The Christianville Spirit: Words, Words, Words

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

September 16, 2015-TCS # 466

Buena-sera, My Readers! As I like to try different greetings, Buena-sera is Italian for “Good Day”. So, What are we going to Talk about This Week? Well, We are going talk about a Trait in PTLSers that gets often Overlooked. You See, Us PTLSers when it comes to learning, We are Very Literal in Every Sense of The Word. Now, It is Funny that I always say that I am Literal, My Mom tells PTLS Family Members that I am Literal, and I know that I learn a certain way (as does Everyone Else) and I know how I handle things. So, In Short, I believe that I am just Me, Yes I am aware that I have Special Needs, let alone having Potocki-Lupski Syndrome and Yet, I don’t see the big deal of Having PTLS or even Being “Literal” because It has been the Way I have lived My Whole Life. So, In some odd way, It is Normal (or better word, “Typical”) to Me. So, It begs The Question, What is “Being Literal?” and Yes, I had  to ask Myself that too so Don’t Worry! “Being Literal” means that You see Everything for What it is, Everything is, As Is. As It appears or Exactly What The Word is means means Words are Pictures to Me. Being Literal, is to say the least, Challenging sometimes because of Things like Figures of Speech, Odd Phrases and/or Words, and Jokes. Now, Don’t Get Me Wrong, I do get Jokes sometimes, but Sometimes Someone can say something that sounds Serious but, really is just a Joke. So, Figures of Speech, We can call them “Speech Spices” or “Speech Enhancements” because in a way They are. In High School, In order to help catch me up with The Way Most Typical People talk, I had to take a “Figurative Language” class. I had to learn Phrases like “Don’t Let The Cat Out of The Bag” (Keeping a Secret), “It is Raining Cats and Dogs Out There!”(Very Heavy Rain), “Sweep Someone off of Their Feet” (Literally, It means You are taking a Broom and Sweeping their Body away from Their Feet. Figuratively, It means Falling In Love or Liking Someone a Lot), “You are What You Eat” (If You eat Bad Foods, then You feel Bad and Vice Versa), “It is Hotter than Hades Out Here!”(It is Very Hot Outside), and “Pick Yourself up by Your Boot Straps” (Learn from Your Mistakes). Now, In My Mind, that meant, that There is a Cat in a Bag and Why is it in There, and Why can’t we let it out?; It is Literally raining Cats and Dogs (as in, Real Cats and Dogs are falling from The Sky)?; When You say Said thing, You sweep them off there feet?; So, If You eat a Hot Dog than You are a Hot Dog? Add to That, Idioms, Clichés, Metaphors, Similes, and Hyperboles, And You have yourself a Very Confused and Frustrated Me!

Schnikies! I have to say I am having a Bit of a Hard Time Writing This Newsletter, Trying to Remember those Figures of Speech from School and Let Alone trying to Remember what They mean, as well as Explaining it The Best I can to You. But, The Sad Thing is that All These Sayings do not make any sense to Me. It frustrated me and I got a Little Sad because I want You to understand how My Mind works, But It is hard to Explain something that I know that I struggle with, It does not make sense to Me, but People around me use these “Figures of Speech” and Jokes, I always have to ask, “Was that a Joke or Figure of Speech?”. All in all, When You are talking to Your Kids, What You say, They take Word for Word or They are not going understand you, or Just Ignore You.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say.

The Christianville Spirit: My Idea of a Great Father Figure

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

September 9, 2015-TCS # 465

Howdy, My Readers! That is how We say hello in The Great State of Texas! Happy Patriots Day, A Better Way of saying “September 11th”. Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! So, I am sure that I have told you many times about My Family and My Wish for a Great Father Figure. But, I am realizing that in a “Law of Attraction” sort of way, Write about Just what Type of Father Figure that I want and not just me, but PTLSers need as Well. I am not that heavy into “The Law of Attraction” but, I believe that My “Soulmate Invitation” Newsletter I did a few years back is starting to Work. So, Why Not, give this a Shot! So, What kind of Father Figure do I wish for? Well, I have God, He is The Greatest Father Figure out there. I know that He loves me, Never judges, and Definitely Understands Me. It helps to gain Ideas from The PTLS Family Members that have Great Dads, like Uncle Chris Pulley, Randy (Husband of “My Kristin”), My Uncle Scott Lerew, Just to name a Few, and Maybe someone to Goof Off with like My Uncle Craig. Shout Out! So, The First Thing that always pops in My Head is Understanding. Understanding of What, You may say? Of Myself, The Way that I operate in terms of Routine and Predictability, and Of Course the Understanding of Me having PTLS. Now, that is easier said than Done, sometimes. The Next, Involvement, Being Involved in My Life in many ways. Come with Me to meet with PTLS Family Members, Hang Out, As mentioned Earlier, Goof Off but in a Responsible Way that is Fun but Not Dangerous or Careless at The Same Time. After That, is probably The Most Important is Love. Love is probably the Most Important Part of The Equation. Heck, It IS The Most Important. None of The Things above matter without Love. With that Said, Love Me! Make Sure that I am Okay in My Wellbeing and Health, even though I am a Typically Happy Guy! Have a Concern for Me. Now, The Tricky Part of This segment of The Equation is that We speak Different Love Languages, in other words, Ways to Show us that We are loved. For Some, It is Gifts; for My Mom, It is Acts of Service (like Chores, Helping around The House etc), and For Me, It is Quality of Time, Someone to Hang Out with, Laugh about Funny or Odd Topics, Talking, Heart-to-Hearts, Talk about Girls (Well, I am old enough now; Women), Hopes & Dreams (Yes, You can tell The Love of Your Life about it, but Also Your Parents), What is going on in Your Life and Truly take an Interest in it and How I see it, Set Examples for Standards in Life and The Future, A Few Deep Talks in There too, knowing Securely that They will always be around & Will Always Love You, They know that Family (And, God) should always come First, Have a Relationship with God and Have Him in everything that You Do (I can only picture us, jumping in a Car like “The Dukes of Hazard”, saying “Alright, God, Let’s go for a Ride! Waahooo!”), Talking about The News and Politics (as Well as Where we stand in Said Issue), Do Fun Things and Yes, Go Travel and Explore Places. Let Me make This Clear, Many Dads say that They already do this but, They see that They are doing it through their eyes and They see The World, but Not through My Eyes and How I see The World. If You can sit through My Stimming, Anxieties, OCD, and Need for Calm Environments and Say You really really Legit Understand, that is The Dad for Me. All in all, I want to be is accepted for Who I am and Love Me and My PTLS, and My PTLS Family.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Everyone needs a Great Father Figure and It takes a Special Man to do it!   

