The Christianville Spirit: My Birthday in Atlanta

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

August 29, 2012-TCS # 314

Hello Again, Everyone! I’m sorry I had such late notice with whether my newsletter was going to be released or not. But, I’m sure some of you, though, were sitting at your computer desk last week at Work or at Home, thinking; “Where’s Christian’s Newsletter?”. Well, to tell you the truth, it was up in the air whether I was going to write it or not. But, here’s my reason why. So, we decided to continue the “Having Christian’s Birthday in Atlanta” tradition only a bit more smaller than last time we had it. So, it started with all of us, including My Brother this time, driving to Atlanta last Friday. Now, keep in mind that it’s been a long time since My Brother has come with us to Atlanta, due to his busy life. I have to tell you, it was awesome having My Brother come along. So, on Saturday Morning, we went to breakfast with a couple PTLS Family Members, a more spur of the moment thing, not anything planned like last time. We got to hang out with 4 Families, 1 of which we hadn’t met before that was from around Atlanta and it was very wonderful to meet them. After Breakfast, My PTLS Aunt Christina had a friend that lived in Atlanta and said that we could go swimming and have a mini-party there. After I met the friends, as I walked in, I heard excited screaming coming my Grandma Honey, she had what I call one of her many “Serendipitous Meetings” where a person you’ve never met, has a connection with someone that you do know. It turned out that the friend is one of Grandma honey’s grandchildren’s teacher and she knows the family. Anyway, we had a really great time with these wonderful PTLS families. The kids really loved playing in the pool with my brother. They had the most awesome yard, with tons of tall trees including two on either side of the driveway that were really close. Anyway, they had their house, a pool, a playground, and even a Tennis court. They had some nice shrubbery in their backyard along with all the tall trees of Georgia. Tall Trees are one of my favorite parts of coming to Atlanta because there are so many tall trees that you don’t even know that your in a Major Metro Area. Anyway, that night we went over to My Uncle Bruce’s House and had dinner. We also got to see my Aunt Carolee’s shop that was really cool. And best of all, my cousin Gram and I got to spend a lot of fun time together. We walked through the downtown of Norcross, played at the park, climbed in the tree house, and played the piano together. On Sunday, all of us including Uncle Brian and Uncle Bruce got to watch My Brother skate at one of the skate parks nearby. On Monday, all of us (My Mom, My Brother, Grandma Honey, and I) drove up to a town called Dahlonega, which is a really awesome small town in the mountains. We were originally going up there to eat at this place called “The Smith House” but it turned out that it was closed on Monday. But that was okay because we found a nice place to go instead. Before Lunch, we walked into this pottery shop with a guy that’s been there for almost 37 Years doing his passion of Pottery, and he does pretty good work at it. Of course, after lunch I found a shirt called “The Georgia Red Clay Shirt” that was made from famous Georgia Red Clay. On Tuesday, my brother and my uncle had an awesome tour and meeting at Turner Broadcasting, where Michael and the guy hit it off. He may have a potential job there, that would be awesome! Them we had to take My Brother to the airport to get him home because he had to work. After dropping Michael off, being the Geography lover I am, I couldn’t go without checking out the new International Terminal at the Atlanta Airport, of course this didn’t go without confusing Grandma Honey about how to get there. On Tuesday night, we all separated to where My Mom and Grandma Honey went out on a mother/daughter dinner, while I went to dinner on an “Uncle’s Night” with My Uncle Bruce. On Wednesday (Newsletter Day), My Mom and Grandma Honey went to go pick my new Aunt Kellie(Uncle Craig’s Wife) from the airport and when she got back the Grandma Honey’s House, we hung out with her for a while and then, Kellie and I got pedicures while My Mom got a manicure. By The Way, I do love to get Pedicures, it’s very relaxing and I love when my feet are rubbed and are soft and clean. You guys do not know what you are missing if you don’t try a pedicure. You don’t get nail polish! On Wednesday Night was the main event, a birthday party for me with Family and it was really awesome & special because My Mom and all 4 of her brothers where all together for the first time in a year. We had the most awesome dinner that night, we had really good BBQ and wait for it...Ultra Fattening “Georgia Mac n‘ Cheese.” By the way, the idea came from watching Dr. Oz surprise people to change their fattening meals to more healthier ones. Now, here’s a Cultural Note for you, Georgia is the only state of The US in which “Mac n‘ Cheese” is considered a vegetable. In case, you are wondering though, what “Georgia Mac n‘ Cheese” is, it’s Mac n‘ Cheese, smothered in cheese sauce. Anyway, on Thursday while My Mom was in a meeting, Grandma Honey and I went for a drive to one of my Favorite Neighborhoods in one of my Favorite Georgia Cities, John’s Creek. Of Course, I got to teach Grandma Honey about all the different road signs, the sounds of the road, and she taught me about “Sunday Drives” from when she was a kid. Friday was kind of a “lazy day” for me, I slept in, I had the left over “Georgia Mac n‘ Cheese” and, I talked to My PTLS Sister on Skype and spent a wonderful time with Ms. Libby (who is my G-Honey’s neighbor and ex-wife of a famous football player). I love talking with Ms. Libby! We share our knowledge, and she knows a lot! On Friday Night, though, we had a dinner celebration at Uncle Bruce’s House for what My Cousin Gram called “Christian’s Last Night in Atlanta.” And finally, My Mom and I drove home on Saturday Morning. But, a lot of good came from this trip, being with Family (which is always a plus), My Mom got to help out and advocate at the school for a PTLS family, meet new PTLS Members, and having a great “once in a life time” meeting for my brother. All in all, I love being around Family, I love all the Tall Trees, and there are Plenty of PTLS Members around.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Family is more important than anything, even if that family is not blood!         

