The Christianville Spirit: My Love for Writing

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

July 31, 2013-TCS # 362

So, Writing. It is something that We humans do Every Day. We write everything, like What the tip is on the bill at a Restaurant; If your a Parent when Your Child is Sick, A Doctor’s Note; Even unconventional things, like a Facebook Post (that can be either really smart or thought provoking to something really stupid) and, It can be written in Different Languages like Swedish or a harder language like Chinese. The Truth is that I Love Writing because My Thoughts, Feelings, and Genius Ideas come out with such flow as I write. I say that because I can say more thought-provoking things in Writing then, I could in talking in words. The things that I don’t like about Writing is My Mind goes faster than My Fingers are typing the words. Plus, The Words, Themselves. Being So Literal, I am generally a very good speller but sometimes, I write the words how I think they should be spelled. But, really it is spelled differently. One that I have trouble with is the word, Miracle. I like to spell it “Meracle.” Anyway, I however owe a lot to My Elementary School Teachers, Mrs. James and Mrs. Bachman (who was One of My Favorite Teachers). Mrs. James played a big role in helping me get my thoughts into words because Again, My Mind would go faster than My Little Hand could Write. So, she came up a with Genius Idea, to ask me about My Weekend and I would dictate to her what I did that Weekend. My Mom likes to say that, what came out of those dictated writings was some really surprising stuff. Each Week, she would ask me “What did you do This Weekend?” and I would tell her everything I did. Now, Mrs. Bachman played a Big Roll too in My Writing. She would encourage me to Read State Books and Dictate My Words, which became really great stories. One Time My Mom and The Librarian noticed that I had a pattern where I would read books about US States and I would do them in order of where I was traveling to. I would make circles across the US Map as I was going from State to State. The Highlight that Mrs. Bachman taught me was something called “Multiplication Rhymes” and “Touch Math.” My Favorites were “6 x 4 walked through The Door, It was Number 24”, “ 8 x 8 landed on the floor, laid there till‘ 1964” and “9 x 3 floated up to Heaven, landed on Cloud 27” and then, “Touch Math” helped me the most at Math and I still use it today. So, I thank these two teachers because they taught me many things and because they accepted me for who I am. As a Result of Them, I really enjoy writing and I have been writing This Newsletter every week for 8 Years (since 2006). All in all, I’m always looking for different topics so, send in your suggestions!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Thank The Teachers that You had (or Have) because They might help you be the person You are Today!  

The Christianville Spirit: My Schedule and Welcome to It

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

July 24, 2013-TCS # 361

So, Do You Remember when I did the “My Readers Choice” Newsletter? Well, In The Comments of The Poll I did, My PTLS “Aunt” Joey, Who I love so Much! made a request newsletter for Me to do. She said that She would love to know what “A Day in the Life of Christian” is like. As in, what is it like to be Me from Getting Up to Going to Sleep. So, that is what I’m going to do. Now, I do have to tell you that This is Incredibly Honest of Me to share this with You so, All I is ask is Not to Judge Me. So, Moving On. Most of the time, Except on Weekends, Holidays, or When we have Specific things to do, I get up at 2:45PM, which is part of my OCD Like mind because it is No sooner and No later than this time. Now, I know that sounds crazy to you 9-to-5ers, but it is My Routine. Now, For My PTLS Family Members, It wasn’t always 2:45 in the afternoon at first. It started when I was in Senior High School and I used to sleep in till exactly Noon. People thought I was crazy getting up that late.  