The Christianville Spirit: Helicopter Parents

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

September 2, 2015-TCS # 464

Happy September, My Readers! The Season of Autumn is on it’s way, So get ready Leaf Lovers, it is Coming! On a Personal Note, It has been a Month since My Brother moved to CO, Hard to Believe and I miss him dearly! So, on to This Week’s Newsletter. So, Having PTLS means that I get a lot of Interesting Questions asked of Me about “What it is it like with PTLS?” and I welcome all these questions, so Please do ask away! I do get requests though with My Newsletter, to answer Questions from PTLS Family Members that are Curious about things. So, with that said, This is a Requested Newsletter. So, I have seen lots of Different Parenting and Grandparenting Styles from The “Let Boys be Boys” to “I am hovering over Said Person like a Helicopter!” Now, In My Family, I did not experience My Parents or Grandparents being “Helicopter” Overprotective. My Dad never did it; I see it with My Mom when it comes to My Brother sometimes which I guess that means Me too!; Grandma on My Dad’s Side, Nope; and, Grandma Honey, She helps in the Lesson of Being Connected. Make Sure that You know the People Where You live, Believe me, it will come in Handy. However, My Mom and Grandma Honey will Helicopter over me if I chose The Wrong Girl to be with! But, that’s besides the Point. Now, Yes, My Mom did make sure that She was there helping if I needed help with Opening a Can or a Drink (I had weak muscle tone when I was younger) or She would help with Tying My Shoes so we can get quickly out the door. If There was Something that I was not happy with Doing for the First Time, She would push as good as She could. A lot of Times, I just had to learn how to do it. Potty Training, My Mom said that The Baby down the Street needed My Diapers and I could not have Any Accident in My Pants. I went off to The Bathroom by myself, Mission Accomplished! The Shoe Tying, that was a bit tough! I had My Mom help me do it because In My Head, It was quicker than doing it myself and We were out the Door quicker. So, One Day, when We were headed out the Door and We really needed to get going, Mr. Jeff (The Guy My Mom was Dating at The Time), Told me that I had to Tie My Shoes and do it on My Own. “Mom help me” I said to My Mom. Mr. Jeff sent her outside and Told me that I had to do it Myself. I, Of Course, was Anxious because We needed to get to Said Place and I really did not want to slow everyone down and make them wait for Me. He luckily assured me that They can wait and to Take My Time. I sweated and fretted, I did it slowly but, I got them done, Mission Accomplished! I did not for The Life of Me, want to go on This Slide near My Elementary School, I would turn around once I got to The Top. My Mom had me go down it and I was obsessed with The Slide from that point on. Now, There are One Time in 5th Grade when Some Kids threw spitballs at Me and My Mom came in for Lunch one day and saw me upset; She literally flew across The Tables to get those kids to Stop. Call In The Helicopter, I guess You could say. Now, Would I want a Helicopter Parent and  Grandparent, probably not only because IT would get on My Nerves with Them hovering over me, reporting to The Radio Station, “Okay, Christian is On The Playground! Repeat, Christian is On The Playground!”, “Oh! There’s a Cute Girl at 2’O Clock, will Christian talk to Her or just see how Pretty She is?!, Nope, Okay moving on! Over”. I think You get the Idea here. Now, Okay, Don’t get me Wrong, It is Okay to have Overprotective Parents because They will Stop You if You are headed down the Wrong Road and They will Swoop in and Catch the Person (or Thing) that is Troubling You. I see that There is limit in terms of How Overprotective they are, You can’t be around Your Kids (or Grandkids!) all the time, They have to have Space to Grow! I am realizing that I often do sound like My Mother sometimes! Come to think of it though, If Your Child does not have a lot of Space then They won’t grow. Maybe THAT is Why My Brother went up to Colorado, To Grow a little! But, on The Other Hand, He will eventually come back to The Family because He will miss us too much! All in all, Parents and Grandparents, Thank for Loving us so much and Worrying about Our Wellbeing, Especially because We are Unique Individuals, but We are Determined to do what We want to do and Reach Our Dreams and Be The Best We Can. But, You have to believe in us and We can do a lot for Ourselves.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Believe in Us, Because We do!

The Christianville Spirit: Include, Not Exclude Rerun

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

August 26, 2015-TCS # 463

So, My Readers, To Continue The Celebration of The Christianville Spirit’s 10th Year, I thought that I would re-run a Newsletter about Needing to be Included in Activities, To be treated like Everyone Else. The Following Newsletter was Written back on June 26th of 2013 (Newsletter Number 357, for Reference). At That Time in My Life, I was 26 Years Old and It was The Beginning of Summer! It was a Time when One Of Our Neighbors, Dina (Who lived Opposite of Our Neighbor, Woody) was still around, so In a Way, I am dedicating This Newsletter in Her Memory. In Memory of Dina, Our Very Friendly Neighbor who brought us Bagels! Enjoy!

So, This Past Sunday, My Mom and I went to a really cool party, It was for one of our former neighbor’s Birthday. You See, when we first moved in to the house we live in Now, 16 Years Ago, we had this neighbor that would always say hello to us and Every Monday, at least, she would bring us a Box of Bagels for all of us to eat. We would hear the doorbell ring and it would be her, giving My Mom the box of bagels along with her sweet saying, “To Feed The Children”(She still takes Bagels to work with her and tell them the same thing) or Just to come over and say Hello and see how we were doing. Anyway, It was her 70th Birthday at her daughter, Michelle’s House. We thought that Michelle still lived down the street from our house, but she had moved to a new house that she built in The Country. She did have a nice house though and a big yard. When we came over, I saw that they were throwing a big party, complete with a Pool, Basketball Court (if you wanted to play), and A Huge Adult Size Water Slide. So, We had a small reunion with Our Neighbor and Michelle, and then, I was off to the Water Slide with all the kids. I had forgotten until the night after the party, that the last time I hung out with them, one of children that had been invited as well called me “The R-Word”, but that didn’t cross my mind at The Party. Because The Kids welcomed me, much to my surprise. I had to make sure to take it slow going on Runs down the water slide because I start getting overwhelmed, My Heart beats really fast, and My Vision starts getting blurry. By The Way, The Slide was an Inflatable one and the hardest part (and, most tiring) is climbing up to the top of the slide, to Slide Down. But, I did have a lot of fun playing with kids, one of them, later on liked the way I jumped and then, slid down and I would go all the way to the end if I was on My Belly. Whenever I was done with the slide and ready for the pool, I would hang out with whoever was in the pool. Now, Don’t Get Me Wrong, I am a Social Butterfly, but sometimes because I don’t know a lot of people and I’m not sure how the kids will accept me or not, it feels a little lonely. One Wish I had was that My PTLS “Brother” and Friend, Tyler (who is in town) was there to hang out with, talk to, and he could join us playing on the Water Slide. Even though, I was having fun, I still felt like I didn’t Belong. Many of the kids were asking me if I still go to School and I said that, “I graduated” and then, they follow with, “Do You go to College?”. You Know, when it comes to talking with Kids, The Topics of Driving and College come up and they have this impression that You have to go to College or else you are considered Stupid. I don’t mind this question when it comes to Parents or Adults because they are truly interested or they understand. I am aware that I cannot live in My Own Little PTLS Crew or “Bubble.” But, If I could, I would feel accepted and have plenty of topics in common to discuss that we like. Don’t Get Me Wrong, I love Meeting People and Socializing, but there are times when I wish I had PTLS Friends around My Age to Hang Out with more often. And, We don’t have to do things that are “Age Appropriate” which we often act either less than Our Age and Sometimes, Because we are Smart, over our age. All in all, It was a fun party with a few moments of loneliness.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Include People, Don’t Exclude People. 