The Christianville Spirit: My 25th Birthday

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

August 15, 2012-TCS # 313

So, As most of you know, Last Week was what I call, “My Birthday Week” or the week of My Birthday. You See, My Mom and our friend, Max always say, “It’s more fun if you celebrate the entire month or the week of, not just one day” So, that’s what we did, we celebrated the whole week. So, on Tuesday, I got celebrate with a dinner with a family friend at a place that we like to go to eat. Thursday was the most awesome day because, I hung out with My Brother and 2 of his & my friends, Spencer and Zach to go to this indoor trampoline place called “Jump-street.” I came up with the idea, when passing one on the way to Mockingbird Station (as mentioned, Last Week) and I thought, “Am I too old to have a party at a Trampoline Place?”, because in my mind, I thought only kids have parties at places like that, kind of like those Bounce House party places, but, not true. Believe it or not, at Jump-street, they actually have Corporate Events there. So, maybe work for a company that brings you to a trampoline place every 3rd Friday, now that would be fun. Anyway, My Brother, Spencer, Zack, and I spend that evening jumping on those trampolines. It brought back all the memories of jumping on the trampoline when I was young. but, I’ll say though, that jumping like that, wears out on you really quickly; so, My Advice is to take it slow if your around my age or an adult age. As far as Kids go, they were all over the place, jumping non-stop and full of energy. Although, the kids had their own area to play and jump in. Of Course, at this place, their where dozens of different trampolines; ones that were Wavy, ones that were Flat and angled the end of it on the wall. Not only that, but also they had 2 Trampoline Dodgeball Courts, one for younger kids and the other for adults and teens. I think between the wavy trampoline and the dodgeball, I think Dodgeball might have been My Brother’s favorite. Also, though, they had an inverted slide(where you slide down, it becomes flat, and it goes back up) and a foam pit to jump into. I liked the wavy trampoline and the slide the most. So, after going to the trampoline place, we went out to Dinner and hung out. On the day of My Birthday was packed full of events and some unexpected events. So, it started with a Drive I wanted to take, It was from a AAA Trip Book that one of the PTLS Members gave me at the conference (Thank you, Samples!) It told me that, “World’s Largest Peanut” was in a town, an hour and 30 Minutes north of Plano called Durant. so, that was what we went to go see. Now, I thought that it was going to be larger-than-life, kind of like “The World’s Largest Chair” in Thomasville, North Carolina. But, it turned out to be a 3 Foot Peanut on top of a statue and plaque. So, that was a learning experience, make sure you know what it looks like or have an idea where it is, before you drive that far for it. We had a good laugh at it though. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of luck with “Road Nerd” Attractions (my term for those roadside attractions) like the Giant Peachoid in Gaffney, South Carolina or the chair in North Carolina. Anyway, after we drove up there, on the way back we stopped at a peanut store which had all sorts of things peanut and then, we saw a Giant Head statue of US President Eisenhower in Denison, Texas; who the American Interstate Highway System is named after. After the drive, we had dinner at an Italian Place (which I love Italian) with my Aunt Kathy and a couple of our friends as well. the Final event and most unexpected, was when we went over to our Neighbor’s House, Woody & Robyn to hang out with them; and, My Mom and I thought that it would just us, Woody & Robyn, and the neighbors next to them. However, it turned out to be a little surprise party for Me because when I came in, I saw one of the neighbors down the street and I thought it was going to be a couple of us, little did I know, our whole clan of neighbors joined us. But, it was really awesome and Thank You to Woody & Robyn for throwing that party for Me. So, I’ll end with us, You know how I told you about the 11 and 2 Confirmation. Well, My new thought is at because I was born the 11th of August, that’s a confirmation..that I’m a gift not only to being myself to so many other people out there, around the world or in the same state and, even people, I’ve never met yet. All in all, though, I had the most excellent birthday week last week and I was happy to share it with You.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit, Cherish The Gifts that you have, you give, and you get; meant both Literally and Figuratively.              

