The cousins - happily together pregame. The agony of defeat. That’s what we all experienced after the Eagles narrowly lost the Super Bowl. The family gathered at Bryan’s apartment that evening eager with anticipation of a sure victory. After all, Bryan’s apartment had been the scene of a monumental first win for the Eagles five…
Friends
Friends for fifteen years! This past weekend we took Bryan to see a friend he has known ever since she was born. In fact, Bryan went to the hospital right after little Bridget came into this world. He was a bit shocked to see the state Bridget's mom was in after delivering via a natural…
FLY!!
These two Eagles fans are pumped for the Super Bowl! "Fly, Eagles, Fly on the road to victory!" How many times we joyously joined Bryan in singing the Eagles fight song after every touchdown these past few exciting playoff games! While singing, we were given green, black and silver pom poms to shake - a…
Clean!
Out with the old, in with the new. Call it a throwback to our Scottish roots and the tradition of Hogmanay - a New Year's Eve ritual - cleaning the house from top to bottom. So, we did our own version of the cleansing ritual to burn off any bad spirits left from the old…
Finn Hopes
Uncle Bryan and nephew, Finn, share a snuggle. The Christmas holiday season provided several opportunities for more bonding between Uncle Bryan and Finn. With the opening of Christmas Eve presents, Bryan was happy that Finley enjoyed the little train engine with pop-up characters which he chose and purchased for his nephew. He kept him occupied…
Traditions
Assembling the ingredients to make "turtles", Grandma's favorite candy. Bryan is a man of habit. Of ritual. Of sameness. Of upholding tradition be it at the holidays or other times of the year. When I approached him to see if he would be game for changing up his yearly pretzel candy for a new type,…
Grateful
The chef with his pumpkin cookies.. Bryan stood at our kitchen table Thanksgiving morning, dressed and ready to head to western PA to celebrate with his mom and dad, aunt, uncle, grandma, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Before diving into his scrambled egg breakfast, he outlined all of the things for which he was thankful ....…
Cabin
Bryan's first attempt at firing a handgun. Last weekend Bryan and his dad went up to the wilds of Lycoming County to the Otter Run Hunting and Fishing Club cabin which we've been traveling to for around twenty years or more, invited by our family who are members. He hasn't been able to go for…
Diversity
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…
Revelation
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…
Bryanspeak 