The Christianville Spirit: A Day at The Doctors

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

August 19, 2015-TCS # 462

Well, My Readers, I have had an Interesting Day. I had to get up This Morning to go to go to off all places, The Doctor. Don’t Worry though, I only went for a Physical or a Yearly Check-Up. That is One Thing about PTLS that I have not really hit too much on, Not necessarily The Doctor themselves, but The Anxiety that comes with Even The Simple Thought of Going to The Doctor (or Hospital for that matter). Now, I understand that They help you and help make sure that You are Healthy. In Other Words, They are there when You need them. When I had My Kidney Stones last year, Boy did I need them! Now, Okay, Don’t get me Wrong, Most People are anxious about The Doctors, I, of course was Extra Anxious because of One Thing, A Blood Drawing. The Mere Thought of it, makes My Heart start beating faster. You See, Having PTLS, which I Love having but, It also has it’s Struggles; Means that You have to go to The Doctor to make sure that Several Important Things are checked, like Your Cholesterol (My Good and Bad Cholesterol like to “Swing”) and PTLS Doctors tell me that I do not have to worry about It! For The Most Part, You Don’t. But, Anyway, Gotta Check The Heart Condition, make sure it is running fine (They are concerns with that!) and Of Course, Bone Density (which should be Checked Every 3 Years!). As Far as I know, I checked out Fine, Blood results will come soon. So, How does My Anxiety work with Doctor’s Appointments? Well, I am going to give you a Glimpse into Going to The Doctor when You have PTLS for a Physical/Check-Up (I should clarify here, This Only Happens once a Year! Not that it happens all The Time! Just so You know) From The Minute that I find out that I have one, I start getting anxious. For Example, This Appointment I had Today, I knew about 2 Weeks Ago. The Day before The Appointment, I am anxious about it (What are They going to Do?! The Unpredictability!). Of Course, I keep thinking about it over and over again, Thanks to PTLS OCD. That Night, It is harder to Sleep because You know that Doctors have to Draw Your Blood in The Morning. The Morning of The Appointment, I do things as slowly as Possible and Dragging My Feet all the way from Bed, Shower, Get a Bit Ready, Get in The Car, and Head to The Doctor’s Office. I think in My Head, “I’m going to get My Blood Drawn Today!” Once There, Anxiety goes up a bit, just sitting there in The Lobby waiting for The Medical Assistant (MA for Short) to come open the Door and Call My Name. “I Guess, It’s Go Time. Let’s get this over with!”. This is The Time, I would really love a Life Remote like The Movie, Click. Then, I can click “Fast Forward” to after The Appointment. Some Day, I Guess! They check My Blood Pressure, Squeezing My Arm! Weight, hmm, Not Bad. and, Heart Rate, High because of Nerves, I guess! Walk me to The Room and I sit with My Mom (Thank God The Today Show on TV in The Room) while The MA gets The Needle. My Anxiety is Pretty High Now! Again, The Waiting for It! That is always The Part that kills me! MA walks in, Luckily My Mom has me at The Sink warming up My Arm because It is REALLY Cold in Here! Doctor gets The Needle ready and It is NOT a Butterfly Needle! Now, I prefer a Butterfly Needle for Two Reasons, Growing Up that was The Best Way to Draw Blood and Secondly, The Needle is much Smaller than The Other One. That and I can see it flowing so I know that it is coming out. If it is not, then They will poke more. Anyway, so I sit back down and My Mom being a Nurse and MA check for My Veins, Squeeze The Ball, Drink Water, and Don’t Eat Anything. I don’t understand why, well actually I do. But, I would have it differently. My Veins are pretty sneaky, They see a Needle Coming and They like to Play Hide and Seek. Add to that, My Veins run differently, They run on a curve from The Middle of My Arm. Now, I do Thank God for This Doctor that I had now because They do the following Process really quick, You don’t see it coming! The Quicker, The Better, I say! First, They put on the Tourniquet (which is basically a Glove wrapped around The Top of Your Arm) which slaps you in The Arm, it convinces you that The Needle is in and It really is Not. Next, This is The Point that The Waiting and Anxiety is at The Highest. Some Doctors, Not This One. Take a Pause in between The Disinfecting The Spot and The Needle going in. I seriously hate that! Let Me know when You are Ready and We will Count to 3 and In goes The Needle. Once The Blood starts going through I am Okay because I know it is working. “What was The Big Deal about that?!” My Mind tells me. and, finally about a Minute later, The Needle comes out, Apply Pressure on Said Spot and put a Bandaid on, We are Good to Go, Blood Drawing is Over! You Know, If You have to arrange the Checks on The List, Blood Drawing (which is The Worse Part, compared to Every Thing Else is No Big Deal) should come first because That is The Hardest Part and Most Nerve-racking. Now, Of Course, I do apologize to those, that are a bit squeamish about that kind of stuff and Making You Picture all that, But It helps You understand My Mind and PTLS better. Anyway, After The Blood Drawing, gotta check The Heart and hook up The Electrodes and Make Sure Nerve-Endings in My Heart are Good. Again, with PTLS and a Bit of Weak Muscle Tone, that is a bit of a Concern. Check The Eyes, Good. Bright Light! Check The Throat, All Good, don’t make me open too wide unless You want me to start gagging. (This Usually happens, if This Step comes BEFORE The Blood Drawing). and, Finally, Check The Ears. Now, having PTLS means that The Ear Wax grows Very Fast, just like The Hair and The Nails. My Ears, of course, are clogged with Wax. Let’s Clean them Shall We?! Inject Peroxide and Water into My Ear (I have been told that This is The Best Way to Clean Your Ears). I go deaf for a Short Time. It feels very strange and I now, Know what it feels like to be Partially Deaf, The Sounds and Voices are Muffled. Inject more stuff into My Ears and Flush it out! This is VERY Uncomfortable but, I will be Thankful in The End. My Left Ear was a bit more welcoming than My Right Ear. The Ear Holes are Different Sizes, must be a PTLS Thing! My Right Ear, The Wax was stuck up there and it was like a Scab being pulled off. The Left Ear, We had cleaned once at Home and It came out flowing much better. You should have seen how big some of That Wax was, It looked like a Bug! Okay, Guys! Sorry, Too Much Information here! Anyway, after all that, My Appointment is Over and It is Time to reward Myself with a Milkshake. Nothing cures The Doctor’s Anxiety like a Good Old Milkshake! After that, You should reward yourself with something, right? I have always done that, gotten Myself a Milkshake after a Blood Drawing, even when I was Younger after Crying much. Of Course, It does help a bit to Hug the Person that Poked me as well as Hugging My Mom. All in all, that was My Day. All I can say, is that I am blessed that for the Most Part, I am pretty Healthy and I have been. I would hate to have My Blood Drawn more than Once a Year. Thank God for That! I am hoping that This Newsletter helps you Understand a bit more about PTLS. As Always, I am open to Questions that You may have about PTLS.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Hug the One who Draws Your Blood, It will make their Day!     

The Christianville Spirit: My Birthday "Feelies"

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

August 12, 2015-TCS # 461

Happy New Age to Me, My Readers! Yes, that is right I am a New Age older. I am now 28 Years Old! Whew! Can You Believe that?! It is seemed like it was Yesterday I was 27. I have been told that The 28th Year is a Big Year in terms of Life Events and I mean, The Life-Changing Ones like Settling Down, Having a Solid Career, and Of Course, Finding the Person who You want to spend the Rest of Your Life with, be it, Your Soulmate, “The One”, or The Love of Your Life. At Least in Texas, The Average Marriage Age for Men is 28 while Women is 26.9. Now a Days Men are Marrying later in Life, I would say it is because the Life Expectancy is Higher now and Men want to get their Ducks in a Row (Mainly in Their Career) before They get Married. Anyway, This Year’s Birthday was a Good One, but also a Bit Tough because My Brother is up in Colorado and He is not here. But, I did get to FaceTime (My PTLS “Sister”, Danielle calls it “Camming”) with Him and He showed me his House, which is Pretty Cool. Down Here, My Mom and I have been celebrating the whole week! You can’t just celebrate just the Day, You got to Celebrate The Month and The Week of Your Birthday. My Uncle Craig does that, in fact He refers to it as “Craig Week”. Anyway, We went Shopping for Some Clothes, going to need it for an Upcoming Trip. We went over to Chick-fil- A to get a Frosted Lemonade (Thanks to PTLS Member, Erin for Suggesting It) *A Side Note Here (Shout Out!): Check Out an Invention She did (Well, actually with Her Best Friend!) called “HUSH Hat”, It is THE Best Invention for Babies I have seen! Anyway, I have been told that the Frosted Lemonade is equivalent to a “Lemonade Dream-sickle” that You had from an Ice Cream Truck when We were Kids. It was Really Good! Anyway, The Next Day, Monday, We drove out to Denton to have dinner with My Friend, Spencer. While We were walking to The Restaurant, He was nice enough to help fix someone’s tire (In 105 Degree F Heat, by the Way!). It was Good hanging out with Him, a bit weird though without My Brother, but He was there in Spirit I am sure. On Sunday, by the way, My Mom cooked me Real Macaroni and Cheese and Crab Cakes! As well as a Cake, that has Multiple Different Types of Cake. On The Day of My Birthday, My Brother called me saying, ‘Hey, Want to FaceTime?!” I thought Okay, Sure! So, We did and It was Really Great to See Him and Yes, He wished Me a Happy Birthday along with His Roommate, Cameron. That Evening, My Mom and I went to go to The Movies, to go see a Movie that We have been meaning to see, Inside Out. Without Giving too much away (but, SPOILER ALERT! just in Case). It is Pretty Much about that Age-Old Question, “What is That Person Thinking?!” and It shows Little Characters that play Your Emotions, Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness. Each One would be watching an IMAX type of Screen with What is seen through Our Eyes, and Each Emotion Character would press a Button on The Control Panel (Get it, Push Your Buttons!) when They see something that They react to. The Whole Movie has references to understand Your Brain and How it works. Come to think of It, Maybe that Movie should be as a Teaching Tool in School, for Regular Class and Even Health Class. It shows Your Train of Thought (an Actually Train), Burning Out, Everything Crashing Down, Sub-conscientious, Personality, Long-Term and Short-Term Memories, to name a Few. I highly recommend it to Adults to see, even though it is a Disney/Pixar Movie, Adults can Understand all The References. A Bit of Warning though, It might just make you Emotional in parts if You relate it to Your Own Life. I have to say to It made me Emotional because it made me think of My Brother and All My Friends growing up. All in all, We had Good Food, Good Company, Good Movie, and Lots of Love shown from My Readers and My PTLS Family! That makes for a “Core Memory” kind of Birthday.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Even though Joy should be The Number One Emotion in Your Life, It is Okay to let The Other Ones push a Button every Now and then. You might just find More Joy! 

