Wordless Wednesday: Spare a Rose, Save a Child

A quick reminder: buy one less rose this Valentine's Day, and donate the value of that rose to the Life for a Child program.

Spare a Rose, Save a Child

In case you haven't already heard, there is a pretty amazing initiative spreading through the DOC and around the world this week, called Spare a Rose, Save a Child. Put together by DOC advocates Kerri Sparling, Kelli Close, Manni Hernandez, Jeff Hitchcock, and Bennet Dunlap, with the help of some folks at Johnson & Johnson, the super simple idea is to buy one less rose this Valentine's Day and share the value of that rose with a child with diabetes in the developing world. How do you do that? Easy peezy lemon-squeezy. Simply click here and make a donation to Life for a Child.

So instead of buying that dozen roses for your sweetie this Valentine's Day, buy 11 instead and donate the value of the twelfth to a child in need. It's a simple, caring, but life-changing message.

A Few of My Favorite Things

August is "Advocating for Another" month and WEGO Health is running another of its great blog carnivals as an opportunity for bloggers who dedicate their time to caring and/or advocating for another to share their thoughts and ideas on the subject. With a preset list of topics in 4 different categories, hundreds of bloggers will contribute daily posts to the carnival between August 21st and 28th. 

Day 2's prompt is entitled, "These Are A Few of My Favorite Things." So here we go....my 5 favorite things about Dyl!

1. His sweetness. Dylan is the ultimate sweetheart. He is kind, generous, loyal, forgiving, affectionate, and always knows exactly what to say or do to make someone smile. He has a unique ability to see everyone and everything in a positive light. Since toddler-hood this has been one of his greatest qualities. He is a terrific friend, a loving son, and will make a very special husband one day.

2. His open mindedness. Be it food, an activity, a new book, or even a movie, Dylan is always open to trying new things. 

3. His sense of humor. Quirky and silly, Dylan is always cracking jokes and keeping us smiling. 

4. His courage. As mentioned in yesterday's post, he is unbelievably courageous. Never caring what others think, he is comfortable in his own skin and very sure of who he is. 

5. His ownership of his disease. He has taken ownership of his diabetes since day 1 and has never looked back. He learns everything he can about type diabetes, he talks to other type 1 kids and adults, he advocates for JDRF, and he does not hide his diabetes. EVER.

Advocating for Another Day 1 ~ Portrait Post

August is "Advocating for Another" month and WEGO Health is running another of its great blog carnivals as an opportunity for bloggers who dedicate their time to caring and/or advocating for another to share their thoughts and ideas on the subject. With a preset list of topics in 4 different categories, hundreds of bloggers will contribute daily posts to the carnival between August 21st and 28th. 

Day 1's topic is entitled Portrait Post, and asks bloggers to "write a descriptive portrait of your child/ren. Share qualities that make them, them – and include an image! (A photo or creative work of them!):"

As soon as I read the topic, I knew what I wanted to share. I have mentioned previously that Dylan has recently taken up vocal and instrumental performance and participates in a weekly performance class. Twice per year the kids have a live concert, in which they perform for their parents and peers. Two months ago, in June, Dylan performed a haunting cover of Coldplay's "Fix You" in front of a live audience of approximately 250 people. 

As a parent, I think I was more nervous for Dylan than he was. Unlike his ability to easily learn music for instrumental play (he plays the sax and the guitar), he's not a strong singer. And "Fix You" is not an easy song to sing. Most kids chose faster paced rock songs, or newer pop songs by idols like Taylor Swift. Not Dyl. He wanted to sing "Fix You" because he knows it's one of my favorite songs, and a song whose lyrics remind me of diabetes and my "inability" to fix my son's disease.

Courage is one of the qualities that I most admire in Dylan. He has an ability to do whatever he wants without any regard for what others think. And not in an arrogant manner. He is simple sure of himself. Self consciousness? He doesn't have it. Timidity? No, none of that either. Self doubt? No way. He is uber-comfortable in his own skin. I only WISH I had that level of confidence.