience that ultimately turned out to be their favorite part of our trip to Boston.

Our beautiful and messy lives

Tuesday was such an exciting day for me. As I watched the number of people join our mission here at SpecialGlobe my heart soared. It was so amazing to have such tremendous validation on what we are working to achieve. Through the many emails and calls that I have received from parents, travel industry professionals and media I was both relieved and ecstatic that you seemed as excited about SpecialGlobe as I am. As one big family, we are going to ignite change for these families and for the travel industry. I am so proud to be a part of it and I am also so glad to have you all right there with me by my side. Thank You!!

Of course, as any parent will understand even the best laid plans can go awry. As Tuesday wore on, it was time for me to pick up Eliza and Henry from School. When I arrived at the school, many of the teachers congratulated me and expressed their excitement for SpecialGlobe. It felt so wonderful  to finally be able to share what I have been working on for so many months with such important people to me and my family. It was at that moment when I saw my beautiful Eliza walking down the hallway toward me. She looked awful! She looked completely wiped out. My poor little love bug! When I got her home she had a 103.7 temp and it was time for me to take my CEO of SpecialGlobe hat off and put my Eliza's mommy hat on.

As I found myself literally elbow deep in sick on this biggest of days for me, I had to smile to myself because it was a reminder that life is both messy and wonderful and with every beautiful moment there are challenges too and that's really what SpecialGlobe is all about. It's about creating these beautiful moments for their entire family and as any parent knows there will be challenges along the journey but I promise the beautiful moments will create family memories that will last a lifetime.

SpecialGlobe Trailer Final Fini