The Christianville Spirit: Stress and No Routine

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

August 5, 2015-TCS # 460

Hello, My Readers! Boy, I tell you, This past Weekend was Very Tough with My Brother moving to Spread His Wings. Update though, He is doing Okay, working on the Job front, and settling into His New (but, Kinda Small) House. So, On to This Week’s Newsletter! So, I have mentioned quite a Few Times about PTLSers need for Routine. It is Very Important that They have a Routine, Predictability, and Most of All, Rules. So, Here is a Question that I am sure All PTLS Members are curious about that I have not answered. So, What Happens if They are NOT in a Routine or Can They Easily swing out of Routine Temporarily. That is Actually a Good Question. So, It is Preferable that They do have a Routine. But, If They do not, then They can get a bit Overwhelmed, They can’t concentrate as well (like I did, If I did not have it), Increase in Stimming (like Rocking Back and Forth or Pacing), They can have Meltdowns (for being Overstimulated and Overwhelmed), They get Anxious about it, and They end up Very Tired. So, To Calm Your Mind, Yes, They do have a bit of wiggle-room with Their Routine, as long as it is returned soon. Myself, for example, I have been able to Adjust My Routine to Where I am. When I was Younger, I would pace a lot, so much so that There was a Trail I created in My Backyard. My Mom found that if I was Off of My Routine, like when I would come home from My Dad’s House, I would Pace More with Intensity and I would have Trouble Concentrating in School, The Teachers usually knew when I would come Home. and, Usually it took about a Week for Me to recover and get back into My Routine. Now that I am older though, My Mom can tell when I am out of My Routine. I was not in My Routine when We went to The Beach or when We went to The PTLS Conference. I guess, it depends what Type of Recovery from Lack of Routine are We talking about. Lack of Routine at, let’s say The Beach, was a bit Easy, I just had to take Longer Naps. With The PTLS Conference, I had to Calm Myself down (Conferences, although I have been to 3 of Them, does get Overwhelming!), Take Naps, and Get back into Routine. I know that This Weekend was Tough to recover from because of Helping My Brother moving, in The Texas Summer Heat mind You, and Add on The Inside Emotions (“The Feelies!”) of all of it happening. Proud, Happy, Sad, a Bit Angry (His Destiny does not match mine and His Ex-Girlfriend), The Whole Bit. This is a Shocker, but on Sunday I got up at 7 AM, to finish helping him and seeing him off. I am still a bit tired from all that. I remember when I got home from The Cruise I went on once, Disney World, or Great Wolf Lodge, I was a Mess! It was because of being Out of Routine and Being Overwhelmed at the same time. I mean, those Places are Fun, Don’t Get Me Wrong, but They are also Full of Activity and Very Overwhelming. Not Places I would recommend for us PTLSers. Now, If You tell me what is going to happen during The Day, I can start planning, and I won’t be so Anxious. All in all, We PTLSers would prefer things to be more Calm and Organized. I know that Doctors wanted to put me on Medication but, It makes My Head feel like it is Buzzing. and, that makes me even more Anxious.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit.  Understand Us, Don’t Medicate Us!

The Christianville Spirit: Michaels Moving! (Again)

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

July 29, 2015-TCS # 459

So, My Readers, It is that Time. A Time that My Mom and I have been struggling with. This Sunday, My Brother is Moving to Colorado. As This is His Final Week, I think I ought to Share how I feel about it all. Now, Don’t Get Me Wrong, My Brother and I have been having Good Quality Time together lately before He Leaves. Last Week, My Brother and I decided to go See a Movie, Ted 2. You See, My Brother and I saw the First Movie, Ted, So when I heard that There was a Sequel to it, I thought, “I should see that with My Brother”. See, My Brother Michael and I have different Movie tastes, I am more a Romantic Comedy or General Comedy Movie kind of Guy and Michael is more of an Action Movie and Horror Movie kind of Guy. So, Seeing Movies that are more like Gross-Out type of Comedies is where We meet in The Middle, if You will. On Sunday, We got to have Our Last Family Day, and Monday We went out to Dinner with My Brother’s Friend, Spencer. You See, Sunday has always been Our Family Day, The Day that We would always hang out at Home and Spend Quality Time together. I cherish All those Sundays! It is a Time also where we can talk about Each Other’s Weeks and How Everyone is doing. We would also have Our own Brunch that sometimes My Brother would make for us and He brought Home some Good Meals sometimes! On Monday, We got to hang out with Spencer. My Brother’s Friend, Spencer, went to School with Us and then, He would have him come over and Michael would play the drums while Spencer played the Electric Guitar, that is how I met Him. Since Then, Michael, Spencer, and I have our little “Guy Time” every now and then. Again, We have gone to Many Places and Many Adventures. Then  The Question comes, How do You feel about All this, Michael moving to Colorado? Well, I have to say it is Tough watching him go off to Colorado. I would rather him go East toward Family, but He has to Spread His Wings a little bit and Learn Lots of Lessons. I tell Myself that My Brother has His own Destiny, His Own Track, as Do I and My Mom. I would not be a Good Brother if I told him to stay or Follow us to move toward Family. Because He would probably end up resenting us and always wondering “What If I went to Colorado?”. Now, that is not to say that I won’t miss seeing him all the time, knowing before when He lived in Denton, that He is only a 45 Minute Drive away and Having Him to Hang out with or I want to have Brotherly Quality Time. In His Defense though, One, is He has come a Long Way since High School and All This is just part of Him becoming Successful, and Who would not want to See Their Brother become Successful? The Second, with Respect to Where We live in Dallas, I tell Myself that Nothing is keeping him here (except for Us) but, The Truth is, He is not a “Dallas-type of Guy” and Dallasites tend to be Not as Friendly and Focused on Making Money and No Nature, My Brother on The Other Hand, is more of a Nature type of Guy. Someone who loves to be around Nature, like Trees, Mountains, Rock Climbing, and All Associated. In Dallas, We have Broccoli-Sized Trees, No Mountains (We have a few Hills though!), and No Beach (Except for Galveston, 5 Hours Away, not as Pretty as Say, The Coastline of The Carolinas). My Mom is not too happy about, as Her Second Son is moving away from Her because She really enjoying having Her Children around, and Who would not blame her, We are Awesome Kids! She has deemed This Weekend Her “Grieving Weekend”. Then, There is the fact that My Mom wants to be near Her Future Grandchildren, Not have to Travel so far to see them. I am going both ways, where I want to be near My Brother, because He is My Future Guardian (if Anything should happen to My Mom) and I Love Him. At The Same Time, I want to be near The Smith Family as well as PTLS Family Members like “My Kristin”, My Friend Deb, and PTLS “Brother” Tyler. I picture My Mom as a Stretch Armstrong Doll, Michael and Future Grandkids pulling Westward and Smith Family pulling her Eastward. I follow My Mom’s Friend, Monica’s Son and His Lead because He was similar to My Brother. He has moved 4 Places before Settling Down, or at least for Now. He has Moved to Illinois, Atlanta, New York City, and Finally, Amsterdam. I could picture Michael living in Europe and Really Enjoying It and It is Very Artsy. Although, My Mom could picture him in Oregon. There is a Different Side of The Family there, The Grants. We are close but, I don’t know them as well as The Smith Family. All in all, I try hard to see Michael moving to Colorado in a Positive Light and I believe that although Change is Painful and Hard, I believe that It will be a Growth in Our Family and Like I said, Change is Painful, but then again, so is Sitting Still. It is better to have Pain in Changing!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Follow Your Destiny where ever It takes You  