After Graduation, Communication with My Friends started to die down because they were moving on, or moving away and getting out of High School. So, It gradually moved to 12:30, then to 1, 2, and now 2:45.  Now, Before I continue on about My Usual Day, If I got a 9 to 5 Job or any other circumstances, I can adapt My Schedule in that case, But I will tell you that it worked well when I worked late evenings at the Frisco Roughriders Baseball Field (AA baseball team). This Schedule works also because I can talk to PTLS Family Members and Friends All Over The World, including the Late-Nighters in The US (And, There are quite a few out there!). After I get up, Feed The Dogs, and Eat Lunch which is usually a PB & J sandwich and a Yogurt, I then turn on CNN, Watch The News, Check the end of the day Stock Market Stats, Grooming Myself, House Chores, or Go do something with My Brother until around 5 when My Mom gets Home. This is about to change! It is beneficial to both My Mom and I because she doesn’t have to worry about Where I am and it is beneficial to Me because It helps with My Independence, being by Myself. On My Newsletter Day, After I Eat Lunch, I start Writing This Newsletter until My Mom gets home to help me edit it, which I don’t allow her to do anything more than Read It. When My Mom gets home, then we get ready for Dinner (which is either at home or sometimes we go out to Eat). After Dinner, My Mom and I settle in for some Quality Time. Sometimes, I watch TV Shows or Do My Wii Fit Activities. Because of My OCD, I always make sure that the remotes are next to Me because I like to have control of the remote. There is only a few good days that we take walks in the Evening because It is way too Hot and No Scenery (Besides Houses) to look at. Don’t Get Me Wrong, I love being Outside, but Where I live, there is Nothing to look at except for Home. Now, going bowling sometimes, that is Cool! After we watch the 10’ o Clock News, My Mom goes to bed and I hop on My Computer. I like to believe that, after 10 is My Social Time, It is when I go through the Daily Check List of things to do which are Check Facebook, Listen to Glenn Beck (I occasionally “Cam” with My Friends like My PTLS “Brother” Tyler, sometimes), and Watch the people I’m subscribed to on YouTube. After that, Is more of a “Free Time.” On Wednesday, I do all that check list early so, that I have a Weekly Movie Night. During My “Free Time”, I love to get on Google Street View and Cyber-Travel around The World (or The Country) which ever Area that I am in the mood to go to. Either Way, I find lots of information to share with My Mom when I go to say Good Night to Her at 2 am. I’m amazed that she learns these things when she is half asleep. Finally, My Day ends and I am Ready to go to Bed at 2 am (Another Crazy Hour!) And, that is the End of My Day. Now, as I mentioned above about The Weekends, I go to Bed at 1 am just in case, My Mom decides to get me up early to get me out of The House. On The Weekends, My Mom and I go on our “Drives” and “Excursions” around the area that are either Short or Go for Hours. And, Sometimes, We go hang out with Friends. I do make sure to wake up early on Sunday because We usually have Breakfast together that day. Now, to assure to Everyone, I am sure this schedule won’t be forever, as Life changes it’s course like A Job or Going to School. Who knows though, I may flip to extremes of getting up for a “Nature Walk” at 5 am! All in all, Schedules and Itineraries Changes as Life Changes. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Everyone has a Different Schedule in Their Life, They Change Often. 

