Buddy Walk - Status and Updates

“Officially” we are 11th place in terms of fundraising. I do have money that I need to turn in and that should bump us up!

That would put us somewhere in 5-6th place. But that would only be short lived. Top teams last year all had $5000 and up! I am hoping that with the help of The Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union, we’ll manage to end up somewhere in the top 10 when everything is all said and done.*** Big kudos to my friend Lori, who helped arranged this fundraiser with the HTFFFCU. She is an amazing friend that reached out to us.***

And it is not about being a top fundraising team. It is raising money for a great cause. A great cause that affects me, Santiago, the girls, and ETHAN.

I hope you can find it in your hearts to help us in some way. Even if you yourself cannot make a donation, it is very easy to take pledges from your friends and family!

I will be taking money from the wristband sales (the money I initially put in) and using that money to go towards a prize for whoever raises the most money for our team. I am thinking a few fun things as prizes!

And as of now, top 3 are:

*1st- My great friend and co-worker, Anabel. She has collected and sold wristbands, for a total of $330! And she is not DONE!!
*2nd- my dear cousin Verenice– sold about $90 worth of wristbands
     And Daddy Bear actually did a great job as well, but he doesn’t count! - He sold about $80 worth!
*3rd– goes to Alex.. selling about $65 worth of wristbands!

We also had a garage sale last weekend, but were rained out after about 2.5hrs. We still did pretty well for those few hours. We (I say we, but there really is no WE) will also be having one Friday the 24th.

THANK YOU to everyone that donated items for the garage sale!

Soon, I will be selling Dominoes Pizza Fundraiser cards, they sell for $10. Our team will get $9 out of the $10! These little cards are awesome. It entitles you to a free pizza (equal/lesser value) after you purchase one, but it has to be carry out and you can use it 16 times! I think that is amazing! And I hope you think so as well and buy one (or 2)!

Also, October 16th, I will be manning the booth at Macy’s at Almeda Mall. October 16 is Macy’s “Shop for A Cause”. For $5 you buy a discount card, that allows you to save 10-25% off your purchase! All $5 goes to our team!

I hope all of you continue to help out and help us reach our goal and beyond!! We truly are grateful. And for those of you who haven’t yet registered to walk, I say WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???!!!! It’s free and easy. *Donations are encouraged! …whatever the amount ;-) even if all you have is ONE Dollar to spare.

Link to our Buddy Walk page: http://www.houstonbuddywalk.org/DSAH/2010BuddyWalk/EthansJackrabbits

You dont have to understand me, but please RESPECT me

(daddy holding Ethan... wearing his Spread the Word to End the Word Shirt...)

Sometimes it’s like I am this tape recorder and constantly repeating myself…

That I myself get tired of myself! BUT I just can’t accept it! I can’t accept that my friends and family continue to use the R-word. Nor will I ever accept it. I just cannot. And you wouldn’t either if you were in my shoes.

I say, we can all stay friends, we can continue to have good times, but at not at the expense of my son’s “medical” condition.

Here is it is, plain and simple:

Because Ethan has Down Syndrome, his IQ will fall somewhere in the lower than average range, so he will be labeled “mentally retarded”. So when you think you are being cute and funny by calling yourself/friends/people/things “retarded” and implying they are stupid and/or dumb, well take a look at my son, IS HE STUPID. I think not. And I don’t care if the word is used as slang these days, the word still means what it means, just like the color RED is the color RED and nothing will change that.

Please know that this word HAUNTS me and it hurts to hear it from friends and family.

Every day I try to run away from this word, every single day it pops out of people’s mouth, some who know no better, some who do know better.

I try so hard to not be offended… but my heart is what becomes offended. My heart aches every time someone misuses the word. It’s the one word that will always set my son apart, the one word that will make my son different.

It will bring me to tears, it will bring his sisters to tears, as they one day will stand up for their brother as well.

I might not understand you, but I respect you, and your children,… I respect you and your choices and life. I respect you.

You might not understand what I feel, but I ask you to respect me and to respect my son.