The Christianville Spirit: Statistics I Study

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

July 22, 2015- TCS # 458

Bonjour, My Readers! I would have to say that “Bonjour” is One of My Favorite International Greetings! Bonjour, Hello in French, It just seems to flow when You say it. Anyway, On to This Week’s Newsletter! So, As You know, I Love Geography, Road Signs, and Travel, but You Know, what also fascinates me? Stats. As in Statistics. No, I don’t mean Statistics about Sports like Baseball or Football, believe me, When I handed them out when I worked at The Frisco Roughriders half of The people did not read The Baseball Statistics that We had to put in Programs we passed out. I am interested in International Stats as well as Stats about My Own Country. You See, Other than My Own Research and Curiosities about Different Parts of The World, I check This Site on Tumblr every day called “Maps on The Web” (www.mapsontheweb.tumblr.com) I was curious about Stereotype Maps and Somehow, I found Maps on The Web. It shows me Maps of All Kinds, Stereotype Maps; Income Maps of The World and/or The US; A Map of Europe showing The Nation’s official name in their Native Language, like Did You know that The UK (also called “United Kingdom” or “Great Britain”, depending on where You are from) is actually called “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”? Hmm, That would explain the Various Names of Calling It. Sort of like, The Netherlands which has an AD (Authoritative Division) that is North Holland and South Holland. So, The Netherlands is called both “Holland” (referring to State of North Holland and Country, or both). Yeah, Europe is VERY Complicated in It’s Names and How Things work. It probably sounds like The Most Amazing Part of The World, Sorry but, that is My Own Bias. One Map showed how the International Dateline goes through The South Pacific with all of it’s Island including Fuji, Guam, American Samoa, and French Polynesia, among Many Others. I saw One recently that showed The Average Age in which Men and Women get Married in Several States, in Texas It is 26.9 for Women and Men is 28. Other States, it is Older or Younger. One Stat about a Country really fascinates me. You See, My Mom’s Friend has been going to Costa Rica for Business Trips and Costa Rica, although I know that it exists in The World, It has not been on My Radar of Places that I am Interested in. After She got back, I started researching on My Own about Costa Rica and This is where it gets fascinating. So, knowing that Costa Rica is Pretty Small Country compared to say, France, Sweden, or Norway, is The Most Stable, Most Green, Most Progressive Country in ALL of Central America. Now, Central America is not a Very Big Area, You have Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras (which is The Murder Capitol of The World, By The Way), Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and finally Panama (as in, The Home of The “Panama Canal”). I wonder though, How is that possible that Costa Rica is The Most Stable of Those Countries? Many Reasons I am sure, but One is the Love of The Word, “Pura Vida” (pronounced Pure-uh, Vee-dah). It is Costa Rican Spanish for “Pure Life”. They use it so much it has Many Meanings, among them; Hi, How are You, Great! or Okay, and Thank You. I guess, The Tone of Your Voice matters a lot! One List of Stats that Fascinate me The Most is The Happiest Countries List and Peaceful Countries List. It always makes me wonder, With Respect to Said Countries, Why is it Countries in The North like Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Switzerland are The Happiest and Peaceful Nations in The World? The United States in always in the Teens or 20’s on that List. Likely because of Their Way of Life, in Sweden for example, You can Camp anywhere in The Woods you want to, as long as You respect Private Property and People’s Privacy. Also, In Europe, They Live to Work and They have at least a Month of Paid Vacation Days. In The US, Don’t Get Me Wrong, Guys! I Love My Country, The United States; But, Here we Work to Live and Vacation Days are as Low as Two Weeks if not Less. That would Explain Our Happiness Rating Here! In Happy Countries, They trust Their Government, which many of them are Monarchies, We on The other Hand, Don’t. So, My Last Question for Those that are Curious, Who does all these Stats? Tons of Researchers and Interviewers from Organizations like Forbes, CNN Money, Pew Research Center, and Of Course, The CIA World Fact Book. The CIA World Fact Book is the one who likely knows all of The Stats and Keeps Track of Them. All in all, I could go on and on about All The Stats and Facts I learn but, That would be VERY Long! We live in a Fascinating World filled with Facts, both Good (like World Peace and Happiness) and Bad (Who did What War), You just have to Open Your Mind and Learn about it, without too much American Bias. By The Way, Why do We call Ourselves “America” or “American”? Because We are called “The United States of America” which is part of “The Americas”.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Rock On with Your Stats! 

The Christianville Spirit: Words That You Call People

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

July 15, 2015-TCS # 457

Howdy, My Readers! Thought I would do different greetings every now and then. “Howdy”, by the way, said better as “Howdy Y’all”, is What we say in Texas to say hello. Y’all, by the way is Texas Short-Hand for You All. Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! So, Among the Many Things that us Young Adult PTLSers talked about at The PTLS Conference was The Meaning of Different Words that People used to refer to those with Special Needs. Also, How do we feel about “having Special Needs”? Well, The Truth is that I am aware that I have Special Needs, I embrace the Fact that I have Potocki-Lupski Syndrome, but at The Same Time, It is NOT Me. Not in the Way of Denial but, In a Way, that I personally don’t see that I have Special Needs because I am just Me, Christian. It might also help to the fact that I have had Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or Duplication 17p11.2 for My Whole Life, so really I don’t know any different. So, About The Words to refer to One with Special Needs, There are 4 Terms to use. A Disability, Handicap, Mentally Retarded or The R-Word of All Variations, and Someone with Special Needs. I, as well the Young PTLS Adults would prefer The Last One. Another One is that People think that PTLS is a Disease and I can assure you that It is Not. PTLS just happens, No Other Way to Explain It, It just happens. I see it more like it is a Serendipitous Accident, in other words, it is part of Your Destiny somehow. Anyway, Let’s Examine these Words. Now, I know that Words are Words but Many of These Words have Meanings. First Word is Disability. Disability, as My Young PTLS Adult Friend from The Conference says and The Word, Dis means, Anti or Against Something. In Other Words, You can not do XYZ. Ability, however means that You can do something. So, to refer to Me as Disabled means that I can’t do all the Things I want to do in Life and That is NOT True! Now, to be fair, There are People who are Truly “Disabled”, It is harder to do things but, They are Strong Enough to try their Hardest at it. The Next Word is Handicapped, Because I am able to Walk and Function as Typical as I can, that does not apply to Me. Respectfully, There are People that are Handicapped, even those that Do not have Special Needs. The Best Thing that You can do is ask if They need Help, if They do then, Help them and Mission Accomplished, They will be Grateful to You. If Not, then that is Okay too. Now, Here comes a Word that I do not like to Say Often, nor do I like to be called. Now, This Word comes from The Fact that People like to Compare Kids that have Special Needs versus Those that Don’t and Sometimes, It turns Ugly. We refer to it as The R-Word, Retard (Sorry Kids!). Now, The Word, “Retard” is actually a Cooking Term. You Know, when You are cooking something and The Fire from The Pan gets too High, You have to retard it. This is The Pleasant Way that I see that word’s use. However, The Government at one time used the Word “Mentally Retarded” or “Mental Retardation” to mean Someone with Special Needs, doesn’t sound too bad, right? After Rosa’s Law, It is now “Intellectual Disability”. Now, You drop The Word “Mentally” off That Phrase and that is when It is meant for Harm toward those with Special Needs. People say it in a Funny or Stupid Way, like “Ohh, That’s so Retarded” or “Your So Retarded” (pointing at Whomever did something Stupid, not meant toward Someone with Special Needs). I had a Friend that said that a lot and It annoyed me each time He said it because Said Person had Special Needs! Luckily though, There is a Campaign out there called “Spread The Word to End The Word” (STW, I call it for short) It is at www.r-word.org, Sign the Petition and Stop using The R-Word! And, finally, The Phrase that I would rather be referred to as “Someone with Special Needs” because that is Me, “Someone with Special Needs”, better yet a “A Person with Special Needs” because after all, I am a Person, just like You. A bonus with This Phrase is that it applies across The Board and does not in any way Offend anyone or Make Someone feel Different. So, What about The Other Words, Can I use them too? I would prefer that You not, but If You have to, Change The Words around so They sound better. Disability, How about Differently Abled (regardless whether They are actually “Disabled” or Not). Handicapped, That One can not be changed much because it applies to those are a Truly Handicapped, but Don’t use it on Me because I don’t see myself as “Handicapped”! Mentally Retarded, All Versions of The Word should be Taken Away except for The Original Meaning, which is for Cooking. and, Someone, Person, or People with Special Needs is probably the Best Word to use. All in all, The Point here is that I am just like You. Yes, I may need a bit of Help in certain areas and Treated Kindly, but I deserve to be treated as if I was like Everyone Else. No Comparing, No Name Calling, and PTLS is NOT a Disease, It is Only a Label!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We are all part of The World, We should Treat each other as Human Beings! 