The Christianville Spirit: A Ride on a Train

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

August 8, 2012-TCS # 312

So, nearly every weekend, My Mom and I like to go on Drives or do some kind of adventure, like ride a train. You See, going on Drives is one of my favorite things to do because I love to see new road signs, new roads, new neighborhoods, or just a scenic drive somewhere. So, what My Mom and I did this past weekend is no surprise. So, the Light Rail System here in Dallas is called DART, by the way DART means, Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Anyway, DART has recently come up with a new line called the “Orange Line.” The “Orange Line”, only in peak hours of the week, goes from Parker Road in Plano to Irving Convention Center (which is on the West side of Dallas, toward the Airport), however during non-peak hours it starts at LBJ(Lyndon B. Johnson) Freeway, known locally as LBJ or 635 and goes to the same place. Anyway, so My Mom and I drove down to Mockingbird Station instead to pick up the Orange Line and rode all the way to Irving. It is really fun for me to ride this train and many others, I love it because you get to see what places look like and to see the ongoings of where you are. I love looking at the street lights and signs to see where you are and what they look like (the font used, the appearance, the style that particular city uses, and what color they used) and, so you can see where you are on a map. Sometimes, it’s interesting to watch the people and to see who’s coming and going. The DART Orange Line though, hasn’t been the only line I’ve ridden on. I also rode the Red Line many times before and at one time, My Mom and I rode it all the way up and all the way down, from Parker Road to Westmoreland (which is on the South side of Dallas). Anyway, back to the Orange Line, it’s a well-known line, or at least it’s going to be, because in the near-future it’s going to go all the way to DFW Airport. The reason is because, as I told My Mom, “It would be a nice tour of the city” because along it passes by a lot of the places people want to see in Dallas. So, I’ll give you a tour, it runs though Las Colinas (where you can see the running cattle and longhorns statues) after that, you run past what was Texas Stadium and have a wonderful view of Downtown Dallas afterwords. Next, as you get closer to Downtown, you see the American Airlines Center (where the Dallas Mavericks play) after that come the Historic West End, which has many different places to Eat and Shop. And, it’s not too far from the 6th Floor Museum and JFK Memorial. After West End, As it goes through Downtown Dallas, you get to see all the really cool shaped buildings with Statues and Fountains and all the very interesting people. Following that, it goes through a tunnel and stops at “Cityplace Station” where you can hop off and ride the “M-Line Trolley” which is an old-fashioned trolley that runs along Historic McKinney Ave. into the Awesome Arts District.  After your done with that, hop back on the DART line and continue to Mockingbird Station, there’s a lot of shopping you can do there and a cool movie theater. finally, wrapping it up with riding the Red Line to Plano or Blue Line to Garland. When I went to The PTLS Conference in Houston, I got to ride the “MetroRail” line from Texas Medical Center to Downtown Houston, that was also wonderful to see everything that they had along it. For example, in Houston, “Midtown” is south of Downtown Houston instead of north like Dallas and Atlanta. The coolest thing about Houston’s MetroRail line was that it runs in the middle of the street in many places, whereas most run on a railroad track separate from the street. I’ve also been on the Metro in Washington D.C and the Northwest Line of the MARTA in Atlanta. All in all, I’ve been on many different rail lines in different cities and it’s all exciting to me.

Thanks to Reading The Christianville Spirit. Take a Drive one day and check out what’s in your town.   

