The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Makes You Wonder
July 12th, 2017-TCS # 552
Howdy, My Readers! That is how Us Texans say Hello. Welcome Back as well! Now, We are back on a Normal Newsletter Writing Schedule. So, Question here. Where was I? I am sure that There were Some People that are used to My Every Wednesday Writings were wondering. 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 and I know, I said that Last Time We had a Conference but, I do mean it! Now, Okay, to Date, We have had 4 Conferences so far held in 2009, 2012, 2015, 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. Also, There was less People there this time around so It is a little Less Overwhelming, But My Mom was able to plan time for families to have Alone sessions with some of the Doctors, And More time to ask questions. On Top of that, Apparently, The Hotel was doing Final Renovating Construction and They were doing The Escalators while We were there, so It got Loud a few Times from The Construction. So, In a Way, It was Good that We did not have as Many People. The Kids had some Really fun activities, Arts and Crafts and Food! But For me, It was fun to have others who Are older Teens and Adults to talk With. Call It a New Fascination, but It amazes me just how Far People come for The PTLS Conference and Rightfully so! They want to find out about Information about PTLS, that They have either Never Learned before or Want or Need to Hear it again. PTLS Family Members came from The United Kingdom, Therapists from Norway, and Most Fascinating and Farthest Away, New Zealand. Yes, You read that, Right. A PTLS Family Member came all the way from New Zealand! Last Time it was a Family from Australia! Thank You for Coming, if You are reading this. This Conference was also special because My PTLS “Brother”, Tyler came This Year. He was going to come Last Conference but, Could not. But, that is Okay. I was glad to hang out with Him. It was Tyler and I, plus another PTLSer that was near Our Age, Harry from Kansas. The Only other PTLSer that was nearest to Our Age was McKenna from California. One of The Older Women, Stacy, could not come This Year due to a Family Emergency. I was a little disappointed about that.
Of Course, We can’t forget to Mention The Number 1 Fan of PTLS, Faith (not to be confused with My Newsletter Number 1 Fan), It felt Very Weird without Faith there, But she watched over us from Heaven. It will Never be The Same. We dedicate The Conference in Her Memory!
But, We did have a Great Conference! This Time, We drove down on The Fourth of July to set up and Met The PTLS Members, as well as a Very Nice PTLS Family Member from Connecticut that We went to a Cool Italian Place with for Dinner (It was a Quaint Restaurant built in a House) and Watched The Fireworks with. It was Pretty Awesome that I got to not only See Fireworks in Another City but, I also got to Watch Them with PTLS Family Members, Laura and Family and more who joined us after dinner! Talk about a Highlight for The Year! Now, Yes, The Fireworks themselves were Okay compared to Chicago or New York respectively, but It did not matter to Me.
The Next Day, My Mom and I greeted PTLS Family Members including Tyler and My PTLS “Little Sister” McKenna, who was as Excited to meet me, as I was to Meet Her. We bonded Instantly! I took a Long Walk with a PTLS Member for The UK and Had a Nice Chat about Everything.
After a while of Greeting, I started to get a little Overwhelmed and SueVa and Marvin (The PTLS Members I went on a Cruise with) asked if I wanted to go get a Late Lunch. I thought that There was a Thai Place down the way from The Hotel. Eventually, after some convincing Tyler and I with SueVa and Marvin went off to find Thai Food. When We found it, It was in a Cafeteria and It was Closed. So, We went to another Cafeteria and Ate There. I actually tried Crunchy Crab Sushi. Yes, Marvin’s “Rare Finds” Zen (Refer to “Cruise of a Lifetime” Newsletter) rubbed off on Me! After that, We walked back to Hotel. That Evening, We had a Packet Pick-up and Reception for Everyone coming in.
On Conference Day, Tyler, Harry, and I helped “Man The Table” and made sure Everything was going okay. We wanted to have McKenna sit with Us, but She went into The Childcare Room for a while to do some arts and crafts. But, She did do Something that I was very proud of Her for. You See, for The Second Time, I actually spoke publicly. Yes, I actually spoke at The Conference. Midway through My Speech, I thought It would be a Good Idea to let My PTLSer Friends speak for a Second. But, I got Harry and McKenna to do it. McKenna was Nice enough to come up and speak for a Minute or two. I am Very Proud of Her and She Spoke Very Clearly. No problems with her speech. During My Talk, I had a Few People in Tears while I finished and I was really honored when Dr. Lupski referenced Me and things I said in My Talk during His Talk.
Then, I went back to The Table to do My Job. It was actually fun to sit there and Hang Out with My PTLS Friends. It was Quiet (Except the occasional Construction Noise), but not too Quiet, It was either too Quiet in The Conference Room or Too Noisy in The Childcare Room (which McKenna learned The Hard Way). Before The Conference Day was Over, Us PTLS Guys had some Male Bonding Time while on Errands to help get ready for The Dinner that We were going to have. We passed The Stadium where The Super Bowl was played and Tyler was Fascinated by it! We stopped and took a few pictures before getting back to The Hotel. After that, We went to The Dinner for All The People from The Conference.
The Next Day was The Break-Out Sessions, This Day, We had McKenna join us in Manning The Table. I will Tell You, McKenna is like a Mini-Me, not in Looks Wise, but The Things that She says. She only got The Diagnosis a Year and a half ago, and She embraces it like She knew She had it Her Whole Life and Truth be told, She did. As She will tell you, “Just treat me like a Normal Person” (Boy, that sounds like Me Because I say that all the Time) and That She was Happy when She was told that She had PTLS, like It was The Biggest Relief. Yes! That is what I Like to Say! By The Way, McKenna also confirms that Yes, Us PTLSers get Very Overwhelming if Their Family takes them to Disney World. YES!! We All agreed to That One!
After a Little bit of Rest on Everyone’s Part. There were Less People than the last conference, which was good, but still Very Overwhelming for Us PTLSers!
That Night, I talked with both McKenna’s Family and The PTLS Members from New Zealand. The Best of Both Worlds! That was when I learned that McKenna’s Grandma likes Geography as well as Her. Best of all though, I feel that It inspired everyone just watching the two if us talk and laugh. The Next Day, It was The End of The Conference and We drove Home. Many People told Me or My Mom how much it Helped Them. My Mom and I are Humbled by the Nice Things People said about Us. Oh! and Dr. Lupski made sure mention My Newsletter and Make Sure His Picture is in it! So, A shout out to Dr. Lupski! But, The Fun did not stop there, because My Mom and I continued The Fun with McKenna and Family in Fort Worth. All in all, I hope Everyone who came to The Conference learned what They needed and Had a Great Time!
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Like I said in My Talk, “Don’t Limit us! There is so much that We can do! Just because We had a Diagnosis, that Not who We are! Treat us like Normal!”
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