So, You Asked, Aunt Joey, so I am coming to Your House so, You can experience this first hand!    

The Christianville Spirit: A Lesson about Overstimulation

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

June 17, 2013-TCS # 360

So, Last Week, Over 3 Days (including Newsletter Day), I had quite an Adventure. You See, I got News the Week before of My Dad coming to town for a couple days to Vacation at Great Wolf Lodge with Everyone, meaning Laura (Dad’s Girlfriend) who I should mention that I have not seen in 8 Years, My Half-Brother Taylor who, I last saw, again, 8 Years Ago, and My Dad. So, those who are wondering, I stopped going to visit them in San Antonio 8 Years Ago for My Own Reasons. But, Anyway, My Dad decided that it would cool to Vacation up here in Dallas, considering it was easier for everyone. I wasn’t that excited but, I figured that it would be something to do and to get out of The House for a while. Now, on Great Wolf Lodge (They are a Respectable Hotel, By The Way), I have only been there one time and that was to check it out because it was new. Little did I know, both the First Time I walked through it, when My Mom and I went for one of our drives or This Time, it is Very Big, Very Noisy, and Very Overstimulating. I should mention as a Note that this is a Kids Haven. I remembered it but, also haven’t done the whole experience because it is so Over-stimulating! So, I finally got up the nerve to go there and it wasn’t easy for Me. When we got there, We met them at the Big Inside Waterpark, I’m told that it is the Largest One in The Great Wolf Line. This place was Awesome though! I mean, Yea, It was REALLY Loud (and, it was something I had to deal with later, which took Days to Recover) and Alot of Kids Running Everywhere. We figured that we start with Some of The Famous Slides. First Up was the “Howlin‘ Tornado”, which I had never been on one of those types of Rides. First, You get on this Four-Seated Tube and Start Going; Next, it turns pitch-black and then, you see a big drop; The Big Drop comes and go into this See-Saw like Ride and then, it takes you down the tunnel and Out. The Next Ride is what we all affectionately called “The Toilet Bowl” which was you got into a two-person tube (or one person tube) and went down the slide into a “Toilet Bowl” and then, went around several times. If You were lucky enough, you go down the slide after The “Toilet Bowl” section backwards. After That, we jumped between The Indoor and Outdoor Pools and went on “The Tornado” and “Toilet Bowl” several times. Out of all those rides, I believe the “Toilet Bowl” was My Favorite. Anyway, After we got showered up and Ate Dinner (which was late all 3 Nights), It was time for a game that probably was the most Over-Stimulating called Magiquest (Pronounced “Mag-I-Quest” as I was corrected many times!) Anyway, This Game of Magiquest required you to buy a Wand and Quest, which was $64, just for reference. And, You wave the wand at certain objects on all 8 Floors of The Hotel and they speak to you or make some kind of Noise. They have a good exercise program for The Kids being that You have to go up and down the Stairwell along the Quest. They named all the floors based on what is on it or just a Creative Name. By The Way, If You go on the elevator with the wand on, You lose Points. Luckily with all the kids running around, They have a thing called “Hibernation Hours” which were from 11:00PM to 7:30AM, and anyone under 18 couldn’t wander the halls without an Adult. But, Those “Hibernation Hours” helped because The Parents don’t have to worry about their kids being up all night. On the 2nd Day, We went on a “Local Excursion”, First we saw My Brother’s Mural that He and his team of Artists did which I am Extremely Proud of Him for, at His University. After we had Lunch at The University; We drove to The Gaylord Texan, which is always My Favorite Place to show visitors who come to Dallas because it too is really big, but a Texas-Sized-But-Not-Overwhelming-Big like The Great Wolf. For Reference, The Gaylord Texan is more for Adults while Great Wolf is for Families with Little Kids. It is also the Texas Version of The Gaylord Hotel Chain. Anyway, After That, My Brother and Taylor wanted to go Rock Climbing, so it was that next. Now, I’ll tell you I have never seen My Brother rock-climb before This Vacation, But I’ll tell you My Brother, Michael is a Fast and Very Skilled Rock-climber but, then again, he was been doing it for quite sometime and He does really awesome at it. So, When climbing walls, it is important to take the job of “Spotter” seriously, so the climber gets up and down the wall safely, unfortunately, this time, the person that was spotting Michael, lost her grip and Michael fell 12 Feet. It is very scary for all of us watching and it really distressed me. Luckily, My Brother is Okay but, he is just stiff and sore. The Time that I noticed that I was Over-Stimulated the most and couldn’t process was whenever we were on The 1st Floor named “The Waterpark Level” or as I referred to it, as “The Activity Level”. Just to Name things that were on the “Activity Level” was The Dragon’s Lair for MagiQuest (which was interesting to watch), An Arcade, A Kids Spa, Food/Snack Place, The Magiquest Shop, Laser Frenzy/XD Motion Theater, and Of Course, The Waterpark. My only Favorite part of that Floor was Ice Cream made by a Robot called “RoboFusion” which I had to Have. Talk about A lot of Stimulation! You could walk down the hallway of “The Activity Level” and see at least 10 Kids having Meltdowns, there was that much! So, It was a fun Vacation, but Way Too Overstimulating for Me! I know I will never go back, I’d rather have The Peaceful Gaylord Texan Personally. Though, Not that I want Kids, but If I had kids of My Own, I would not take them there, but that is just me. After I got home and Life started to finally catch up with Me, I just lost it because I was so overstimulated and My Mind was still processing, What On Earth just happened? I needed to hear a soft song and My Choice was The New Zealand National Anthem. Plus, Lack of Routine or Predictability, Seeing Laura & Taylor for the first time in 8 Years, and Out of My Comfort Zone really did not help at all. All in all, trying to trying the Good in Everything, My Mind shut down and I saw it as Fun but, I didn’t like the meltdown and readjustment after. This is something that I reflect back on for the PTLS Conference 2012 when It was getting overstimulating me and one of the older PTLSers, We left the Lunch Table to find a Quiet Place to Calm Our Minds. Yes, A Lesson Learned about the Limits of What I can and can’t handle. Let me just say that It annoys and makes me sad that My Brain gives me these limits on Sensory Issues going in Me. It makes me feel Excluded, like I can’t do things that Everyone Else because of My Processing. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. As much as the following saying Annoys Me; for the love of goodness, “Know Your Own Limitations”