The Christianville Spirit: The London Olympics

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

August 1, 2012-TCS # 311

So, There is an event that is happening that always gets me excited. You See, Every 4 Years, based on hundreds of years of tradition, comes The Summer Olympic Games. For those who don’t how deep the tradition is, it started in 1896 in Athens, Greece. However, it wasn’t held to such magnitude as it does now. It started as a couple games being played for the King in honor of the Greek Gods. However, nowadays it has turned into the an elaborate show for all The World to see and that’s just talking about the Opening & Closing Ceremony. In between the Opening & Closing Ceremony are many different events including Swimming, Gymnastics, Track, Canoeing, and the list goes on.. However, My Favorite Parts are some of the sports but, most importantly The Opening and Closing Ceremony. I Love the Opening the most though because it fascinates me that people from all parts of The World come to one place to compete and be at peace for 2 weeks during The Olympics. For this year’s Olympics in London, My Fascination was (and, always is) seeing what the people of each country look like and this year it just happened to be not only the people but, the outfits, they were wearing. To Me, it says alot about that Country’s culture, in what they wear or in those countries where it’s more strict, what their allowed to wear. To example, in many arab countries, like Saudi Arabia (They let women compete this year for the first time), Jordan, Palestinian Territories (Locally known as “Palestine” and Known Worldly as “The West Bank”), and Iran; just to name a few, have to wear garb that covers their hair and body; and, in some countries, most of their face as well. But, what I love about the outfits is creativeness that represents the country. Some countries like many African Countries with a very decorative garb and some countries went with a plain shirt that has the National Colors, like Sweden or Just a shirt with the letter N on it, for Norway, respectively.  Then, of course, there is as I have been mentioning, “The Parade of Nations”; some of them make you cheer, be quiet, or make you wonder, “Where in The World is that country?!” It happened to me a couple times like trying to remember what group of countries were part of what was Yugoslavia. Now, as My Mom will tell you, it didn’t go without a Geography Lesson that both made her head hurt or make her brain want to explode. The Reason why is Because she says that learning Geography from me is like her teaching Medical Terms and Anatomy to me. Anyway, another part I like about the Opening Ceremony is the performance leading to the Parade of Nations. Sometimes, though, it’s a little hard to understand some of the performances depending on the Host Country. Without spoiling London’s ceremony, I’ll just say this; it was Interesting, at some times very funny, other times a little creepy, but all good though. As for comparing it to Beijing, I’ll put it this way, It’s not fair to any host country or city to live up to Beijing. A couple comments on the Host City; for the condition of just how horrible the traffic of the city is (or so, I’ve heard, I haven’t been) and the lack of freeways or large roads through the city, The City of London & The London Committee did a VERY Good Job in preparing for these games and contrary to what Mitt Romney says, I’m very proud of Londoners and Their Committee of preparing them so well. Believe me, from what I know about London, it’s not easy to do that. Anyway, I could go on and on about The Olympics and How much I love it and why; but, All in all, I just love that People around The World come to win Gold, Silver, or Bronze in their own sport. By The Way, a shout out to The USA’s own Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, and Jordyn Wieber for doing so well and Good Luck also to Everyone Else, your doing an awesome job.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We are all Champions of something wether we are in sports or not, We’re all Champions!                      

The Christianville Spirit: This Ones for Parents

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

July 25, 2012-TCS # 309

So, You Know, that old 90’s song, “This ones for The Girls?” Well, for this week’s Newsletter, I’m going to put a twist on that song via a tribute to the Parents of The PTLS Family. I’m calling it, “This ones for The Parents.” For a little reference, “This ones for The Girls” is more of song to empower women. Anyway, I owe all parents of PTLS Kids a huge thank you, for not only being  the wonderful you and raising kids at the same time. But, most of all, I want to Thank You for being willing to talk to me, learning about me, and getting answers to those questions that have been bugging you to ask about what It’s like to have PTLS. Now, on that subject, the funny thing about the questions that are running through your mind are probably you are thinking, anyway, that they must be the most absurd questions that would ever come out of your mouth. But, once you hear it come out, it’s huge relief and there is actually an answer to the question. The thing that the Parents of Every PTLS Child has is that They think that they’re the only ones that have to deal with whatever they’re child does, whether it’s hitting, gagging, not eating, mumbling and not talking..the list goes on. But, Believe it or not, after talking with My PTLS Sister for so long, I always thought I was the only one who did certain behaviors or felt a certain way. Now, having talking to someone that has PTLS, we find that when we compare notes, we are very similar. Now, of course, we all know that there are different Parents, different Parenting Styles, and come from different backgrounds. But, the major thing PTLS Parents have in common is their going through, roughly the same thing and shouldn’t feel alone. Bottom Line though, is that we all have our own lives and our own junk that we deal with everyday that, its awesome that on top of that, many appreciate the fact that I might be able to help answer questions and it’s awesome that they want to talk to me and get my opinion on different things. And, yes, some people like to test my knowledge on all the stuff I know and things I’ve done, and I like to share my knowledge, so ask away! Honestly, I’m honored that people take the time to talk with me about anything and I feel so loved by Everyone, it’s a great feeling. By The Way, on the day that you meet me, Please tell me who you are and where your from, before you jump into the “I know Everything about You and I feel like I know You” thing that most people do when they meet me in person. Then again, the first thing I said to Dr. Jen Arnold from The Little Couple was “I’m your biggest Fan!” so, believe me, I understand. All in all, though Thank You once again for meeting me and talking to me like I was your own, and most importantly, taking the time to get to know me. But, even more so your children are very blessed to have you as their parent who cares so much about them, try to learn everything about them, and are such strong, wonderful parents; I’m happy to know you all.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be Empowered to be a PTLS Parent.     

