Driving home from western Pennsylvania where I had spent a weekend with my mother, I marveled the length of my turnpike drive at the beauty of the fall foliage along that well-traveled thoroughfare. I've been traveling that journey for most of my life. The four and a half hour trip can be quite boring at…

https://videopress.com/v/LAg12K3h?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Bryan singing the National Anthem at the Local Special Olympics Meet. Last week we had a Revelation. An exhausted older mother and her Down Syndrome daughter met with us in Bryan's apartment to discuss Bryan's Life Sharing experience - an avenue she wishes to pursue for her child. Frustrated by the system, she wants…

Aerial view of our island paradise - Mitchells Sand castles - wiped out by Hurricane Ian. Our cottage stood in the center of the sand wash across from the barely-visible swimming pool. Last March, I reminisced about the wonderful two weeks we spent with Bryan on Sanibel Island. It was a time in his life…

Bryan and Coach in the early days. Bryan has participated in Special Olympics with the same coach now for some twenty to thirty years. She is known affectionately as "Coach Joan" and has been affiliated with Special Olympics in the United States since it's founding by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968. As an octogenarian, Coach…

Uncle Bryan feeding nephew Finn for the first time. This past week the whole family traveled to Avalon, New Jersey to vacation together with the newest addition to the family - Finley Bryan. As Bryan calls him - "my namesake". Bryan wanted to give Finn his bottle shortly after we arrived. Finn cooperated pretty well,…

Father Bryan Bryan would probably be comfortable in any church setting on a Sunday morning. He is a member of two congregations right now, neither of which he attends physically. I think he misses it. Covid put a stop to that for two-plus years. This past Sunday, I played at an Episcopal church in Doylestown.…

Full and empty water bottles clog Bryan's deck at his apartment. Last week we had our obligatory monthly monitoring meeting for Bryan live at his apartment - the first time since the pandemic began. Yes, we have been there at Bryan's place in the past two years, but the blinds to the deck area have…

Always a ride favorite - the Ferris wheel with Dad! The Middletown Grange Fair has been around for seventy-four years. Bryan has been going annually since he was a wee toddler. Remembering that he hadn't been able to go in two years because of the pandemic, Bryan started his "When are we going to the…

Bryan looking underwhelmed in the break room at work. As was hinted at last week, Bryan began a new job on Monday, July 25th at Ann's Choice retirement community. He was to have started at the end of June, but a whole month passed with several hold ups along the way. First, his Supports Coordinator…

Bocce boys at the beach Avalon, New Jersey is Bryan's happy place. Mine, too. For weeks before our vacation, he bugs me to send him his Avalon List of things to pack for our week together. The suitcase is ready to go a few days before we leave. The folding/packing is not the neatest, but…