Over at my Lightning Kid Blog, I recently announced that he had taken his first steps. He is a little short of his 15 month birthday, and we're over the moon about his development. It's not only terribly early by the developmental milestones for children with Down Syndrome, it's within the range of typical development. I was watching him try standing the other day. He'd crawl on hands and knees, get his feet under his hips, straighten up into standing, then flop onto his butt... but he was doing this over and over again with an intensity and persistence that could only be described as furious. Tenacity is going to serve him well because I know he'll face adversity as he gets older. Likewise persistence, as my father used to quote Calvin Coolidge:
Now Shark Boy's persistence isn't any lesser, but a little more annoying, since he will argue on everything with me, sometimes I feel like he'd dispute the colour of the sky. What's remarkable about him, is his response to being tired: he simply goes faster. Think about it: if you had to pull an all-nighter, and you started feeling drowsy, you'd probably put on a pot of coffee. What if you did a sprint around the block? That would wake you up! Shark Boy had discovered this little fact from the time he could crawl, I figure.
If you ask just about any toddler or preschooler whether they're tired, they'll automatically say no even if all signs (fussiness, irritability, eye rubs, yawning) point to yes. Shark Boy (and again the Lightning Kid to a large extent) don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk. As their parent, I find them exhausting obviously, but in moments when I can reflect on the day, I still admire that even as the energy in those little bodies starts to wane, their spirits want to keep going. If I may quote my eldest son:
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| Words to live by... |
On a bit of a post-script, I found other inspiration this week from an unlikely source... a brewing company. I read a bit about Rogue Ales; obviously the name alone appealed to me. They've got a lot of different flavours (like Chipotle Ale) that I want to try, but it looks like it's a little hard to come by in Canada, especially in the Greater Toronto Area (BC looks like it's better off).
I started poking around the website and found their 'Declaration of Interdependence' down the page was the following image and text:
- Rogues take risks.
- Rogues are willing to shun titles and personal financial success in the
pursuit of the greater good.
- Rogues pursue the long shot.
- Rogues have respect for diversity.
- Rogues are never satisfied to rest on past laurels.
- Rogues work hard.
- Rogues are driven to succeed in their chosen field.
- Rogues ignore the accepted patterns and blaze their own trails.
- Rogues have raw talent and focus on that talent.
- Rogues are honest with themselves and others.
- Rogues are rebels.
- Rogues have one foot in reality to let them get the job done, but they are, nonetheless, led by their dreams.
Some of those really spoke to me (maybe not so much the one about raw talent...). I'd like to think they apply to my life and my pursuits...
Have you ever found inspiration from an unlikely source?
Labels: family, fun, motivation
