Well, another week has come and gone, and (I think) spring is finally in the air. Though we had 2 inches of snow yesterday…it quickly melted away in the warm afternoon sunshine. Today was another warm spring day, with sunshine and temperatures in the mid 40’s. A lot of my bulbs are starting to peek through the mulch, giving me a little lift and excitement in anticipation of the many blooms to come. (Matt enjoys my excitement, thoroughly…rolling his eyes and squealing in mock joy along with me.) Teasing aside, I know he is looking forward to the many rewards of the pending spring and summer months as much as I am.
Tuesday we had record temperatures and spent the afternoon working out in the garage and enjoying the sunshine together. Matt got into the Trans Am and pulled it out into the driveway so we could clean out some stuff from the storage area up above it. We went through things and filled the garbage can with junk. Fun, fun! I’m sure it was just the first of many garage clean up days we’ll need before moving! All in all though, it did us both some good to be outside, breath in he fresh air, and dink around in the garage; Matt’s favorite place to hang out. We are both looking forward to having a garage where he can putz around at his leisure with, or without, having me there.
This week we picked up the preliminary house plans from our builder friend Ralph. We have been pouring over them ever since…they look fantastic. Ralph and his team have done a great job of thinking through our needs and making sure they are all met with ease. The house will most likely be 100% handicapped accessible, which will be a valuable selling point, should we try and sell it someday. Handicapped accessible is a term neither of us are very fond of…but Ralph puts it a different way. He says that the house won’t feel or look any different than any other house; it will just work. While the house is still a manageable size, in terms of square footage, he took care to add extra room in the hallways, bathrooms, and spaces where Matt will need to maneuver. It will just be wonderful. Ralph and George are busy working their magic and finding good deals for materials as well. We are hoping to meet with Ralph in the next week or so to discuss the plans and what our next steps will be. We assume we will start looking at lots next and go from there. Next weekend we are planning a yard clean up day, to help get the yard raked up and ready for the spring. I’ve also been cleaning out closets and organizing etc, in preparation for selling out house. We will be excited to finally get the processes officially started with building and selling. This summer should be one of fun, with so much to look forward to!!
Also this week, Matt experienced his first hippotherapy session, and it went great! His therapist, as well as the woman who runs the facility, were thrilled at how well he did and I was impressed with the whole experience myself. I will take pictures of each step next time, so you can visualize the process. Basically they wheeled Matt up a big ramp where he stood up; the horse was then led up behind him. Next he sat down and swung one leg over the horse and he was on. They lead the horse around the arena, with a person on either side holding on to a gait belt. Matt had to wear a nice little helmet, which he loved. He sat on a small saddle, with no stirrups, so his legs and trunk had to work hard to stay with the horse. He rode for about 30 minutes, the average person can only tolerate about 15 minutes the first time, so they were quite impressed with Matt’s endurance and hard work…as always. It was a really neat experience, for us both. For some reason, watching him up on the horse, brought tears to my eyes. I was so proud of him, and so hopeful that this therapy would be of benefit. But more than that, I was just so happy that he had the opportunity to do something different and fun. On the way home he talked a lot about how he enjoyed riding. He is really hopeful and excited for the coming weeks and the potential benefits of the therapy. We may even try to take him over there more than once a week, depending on how things go. I just hope and pray that things continue to improve.
Tuesday we had record temperatures and spent the afternoon working out in the garage and enjoying the sunshine together. Matt got into the Trans Am and pulled it out into the driveway so we could clean out some stuff from the storage area up above it. We went through things and filled the garbage can with junk. Fun, fun! I’m sure it was just the first of many garage clean up days we’ll need before moving! All in all though, it did us both some good to be outside, breath in he fresh air, and dink around in the garage; Matt’s favorite place to hang out. We are both looking forward to having a garage where he can putz around at his leisure with, or without, having me there.
This week we picked up the preliminary house plans from our builder friend Ralph. We have been pouring over them ever since…they look fantastic. Ralph and his team have done a great job of thinking through our needs and making sure they are all met with ease. The house will most likely be 100% handicapped accessible, which will be a valuable selling point, should we try and sell it someday. Handicapped accessible is a term neither of us are very fond of…but Ralph puts it a different way. He says that the house won’t feel or look any different than any other house; it will just work. While the house is still a manageable size, in terms of square footage, he took care to add extra room in the hallways, bathrooms, and spaces where Matt will need to maneuver. It will just be wonderful. Ralph and George are busy working their magic and finding good deals for materials as well. We are hoping to meet with Ralph in the next week or so to discuss the plans and what our next steps will be. We assume we will start looking at lots next and go from there. Next weekend we are planning a yard clean up day, to help get the yard raked up and ready for the spring. I’ve also been cleaning out closets and organizing etc, in preparation for selling out house. We will be excited to finally get the processes officially started with building and selling. This summer should be one of fun, with so much to look forward to!!
Also this week, Matt experienced his first hippotherapy session, and it went great! His therapist, as well as the woman who runs the facility, were thrilled at how well he did and I was impressed with the whole experience myself. I will take pictures of each step next time, so you can visualize the process. Basically they wheeled Matt up a big ramp where he stood up; the horse was then led up behind him. Next he sat down and swung one leg over the horse and he was on. They lead the horse around the arena, with a person on either side holding on to a gait belt. Matt had to wear a nice little helmet, which he loved. He sat on a small saddle, with no stirrups, so his legs and trunk had to work hard to stay with the horse. He rode for about 30 minutes, the average person can only tolerate about 15 minutes the first time, so they were quite impressed with Matt’s endurance and hard work…as always. It was a really neat experience, for us both. For some reason, watching him up on the horse, brought tears to my eyes. I was so proud of him, and so hopeful that this therapy would be of benefit. But more than that, I was just so happy that he had the opportunity to do something different and fun. On the way home he talked a lot about how he enjoyed riding. He is really hopeful and excited for the coming weeks and the potential benefits of the therapy. We may even try to take him over there more than once a week, depending on how things go. I just hope and pray that things continue to improve.
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