The Christianville Spirit: Thanks to PTLS

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

July 18, 2012-TCS # 308

OK, Everyone, I’m Back! Well, I wasn’t gone that long but, what I’m about to tell you is why I didn’t write My Newsletter last week. You See, As I’ve mentioned many times, I have a rare chromosome duplication on dup.17p11.2. For those who don’t speak “Medicaleez”, that means that a part of my 17th chromosome was duplicated. By the way, a Chromosome is everywhere in your body and the thing that makes up all your features, behaviors, and other things. Anyway, after being diagnosed with dup.17p11.2(now known as Potocki-Lupski Syndrome) at 4 Years Old, it took some time before others were diagnosed. Now about 16 Years Later, Families that had people with PTLS started appearing. Eventually, being 4th in The World became much less lonely. So, 3 Years ago, we had the very first PTLS Conference to teach us veterans, if you will, and those who just got diagnosed, information about Potocki-Lupski Syndrome and all those crazy years of research. So, that brings me to Today. It started as sort of a “We have to have the conference this year, but don’t know when”. Well, the dates that were released were from Thursday of last week to Saturday. So, that was what we did these past couple days, was go to the 2nd PTLS Conference in Houston. By The Way, I should say that in case you don’t know, it was because of the great Dr. Potocki, Dr. Lupski, Pilar and the Lupski Lab Team, that we had it at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. Anyway, The Conference was really wonderful and it was awesome to see old PTLS Family Members and also, meet new ones. So, My Mom and I drove down to Houston on Wednesday to be as My Mom calls, “The Welcoming Committee” for those people who wanted to come early, either to adjust to the time zone or make it a Family Vacation. By The Way, I should mention that there was a Family Member who came all the way from Australia (which is a 22 Hour Difference). On Wednesday Night, we had dinner with a couple family members and then, after dinner, we started meeting new family members that we thought were coming the next day. On Thursday, we got up early and met a couple more family members at Starbucks and then, the rest of the wonderful PTLS Family Members. During the day on Thursday, The “Cool Parents,” The Lu’s took me with them to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and that was the coolest. When we got there, we found out that the museum was bigger than we had thought, it was 4 Floors of stuff to be exact. We had a fun time checking out everything from a Titanic Exhibit, a little Chinese History, and Dinosaurs that had the coolest display! It was a White Background, The Dinosaurs, and Colored Lights below them. This place was big though and it took the whole “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” to a new meaning. I want to say Thank You to The Lu Family (who I’ve appointed my “Museum Buddies”) for taking me and Thanks to the Museum Staff for teaching us new things. Anyway, that night we had a Desert Meet and Greet where we got meet lots of people. So, on Friday & Saturday was the conference itself, luckily though the weather held up for us to walk up and down the street, from the hospital to the hotel. By The Way, the weather was rainy most of the time until it got sunny on Saturday. For the most part, the conference went off without a hitch with the exception of the Fire Alarm going off at the beginning of the conference on Friday and The Mic going on and off. but, then again it was Friday the 13th also and that didn’t help. On Friday Night, after the conference Day 1, we had dinner catered at the Houston Children’s Museum. Again, it took me to hang out with My “Museum Buddies” to show me that in fact, they had opened more of the museum than the last conference. For Reference, The last conference in 2009, opened one area. This Conference, they opened the same area, the down stairs, and an exhibit called “Flow Works” outside. Now, I have to say that although I didn’t spend enough time playing, because it was overstimulating to me to hear too much noise, “Flow Works” was probably the most awesome part of it. On Saturday, we had a more personal approach to the information we heard the day before. We had 3 Options, one was about Behavior, 2nd one was about Feeding and Swallowing, and the 3rd one was the Parental Discussion hosted by My Mom and each one was given an hour each and split into 3 Hours. So, the Behavior and Feeding/Swallowing went all 3 Hours and My Mom’s was during the 1st and 3rd Hour. If I had to choose the best one, I would say the 3rd Hour of My Mom’s Discussion. The reason I say that is because the Feeding/Swallowing and Parent Discussion was on the same floor while the Behavior one was the floor below it and sat next to the Blood Drawing Room. Now, as I said a couple times before, I don’t like the sound of People or Animals in Distress so I had no choice but, to sit in the Swallowing one. And, later on Saturday, us and 2 other PTLS Family Members went on the Metrorail to and from Downtown Houston. and, that was really cool too. One thing I didn’t realize is just how well known, a role model, and how famous, people see me as. Honestly, I know that I’m well-known because I was written in Medical Journals and I’ve been around a long time. but, I didn’t know that to some Families, I might as well be Justin Bieber, Hugh Jackman, or Brad Pitt. In My View, I’m just me, I have the same curiosities and quirks about me that anyone else does, I just happen to have Potocki-Lupski Syndrome and be the representative of what the future might hold for most of the Young PTLS Kids. So, All in all, I would like to thank the PTLS Family Members for coming to the conference (I REALLY hope I got to talk to Every one of You and I know, I didn’t get to talk to everyone as long as I’d hoped; but, hopefully, we can meet sometime in the near future) Thanks to the Staff of both the Houston Museum of Natural Science & Children’s Museum; Dr. Potocki (Duchess Potocki), Dr. Lupski(Lord Lupski), and Pilar (Dame Pilar) for helping set all this up and being a part of this; and, finally, My Mom, for helping putting all this together and a Plus, for being My Mom. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. If it wasn’t for having PTLS, I wouldn’t have met so many wonderful from around The World.       