The Christianville Spirit: PTLS Conference

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

July 8, 2015-TCS # 456

Welcome Back, My Readers! We are getting back on Normal Schedule for Newsletters. So, This Week’s Newsletter, All I can think of at The Moment is Wow! Just Simply, Wow! This past Week I went on a “Official PTLS Business” Trip to Houston, The PTLS Capitol, for The PTLS Conference. Yes, It is that time again for The PTLS Conference. This Conference, I have to say, was a PTLS Conference that was unlike any other that We have done. Now, Okay, to Date, We have had 3 Conferences so far held in 2009, 2012, and This Year, respectively. This Conference was different in many different ways. The First being that My Mom planned it all. Yes, She planned it along with Help by The PTLS Foundation and The Hotel’s Event Planners. So, We started with Driving down to Houston on Tuesday so that My Mom could make sure that Everything was Solid and make sure that Everything is all according to Plan, that and Two Other PTLS Members were already there. My Mom had to make sure that just in Case we stayed for 4th of July that We had a Room that We could see The Fireworks, You never know! They first put us in a Room facing Buildings, Nope. Then They put us on The Top Floor of The Hotel and also on The Concierge Level along with Members of The Board of The PTLS Foundation. We were Very Blessed to say the Least! My Mom did mostly all the planning, so She deserved a little Splurging! Anyway, We had a Nice Dinner with a PTLS Member from The UK, We went to a Southern Food Restaurant and That was Fun. It started Raining REALLY Hard on the way to The Restaurant and even harder once We got inside The Restaurant. It was kinda Funny talking to This PTLS Member and Teaching Her what each Menu Item was. We had Fried Chicken, Fried Crab Balls, and Shrimp and Grits (oh and I am sure My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler would be so Proud). It was Interesting explaining food that is Normal to us to Someone from The UK. Wednesday (Newsletter Day), We played the Part of “The PTLS Conference Welcome Committee” and We welcome PTLS Family Members, New and Old coming in. A lot of People did not get in until Late because of The Weather, It had been raining on and off during The Day yesterday and on Wednesday. Wednesday Evening, We had a Meet and Greet but because of The Weather, People were Delayed coming in and were Very Tired arriving. For The Next Two Days, Thursday and Friday were The Main Conference on Thursday which pretty much went on All Day and Break-Out Sessions on Friday. Thursday was The Part where Everyone heard all The Information about Potocki-Lupski Syndrome including Dr. Potocki and Dr. Lupski speaking as well. Even My Mom got to speak this time around! Maybe that was because She is Very Knowledgable and She is The President of The PTLS Foundation. So, What did I do The Whole Time? Well, I told Myself that I would at least sit in The Conference until Lunch, The First Half. Luckily though, There were more PTLS Adults this time. So, We sat through 3 Speakers (including My Mom) and then, The First Break came and We PTLS Adults decided to sit the rest of it out. So, There were 3 of us that hung out together, but There was a Total of 7 of us. At First, after Everyone went back into The Conference, I thought “Oh Man, PTLSers are a bit awkward meeting The First Time, This should be Interesting!” and then, One helped us start Talking. We talked about Many Things including The Word, “Disability”, The Word “Mentally Retarded”, Watched several YouTube Videos, Listened to Music (One kept us Entertained with that), and The Other and I were “Self-Appointed PTLS Ambassadors” (Something that I claim about Myself in The Most Humble Way!). We did all have some of Parents of PTLS Kids come to Sit and Listen to all Three of us talk. Later, After Lunch, We went down to Starbucks to get a Smoothie and The Hotel’s Starbucks was closed so We had to walk down The Street to The Starbucks across The Street. Now, This Conference was Different because We would normally have it at Texas Children’s Hospital but, My Mom decided that it would be better to have it at The Hotel that We normally stay at, to Help Everyone. It was probably The Most Genius of Ideas because People could take their children up to Their Room if They got cranky, tired, or needed a Nap. After We got back from Starbucks, We sat at The Registration Desk to help one of the other PTLS Foundation Members if She needed it. After a While of Sitting there, One of The Girls got bored and turned on Some Music and She started Dancing. We all kinda watched her for a Minute and then, Decided to Dance with Her. We did a bit of The “Cha-Cha Slide” in Our own Way. Then, We played “Boot Scoot Boogie” and Tried Our Own Version of Line Dancing (Only in Texas!). That evening after The Talks were over, We went to a Dinner for The Doctors and Myself, and The Other Adult PTLSers got to Eat Dinner together. I will say that We had One of The Best Conversations about Everything that PTLS Adults think of, about as close to Typical Conversation as We probably had. (Again I am sure that My Mom would be Proudly in Tears, if She had listened to what We said) Everyone Else’s Brains were fried to say The Least, A lot of Information to Digest for People. I will say that Our PTLS Conferences can get a Bit Overwhelming for Everyone because of All of The Information that is being Told to You. I pictured it like having a Pizza bigger than 16 Inches and having to Eat it All in One Sitting, All Day. And, What if You don’t normally eat Pizza or a Pound of Pasta, It is a Bit Overwhelming, isn’t it? Now, I’m not saying that You should not come to The Conference, I am just saying that It is a lot of Information. Now, If I was in Your Place, Not having had PTLS My Whole Life, It would Extremely Overwhelming. Now, I do get Overwhelmed myself when I am there because of All The Activity and All The People that I really want to talk to (and, Vice Versa). On Friday was The Break-Out Sessions, This was The Time to Ask Questions about PTLS and In a Way, Talk to Other Parents and Get the Idea of PTLS wrapped around Your Head. We had several Doctors do their Own Break-Out Sessions as well as My Mom and 3 Other Moms doing The Parent Panel which is usually My Favorite to Sit and I can share My Own View about PTLS to those sitting in There. It also helped to hear about What Other PTLS Adults Lives are like. So, It gave Everyone including Myself a View of The Different Ways that Young PTLS Adults are Living. It was Very Interesting to Hear, to say the least. After The Break-Out Sessions, It was Time for Everyone to get going or Head Out to Lunch. This was a Time when It was Overwhelming because I wanted to do My Final Round of Talking to Everyone and Give Hugs, Make Sure Everyone was Okay, and Of Course, It was also when Everyone wanted to take My Picture with Them. On Top of That, My Friend Allan (a PTLS Dad) wanted to Talk to Me further about Travel, History, Geography, and Politics, Oh My! We had talked a lot about The Night before but, We decided to Continue with Where We left off Yesterday; Only Problem was that He had to leave in an Hour and 30 Minutes. Oh Boy! My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler would say! Luckily, I got to talk to Him and Show him My “Street View Log” Map. It was a Ton of Fun talking to Him about All My Favorite Subjects. After Several People left, We decided to go to Lunch at This Pizza place in Midtown Houston, it was pretty good. I will say though, that They have Very Large Pizzas (like what I mentioned before, Ha!). I had a Meatball Pizza, It was really good. On Our Way back, I figured that since We were in Houston and I knew that Houston has No-Zoning Laws (You can build Whatever, Wherever) There was a Guy who had a House that was dressed in Beer Cans. Yes, You heard that Right, Beer Cans! In Fact, They call it “The Beer Can House”, It was a pretty cool House! After that, We came back to The Hotel and Hung Out at The Hotel Pool, Of Course I got to spend more Time with My Friend and Her Mom. My Friend, by the way, was the one who wanted me to Hang Out in the First Place.  The Final Day, Saturday July 4th (The Fourth of July) I finally got to Sleep In a Little bit since I had to get up anywhere from 6:30 to 7 AM Most of The Conference and We would not go to Bed until 11:00 or Midnight. After We packed up, We went down and said Goodbye to Anyone Else who was Leaving. It went easy, that is until I had to Say Goodbye to My Friend and Her Mom. Her Mom hugged My Mom telling her “Thank You for Everything” and I thought in My Head and I said Out Loud, “No, Thank You Guys!” because They taught Me what The Future is like a few years down The Road.