The Christianville Spirit: My Thoughts on Bullying

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

July 10, 2013-TCS # 359

So, This Week’s Newsletter is going to get a little Personal, about Something that concerns us all. It is known as Bullying. As hard as it is to say, You can’t go through Life without being Bullied and You have gone through without it, then You are very lucky. Now, I say that, “Concerns Us All” because it concerns not only PTLS Family Members but, also even the rest of us. For Those PTLS Family Members, I don’t mean to scare you in any way, I just want you to know what could be ahead (and, hopefully, it won’t be). As for Me, I was bullied in 5th Grade by a few kids in My Class. One Day, I was just sitting there and then, they started throwing Spitballs at Me. Considering that I had Texture Issues, I didn’t like the feel of the Spit Balls (I mean Who doesn’t). Anyway, It continued day after day while annoying me increasingly. After I told My Mom and My Brother about it, Our Childhood Meredith asked My Mom what would the risk be if she beat them up. My Mom told her what the consequence was and Meredith said, “Okay!” Talk about Support! I remember one day My Mom came to School to have lunch with me and they started throwing spitballs at me and eventually, I broke down and cried; My Mom on the other hand, She literally jumped out of the chair and flew over to those kids. Nearing 5th Grade Graduation, My Mom had a Genius Idea. She went to The Principal and they set up where The Kids that were nice to me (including Meredith) awards, to give the other kids a lesson in how to treat others. It would really help when Kids would ask My Mom about Me because I talked funny or acted less-than My Age (which is common in PTLSers anyway) and she would explain to them that I learned differently and Talked Differently but that was I was Unique, I had something called Dup.17p11.2 or A Duplication of Chromosome 17 (This was before Potocki-Lupski Syndrome was named). By The Way, I think I need to mention about the “Half-Age” thing. It generally said that us PTLSers in the way of age-appropriate behaviors, we are Half Our Age. However, there are times when we are more than our age, for me that is when it is about Geography and When I am Writing. I like to think of it more like this.. When I’m around Kids because there are No Adults to talk to or The Kids Stuff seems more fun, than I act less my age because I am imitating them. However, If I am around Adults (by Adults, I mean above 30), then I act more of My Age or sometimes even above it. So, I’m sure you are asking, “Was School Hard for You?(In The Way of Bullying)” It wasn’t that hard, the 5th Grade was the only time that I had bullies. As For My Advice about it, first thing to do would be to ignore it because they want a reaction out of you. If there are No Reactions, They will not Bully (do tell someone like Parents, Teacher, or Person of Authority); If it continues then, You tell them to Stop; if they don’t then You move toward The Principal (or Someone of Higher Authority). Of Course, On the rare occasion that the bully is an adult, then Kill Them with Kindness. A Big Way of Bullying to Me is Hurtful Words, They hurt me the most. It doesn't matter what Hurtful Word that they say, even if they are joking (which usually they are) it hurts me very deeply and it is something that I never forget. All in all, I conquered having a bully and I know that Other PTLSers can too.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Whether you have a Bully or You are a Bully, Stop Them!

The Christianville Spirit: Thank You to All My Readers

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

July 3, 2013-TCS # 358

So, The Other Day, I came to a Realization about something. I know that what I’m about to tell you is True, but Sometimes I forget about something important. You See, I have been writing this Newsletter, The Christianville Spirit for a Long Time, 7.5 Years to be Exact. For those that have followed and known me, I have written Newsletter since October of 2006. It started out as an Email to Friends & Family, that had just readers that were close to Me, and I should mention that this was not public. So, once I decided to take a shot at the “Public Realm.” I had to do a few Trial Runs on what site to publish on. I finally settled on Blogger (www.thechristianvillespirit.blogspot.com), the place where I post them now. After 7 Years of Writing, I have added quite a Loyal following of readers. My Mom tells me that I have at least a Thousand Readers but, there is something about the number of readers that I forget..or Really didn’t think was a Big Deal. On My Newsletter, You can comment on My Newsletter and I have gotten many comments on what I term, “The Gold Ones”, which means that it is a Heart-Tugging, Touching, and Inspirational Newsletter. The Thing that I didn’t think was a Big Deal was that I actually should have responded back, Thanking Them for Commenting and Reading This Newsletter, because I Really appreciate them. I noticed this realization when I was reading though all the comments that I had gotten since I started posting on Blogger. For The Record, I have written this newsletter Every Wednesday Religiously (with some exceptions for a few of them) since October of 2007. 1 year later, October 2007, by the way, is when I started posting on Blogger. I have had many comments that stand out like the First Comment that I have in My Record of Comments was from My Grandpa “Popi”, which I didn’t realize at the time, but it was the first and last time that he would comment on My Newsletter Site in His Life. I personally, would count it as the last important thing that he said to me, Regardless of whether it was or not, because he past away 6 months later. One Person left a really nice Comment to My 300th Newsletter and The Launch of My “I Believe In Love” Campaign. So, with that all said, I want to do something I hadn’t done. The moment that You commented, I didn’t respond like I should have. So this goes for anyone who has commented on My Newsletter in The Past and The Future. I want to Thank all of You, from the bottom of My Heart! I Appreciate You taking the time to Read My Newsletter, whether it interests you or not, and Yes, Even taking time to comment on My Newsletter Site. Please Know also that Every Comment does not go unread or ignored, I read them all and I appreciate you for it! For Those who don’t choose to Comment and Just Read My Newsletter, I appreciate that too. And Yes, for those of you that are annoyed by or dislike this newsletter, I Love You Guys too! I thank you all for taking the time out of your busy (or boring) life to come and read my newsletter, and share it with your friends, family, and work place. All in all, I love all My Readers and I thank all of them!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. From The Bottom of My Heart, Thank You! I truly mean that!

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