The Christianville Spirit: National Holidays

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

 July 4, 2012-TCS # 307

Well, My Readers in The United States, “The USA”, “America”, or whatever you like to call it; Happy 4th of July! For those outside The United States, July 4 is just another day. You See, every country in our lovely World of 246 Countries, we have our own little “Special days” in our own countries. So, for some a simple day like July 1 or October 26 for example, to you in one country is just another day in the week or work week, depending on wether it is part of the work week or not. For the record, July 1 is Canada Day and October 26, which is also My Brother’s Birthday is also, the National Holiday of Austria, respectively. Anyway, each one country in our world of 246 countries have their own day. Of Course, the meaning of the National Holidays are different and some National Holidays are set on an easy day like June 21, because it’s The First day of summer, the Summer Solstice, and The Longest Day of The Year. In Greenland, their National Holiday is on June 21 because it’s the longest day of the year, where (and, I kid you not) it stays light out for 24 Hours and you can say the same the Winter Solstice, it’s dark for 24 Hours. So, June 21 makes sense for a National Holiday in Greenland for that reason and again for the record, they call it “Midsummers Day”, respectively. Also, there are National holidays the we make our own like St. Patrick’s Day, the National Holiday of Ireland on March 17 that we here in The US, Celebrate as well. Now, back to My Country, The United States of America, we have 2 names for today, we call it The 4th of July most often but, it’s technically called Independence Day because it was the day that a document known as The Declaration of Independence was signed and that was what made us, The United States of America and to be free. So, as a result, we celebrate Independence Day with Fireworks, Pomp & Circumstance, Good Music, and Good Food. However, when I was younger, I was scared of Fireworks and they hurt my ears because I had hypersensitive hearing. The fear and hurting of My Ears from Fireworks lasted until I was 10 or 11. All in all, we have our own National Holidays to celebrate, no matter where you live. By The Way, I’d like to wish, My PTLS Sister, Danielle, a very Happy Birthday because she was actually born on The 4th of July.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Celebrate not just your own National holiday but, maybe others as well.     

The Christianville Spirit: My PTLS Peers

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

July 27, 2012-TCS # 306

So, over the past couple months, I’ve been talking to a PTLS Family Member that actually has PTLS herself. Since the beginning of the PTLS Family, I’ve been to talk with 2 other PTLS Members that have PTLS since I’ve gotten diagnosed when I was 4 Years Old. one of them was a couple years older, I didn’t know how to handle it and most importantly, what to say. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ll be your friend no matter if you have Special Needs or not, but at first it was a little weird meeting someone that is just like you, in many ways. So, it took a couple times to warm up to this person and I’m still working on that, since we don’t get the chance to see each other that often and, the other person, didn’t wanted to talk about having PTLS. So then, My Mom decided to reach out to PTLS Family Members who had young adults and teens with PTLS and a PTLS Member’s mom said that her daughter wanted to talk to Me. So, after we passed the “this is weird” stage, we started to find that we have more things in common with the way we act and do things. Like We have found more behaviors in common than we can even count. For Example, we both find that PTLS Kids are often very stubborn, usually because (as I told her) that it’s because it’s something that we don’t want to do or don’t want to do it at that moment. We both in fact, get nervous about the weirdest things including Doctor’s Appointments of any kind; Our expressions and actions are different though. We both see the good in people, which is a good quality to have; but, it can get you in trouble if your around the wrong people. We both Imitate, which again can be a good or bad thing depending on who or what your imitating. By the way, Imitating can come from Friends, Family, Things we hear, or Things that we see on TV. We both have a lack of filter, so we say things that just flow out without any hesitation. We both are very sensitive and feel what others are feeling; Again it’s a good quality to have as longs as your around good and happy people, if not it can make you miserable. Here’s a shocker, We both put capitol letters in the wrong places. I’m sure there will be more as we compare notes, bottom line is that It’s really awesome to know that there are other people like me around my age and I love knowing that I’m not the only one that the way I am, it makes me feel like I belong. All in all, I want to thank these people who I’ve met and talked with and I look forward to meeting other teens and young adults.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We all need to feel like we belong to a group or peers.