So, Let Me be Real with You for a Minute here. Being The Head of PTLS, The Ambassador of PTLS is a Very Great Honor! I get to help PTLS Members see that There is hope for The Future, which I have NO Problem with at All, In Fact I am honored that I am The Future for Your PTLS Child. So, The Question becomes, What is The Future look like for Me? Now, Yes, My Mom talks to other PTLS Members about How scary The Future is for Me (From Her View) and The Fact that We really don’t know much about The Future, and Yet, We are The Leaders, The Hope, The Ambassadors of PTLS. I personally didn’t, really realize The Thought of that until I saw and heard all that My Friend has Done (which is Similar to Me, which maybe why we got along so well) It makes me Teary-Eyed just writing this, It is that much a Deal to Me (well..and, My Mom). Most of The Time, I just listen to My Mom talk about it and, I think “Oh, what’s The Big Deal, Mom? I got it handled!” as well as The Fact that PTLS Members are in Tears after They meet me but, I have never really understood that until Now. Of Course, When I envision My Personal Future, I see Myself meeting My Soulmate, Bridgett and Eventually Marrying Her, Living Our Life Together and All associated both Up and Down; That is what I tell you and I do believe Wholeheartedly but, In Terms of Support for My Future, I don’t have many others to show me what Direction sort of like a “Here Christian, Christian, Christian” kind of showing, similar to How I help PTLS Members that are Younger than I am, There is Not Much Support. It makes me Sad and A bit lonely because I’m the Driver in The Dark with My Headlights on as High as They can go and I don’t have Anyone showing me what is Ahead, I just drive along with PTLS Members following behind and Hope to God that a Deer doesn’t jump in The Middle of The Road. That has happened before at The Lake House that I grew up going to, but that is Another Story for Another Time. Call it Being Overwhelmed (which I am a Bit after The Conference), Maybe being Tired, I don’t know, but that is How I feel about that. In All Honesty, I Love Supporting You PTLS Family Members, I don’t want you to feel Bad because of Not Supporting Me but, that is because You are on Your Own Journey, and Yes, Don’t Get Me Wrong, There are a Few PTLSers that are Older than I am, but Everyone has their own lives. and In My Friend’s Case, In Some Odd Way, She helped me and Showed Me that Yes, There is a Future out there for Me and Again, Yes, The Track that She is on, I don’t always agree with, but, I think Most of All it shows me that My Future that I am dreaming of, Is not just Dreams, It is a sort of Reality. I guess all I can say is that, It was all a Reverse Psychology. Normally, I help People and This Time, She helped me. Anyway guys, I really appreciate You Guys letting me be Real with You because I think it really helped me and In Turn, It will improve Myself to help you even better. All in all, It was a Great Conference! Okay, Scratch That! It was a Stunning, Brilliant (as They say in The UK) Conference. I truly Love All My PTLS Family!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Everyone has their own Track, Future, and Destiny to Follow. Sometimes, that is The Best Lesson to Learn. 

The Christianville Spirit: Michael Matters

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

June 24, 2015-TCS # 455

Hola, My Readers! I thought I would try a different greeting for You. Hola is Hello in Spanish, by the way. A Happy Birthday to My Dog, Zoe too! So, This Week I am going to talk about something that is a Bit Hard on Me and Something that I (as well as My Mom) have Many Viewpoints about. It involves a Big Change in Our Family that is likely to help us Grow as a Family. You See, I am sure My Veterans (My Term for those have been reading for a While or Since The Beginning) know that My Brother once moved into His Own Apartment and I thought THAT was a Big Deal, Mind You, the Apartment was like a few miles West of Our House. Okay, then Michael moved back home and then, later after High School, He moved to Denton. That One was surprisingly easy because I had been to Denton a few times before and it was a Pretty Nice City. Well, This Time, Michael is moving again. This Time though, Michael, My Brother is moving to Colorado. Yes, that is right, Guys. Colorado. And, This is getting to be pretty soon, like August 1st soon! So, Let’s start some Questions. Why is He moving to Colorado? Well, for Many Reasons, among them, He is Outgrowing The Dallas Area, There is nothing here for His, Let’s just say “Funky Art”. Secondly, He is moving because of The Adventure, namely the Mountains and Nature Abound, perfect for things like Rock Climbing, Camping, General Fun Stuff. In Other Words, I see that He is moving there to Have Fun. Now, This is The Point where I have Three Voices in My Head, One of Himself, one of PTLS Brother, Tyler and One of My Friend, Deb. Kind of reminds of that new movie, Inside Out, even though I have not seen it. My Brother’s Voice would say, “It’s Time to Grow Up, Don’t Be Scared and Just Do It!”; My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler would say “Have You been to Colorado? Then, Quit Bashing It!” (Why Yes, Voice of Tyler, I have been there and I Love It! Crested Butte, by the way) and Of Course, The Rational Level-Headed Voice of Deb says, “It is HIS Destiny” So, How do We feel about It? Well, That is where it gets a bit a Crazy. Now, Don’t Me Wrong, Colorado is Beautiful State, Stunning Even, Maybe an American Version of Switzerland! But, In My Head, looking at My Little Trusty Map of Family (both PTLS Family and Smith Family), There really isn’t much Family out there, or at least any that We are close to. I personally would rather Michael go East toward Family like North Carolina, Dahlonega maybe?, I would take The West’s Oregon if I had to because it has The Grant Family which are What I will refer to as The “West Coast Smiths” (Even though, They aren’t really Smiths). My Reasoning for that is because I want to be closer to Family. My Mom, of course, This whole deal is going to tear her up and All of us know It. My Mom also wants to be near Family, but at The Same Time, wants to be near Michael as well, You Know as Any Mother would. That and She would not want to Travel an Ungodly Amount of Miles or Hours, to see The Grandchildren that she wants to have and Honestly, I couldn’t imagine that! Also, The Fact of that He will be My Guardian in The Future, but I think that is another story for Another Time. My Biases aside, I feel that it is splitting us up and It is not Anyones Fault really. My Mom and I don’t see him as much, maybe Once or Twice a Week. I am led to believe that He is “breaking up” with Us so that He can grow and Spread his Wings a little. He needs it, after all. He has had Many Opportunities, too many to name and He has usually stayed here, Not Because of My Mom and I, but because of, to put it lightly a “Girl Force”. Now, He did have an Opportunity to go to College in Boston, but I believe that Might have been because of Us (He would have missed Us and Mommy’s Care-Packages!). But, To Be Fair, If He has to spread his wings and Leave Dallas, then Now would be a Good Time and a Bonus here! His Friends are backing him up with this One. So, like I said, He has to get out to Dallas, (Not that there anything wrong with Dallas!) and See that is more to America than The Suburbs of Dallas. A Secondary Note here as well, My Dad has moved to Arizona and He is pretty happy out there in the 100 Plus Degree Heat, Oh Boy! By The way, with all of this stuff about Michael moving to Colorado, He prefers Warm Places, He does not like The Snow. Hmm... That should be Interesting! But, Who knows, He may go there and stay a Short Time and then Move On. Maybe, it is a “much ado about Nothing”, or maybe My Mom and I are on Our Own Track for a While and Michael will come back to Family when He has had His Fill, You never know. I guess that Rational Voice of Deb might be right, “It is a Matter of Destiny!” All in all, We all have SOME Kind of Destiny to follow and Sometimes, It may or many not align with Someone Else’s Destiny. So, Somehow and Eventually, Destiny brings us all together. So, with that said, If Your Destiny is different (or The Same) than Mine, Michael, You will always be My Brother and I will always Love You!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. If You have a Good Destiny, Follow It!

The Christianville Spirit: PTLS and My Intuition

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

June 17, 2015-TCS # 454

Welcome Back, My Readers! I had a Quick Trip this Past Week and I enjoyed Myself, I’m Relaxed, and I’m Ready to Go! One Highlight was that I got to see a Waterspout (a Tornado on Water) hit Land. Only a few Toys went flying but, No Damage! It was Awesome to see! So, on to This Week’s Newsletter! What are we going to talk about This Week? How about something that Most People, until Now, didn’t realize about Their PTLS Child. So, as We all know The Human Body has 5 Senses; Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste, and Hearing. Anyway, There are a few people in The World that have a 6th Sense. I would prefer, however to call it, PTLS Intuition. Now, I know that Everyone has some type of Intuition in the context of knowing what is Right and Wrong, What You should or Should Not do, or Go Left instead of Right and vice versa. Us PTLSers have this, Plus “People Intuition” as well as Knowing things about People before We meet them. An Example, is something My Friend, Deb told me. You See, There is a PTLS Member that I refer to as “My Kristin” (Double Shoutout!). Anyway, “My Kristin” and Her Husband were sitting at Dinner with Diddy. Well, Diddy gets comfort by Kristin rubbing His Back. Well, while Kristin and Randy were talking, they heard Laughing and They turned to find Diddy hanging over the Back side of The Seat, rubbing a Woman’s back very gently, as if He knew (which He probably did) that The Woman sitting behind them needed a little Comforting Back Rub. and, Come On, I am sure that We would all accept a little back rub from a PTLS Child! They are Comforting, after all.