The Christianville Spirit: My Brother's View on Me

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

June 20, 2012-TCS # 305

So, Now that I have written Last Week on My View of My Brother and you enjoyed it. Well, now your really going to enjoy this! It’s the long-awaited Newsletter on how My Brother views me. This idea has been in My Head for a while before I finally decided to do it. My Mom and PTLS Family Members had always wondered about My Brother how My Brother felt about me having Special Needs and Having PTLS(or dup.17p11.2, as it used to be called). The idea came when one of the PTLS Members suggested that I should do a Newsletter on My Brother and his view of it all. I mean, considering that I mention him a lot in My Newsletters, people start to wonder about him and how he deals with it. It took a while at first, getting the nerve to ask him to do this, and even the idea of what questions do I ask? Because first off, I didn’t know what to ask him or even more unnerving, what would he say? So, I sent out a post on Facebook to PTLS Members on what questions they want answered and/or curious about and I got quite a few responses about what they want to know. After reading a couple questions, I thought, “Man, these are deep questions” and “I’m not sure if I really want to know about it or not.” So, then came, “How do I do this? A talk? Dictation to My Mom? or an Interview?” Well, long story short, I asked My Brother about it and he said, “We’ll do an interview” and finally, after a while of asking him(because both he and I kept forgetting or it wasn’t the right time of day,) He sat down to answer the questions. He finished it yesterday and it’s ready to go. First, I want to thank him and let him know I appreciate his honesty and willingness to do this. So, Get Ready everyone cause here’s the interview. As a note: the Bolded Questions are from the PTLS Family and below it are Michael’s Responses. So, as they say in Television and Radio, Roll it...   

TCS: When you were about 10-13 years old, can you tell us as a sibling how you felt when your bother had an aggressive outburst? Did you truly understand what was going on with him?

Michael: For as long as I have known him, which is practically my entire life, he has never had an aggressive outburst. For the most part if he ever got really upset he would get more emotional. He would work himself up and start crying. There would be the occasional times where he would raise his voice but nothing that could ever be put as an aggressive outburst. At that age I had already seen him do things like that before so I wasn’t to worried about it. I just figured that he was more sensitive to things then I was, I never really linked PTLS to his sensitivity. I also figured out by then he was extremely stubborn and if he didn’t want to do something, he would put up quite a fight. Which would also cause him to get upset.

  TCS: How did having a sibling with PTLS effect your life both good and things that were difficult?

Michael: Well growing up, nobody knew what PTLS was including myself. I was told that my brother had special needs and I just took that as the literal sense. I never considered him special or different though. I treated him like my bother with no exceptions and restraints. Naturally I picked on him and gave him a hard time. The one thing that I did do growing up was take on the role of big brother. I looked out for him and tried to teach him things. Christian has also taught me a lot growing up with him. I learned from a young age that people in the world see things differently. There’s nothing wrong with looking at the world differently and having a sense of individuality. Everyone goes through highs and lows, it’s how you deal with the situation that makes the difference.

TCS: How do you deal with your peers asking questions about your brother?

Michael: Honestly, when I was younger I can’t really remember to many people asking about him. I think the main reason was that he was always pretty friendly to everyone. No one really could tell just by meeting him that he had special needs. After a while of getting to know him or seeing him then they might ask questions. I’m always proud to tell them what’s up. I just tell them that he has this rare chromosome duplication and he was forth to be diagnosed with it. After that, some people keep questioning and are really interested others just move on to the next order of business, whatever that might be.

TCS: PTLS kids need a lot of attention/ extra help. Were you ever envious of this?

Michael: Nope. If anything when I was younger I found it annoying and frustrating. Not that he was getting more attention then me or anything like that, it was just because I was ready to move on and progress while Christian was still trying to learn.

TCS: As a sibling was there a time say around preteen where you were embarrassed when you were out with the family?

Michael: Not really.

TCS: What did your mom do to help you understand Christians PTLS?

Michael: I think that the best thing for me was learning patients and acceptance. I was taught that not everyone learns the same way and each person is different. Some people require more training on particular topics. Really that advice goes for everyone and didn’t segregate my brother from other people. It didn’t hurt that my mom likes the medical field and could give me facts and explain information easier to me.

TCS: When did you realize Christian was different?

Michael: I don’t think there was really a point of epiphany where all of a sudden I knew he was different. Living with him and growing up together, you just kind of known as life. Its really the same as getting to know anyone else, you hang out with them enough you learn things about them. All it takes is some powers of observation.

TCS: Growing up, can you give some examples of things you showed him how to do/ taught him?