Another Example, was a PTLS Child who was driving with their Family to go visit their Grandma. Well, The Kid knew that for some reason, they needed to go visit her. Keep in Mind, that Said Parents did not tell the Child that something wasn’t right with Grandma and in the middle of The Way going to Grandma’s House, The PTLS Child said “Bye Grandma” and Then, They got the Call that “Grandma” has passed away, They were shocked that the PTLS Child knew before them. As for Me, I have a Good Sense about People, whether They need a Hug or Some Love and Attention. If My Mom or My Brother is feeling Sad, I can sense it and sometimes even just a “How was Your Day?” greeting will help them. Other Times, I give them Pep Talks and Hugs. In The Case of My Friend, Deb, I sensed things about Her before she even knew me or Rather before I knew her. I have helped her with Many Things, just being around Her, and Talking to Her. When I sense things about People, I tend to want to Help them or Gravitate to them, to Comfort them in My Own Version of How Diddy helped The Woman sitting Behind Kristin and Randy at a Restaurant. Let Me be Clear, We PTLSers move away from those who we sense are Angry or Mean. But, We will comfort those are Sad. It makes me wonder about My Own Life and Senses, as I mention a lot, I am looking for the Woman of My Dreams, Bridgett Lafleur. So, How do I know that it is Bridgett Lafleur that is Her? It makes me Wonder now, why the Name Bridgett? I mean, I “Purely” came up with Her Name and All Details associated, right. But, I wonder if Her Name could be Lauren; Celeste; Another Name, My Friend, PTLS Family Member, Kathy, tells me her name is Indi and She lives in Australia. But, Anyway, I am firmly believing that Her Name is Bridgett and She lives in Georgia, again It must be that PTLS Intuition. My Friends have always wondered why I would rather watch a Romantic Comedy over an Action Movie or Horror Movie, probably because of That Intuition, I can’t handle People (or Animals) in Distress because I feel the need to help them, if I can’t, then I feel helpless and It makes me Upset and Anxious for Them. Hum.. the Meaning of Life type of stuff, I am just realizing. Funny how that happens. Maybe it is My Friend’s Mom’s Life Energy (I refer to her as “Ma” or “Deb’s Ma”) getting in My Head again. I should mention that too, I communicate with God, The Universe, and as Theresa Cuputo from Long Island Medium says, “Spirit” (My Intuition) Very Well. Alot of The Things that I put into The Universe, like Carol Holiday (“My Dream Girl”) turned out to be Real (Refer to My Newsletters about that). So, I guess You can blame it all on The PTLS Intuition. So, If Your Child reaches out to hold a Hand, Rub Someone’s Back, or Give a Hug, They are doing it because They sense that They are Sad or Unhappy, and They needed it. So, I guess it leads me to say, Thank You God for Potocki-Lupski Syndrome! It may or may not be Easy, and Sometimes it is Not, but I would Never Give it up! All in all, It all depends on How You see things but, My View is Great!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Intuition is Important to Pay attention to, A Hug from a PTLSer is given for a Reason.

The Christianville Spirit: Me and My Stubbornness

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Sparkles

June 3, 2015-TCS # 453

Bonjour, My Readers! and A shoutout to My PTLS “Brother”, Hugo! Bonjour, by the way, is Hello in French. You Know, I always think that I have told you just about Everything about Me, but Sometimes, I forget those little things that seem silly to write about. But, In The Case of PTLS, I shall. Guys, I am stubborn! Yes, it takes a Man to admit that but, I am not the Only One who is Stubborn. In Fact, Most of us PTLSers are Stubborn. We PTLSers like to do things Our Own Way and Often, at Our Own Pace and that is Okay, but Sometimes We need a bit of a Push to do certain things. Things that are Simple to “Typical” People but, is a bit harder with Us. You See, I probably would not be as far along without My Mom pushing me to do things. Now, just so We are clear, There is Pushing (meaning; Come On, I know that You can do it) and then, Help You Through and Forcing (Meaning: You Are Going to Do This, Whether You Like It or Not!). So, We just need a Gentle Push. When I was Younger, My Mom pushed..Well, Let’s just use the Word “Encouraged”, it sounds better. My Mom encouraged me do a lot of things. Potty Training, One Day, My Mom frustratedly said, “Okay, Christian, You are going to Use the Potty because The Baby down the Street needs Your Diapers and You can not go in Your Pants”. Well, I looked at her funny, like I had No Clue what She was saying and then, Went to The Bathroom Successfully and Did not Pee in My Pants Ever Again. Except maybe Once, but I REALLY had to go at that time. My Mom told me that I had to eat without making a Mess, My Mom’s Friend, Steve told me that He was going to put me outside in The Rain (Jokingly) if I did not eat without making a Mess. And, I got a little upset and then, started eating cleanly without Any Scraps on The Table like I used to. Which shocked Everyone because They were Kidding, but My Literal Mind thought it was Serious. So, I made it a Rule to follow, not that I was afraid I was going to be put in The Rain each Time I ate, but Because I knew I was not supposed to make a Mess because It was My Rule. When I had to Tie My Shoes, I had My Mom do it for the longest time, because it was Easy and A Time Saver. So, One Day, We were leaving to go somewhere and Mr. Jeff told My Mom to go to The Car and He told me, “I’m going to Let You Tie Your Shoes, Take Your Time”. I, again got upset because We were in the middle of Leaving, Why couldn’t My Mom just do it and Off We go? “We’re going to be Late!” My Mom said and So I thought the Same Thing. But, I did it! While We are on The Topic of Shoes, One Episode of Mr. Jeff saying, “WHO GOT MUD ON THE CARPET?!” was Enough to Make Me take My Shoes off every time that I enter Someone’s House; I still do that to This Day. Now, My Mom did help me a lot with Sliding down a Slide. It was not that tall of a Slide, but in a Kid’s Mind, It was pretty tall! I tried turning around, Nope! Okay, Might as well Cry and Try to get out of It, Nope! I ended up enjoying The Slide after I went down it. After that, It turned into an Obsession and My Mom could not get me OFF The Slide, I Loved It that Much. Funny how that happens! Each Time that My Mom tried to get me to do something that I did not want to do, But it was good for Me, She would have have to Raise Her Voice, followed by Me getting Upset Crying and saying “You hurt My Heart!”, and Finally, I would get a Hug and then, I would do Said Thing. Also, I would do Said Thing and then, Hug Her. Even Today, that happens Every Now and Then, The Same Process and The Hug, only the saying now is “I’m Sorry Mom! I did not want to do XYZ! It just made me Feel Bad!” But, on The Other Hand, It does help me get past a Milestone. Of Course, There are Times when I pass it on My Own and My Mom is Extremely Proud of Me. Now, I am sure that for The PTLS Moms, It is hard to see your kid cry, but If The Reward at The End is worth it, than You must go through that process. Of Course, like I said before, If They truly do not want to do it, than Leave Them Be, but It might just be their Stubbornness. To Be Honest, It took a while for Me to get even This Newsletter on Routine because I was not used to writing so much and This is One of Those Times when I pushed Myself through it because I really liked it. So, I made My Own Routine. Mind You, that was Almost 10 Years ago when I was still in High School and It was a Good Way to keep me doing something after I was finished with High School, Today it just flows and I stick to My Routine, I make My Mom have to respect My Routine. I write This Newsletter Every Wednesday like Clock-Work. The Only Time I don’t is either because I am on Vacation (Company Vacation Time) or Something is Wrong with Me (Sick Time). All in all though, It took some Pushing in all the Progress that I have done and It is a Process too!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Don’t Let a Few Tears Stop your Children or You, from Your Goal.