Michael: Ha ha ha!!! When I was seventeen or so I let Christian drive my car down the neighborhood street. That was exciting to say the least!! I taught him how to play video games and things like that. To recall everything I taught him would take some time. I just try my best to show him and explain to him anything that he has questions about and would like to learn about. His memory is pretty freaky. He can recall all sorts of random stuff. If others put in the effort and energy to teach him, he can learn anything.

TCS: Do you feel any angst or nervousness about being Christian’s guardian later in life?

Michael: I suppose so, it is kind of nerve racking. I’m not stressing out too much though. We get along great and for the most part he is pretty self-reliant. I am confident in my self and my abilities to overcome any obstacle that dares to stand in front of me. Ha ha ha! But for real, I have known about being his guardian for a long time now, so I’m mentally ready.   

   -------------------------------------------

So, I hope all of this helped to answer your questions on Siblings and My Brother. It was quite surprising to hear some of these because I didn’t expect it. Well, you know, I guess it’s like they say, “You’ll Never Know Until You Ask”, simple as that. This whole interview turned out to be more fun than I thought it was going to be, but then again, I didn’t know. I mean, you know, how much someone loves you but, sometimes, every now and then, you might be curious as to how much that person loves you. As for me, I know that My Brother loves me and understands me, and I love him so much for that. All in all, I say it a lot, but I’ll say it again, My Brother, Michael, is Awesome!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Let the ones you Love in your life, know that you love them; Everyday.  

The Christianville Spirit: My View, My Brother

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

June 3, 2012-TCS # 304

So, I know quite a few PTLS Family Members wonder how both, the PTLS Child and their Brother or Sister views them. Well, I think it’s overdue that I tell you how I view My Brother and write about My Brother. My Brother, Michael, my only brother I have in My Family, is really awesome. For those who are wondering, Yes, he is my blood brother. Anyway, My Brother is awesome because he takes care of me and understands me. He is 23 Years old and goes to University of North Texas, he is an artist, a good one at that, and he is going to get his bachelors degree in Art. Michael is a really goofy guy once you get to know him and there are sometimes we wish we had hidden cameras in our house because he’s that goofy and he makes us all laugh. He puts that saying, “Dance like no ones watching” to a new meaning. He is a good judge of character when it comes to meeting new people and he has interesting views when it comes to the news, politics, and life. One of the things I love about him is that he was and still is caring and loving enough to introduce me to some of his friends. After they get to know me and who I am, they treat me like I’m part of the pack and wherever they go, I go with them. It was like that a lot in High School, he was my driver in a way because he drove me to and from school during the school year, unless he had to go to school early, then, My Mom would take me. In Elementary School, We and the Herricks would walk to school sometimes, most of the time we would drive. It wasn’t that far from the house, only a couple blocks. Michael’s Art is one thing that I’m very proud of him for because it really makes you think and wonder. Sometimes, My Mom will interpret it one way and I’ll say, “Art is subject to ones own interpretation.” Also, this past semester in College, My Brother got straight A’s, a 4.0 Grade Average, and He’s gotten on the Dean’s List twice. The classes that he was taking that semester were very tough classes, to the point where he had to do a project every week or every other day; so, I was very proud of him when I heard that. My Brother has always treated me with the greatest of care, protection, and treats me like every other kid, he doesn’t make a big deal about being a brother to someone with Special Needs. He will one day be My Guardian and I know that he will do a good job at it. Also, I know that whatever I do, he’ll help and love me. All in all, My Brother, Michael is an awesome brother that I have.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. I hope you have Family that will there for you, no matter what.  

The Christianville Spirit: What My Soulmate can Expect

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

June 6, 2012-TCS # 303

 You Know, In the beginning of most Romantic Stories or more put, “Soulmate Invitations” as true romantics like me call it, are mostly about what the person expects from their soulmate. Like for example, I wrote about that as a launch to the “I Believe in Love” campaign. But, the funny thing is, the question is, what do they (the other side of your soul) expect from you. Well, most of us, both men and women, assume that because their your soulmate, you and them will get everything you want. But, remember though, that your soulmate and my soulmate is not going to be perfect, we want them to, but that’s too high of expectations of any relationship whether your true loves, soulmates, or just being together in general. But, what to expect in a relationship is mostly, the scariest part; questions like “Am I going to expect fights alot?”, “Will they cheat on me?”, “Will they be filled with drama?”, questions that come with every relationship. Well, I’m going to continue with the “I Believe in Love” Campaign with what they can expect from me. The Truth is that My Soulmate won’t have to expect alot from me because I will love them with all my heart and soul, literally. But, I’ll tell you the things I’ve only dreamed of. They can expect that everyday when I come home, I’m going to say, “How was Your Day??’, as My Mom and Brother will tell you, I ask that question every day and more than once sometimes. They can expect that I’ll hug, kiss, hold them, and tell them I love them alot. They can expect for me to pick them up off their feet and carry them, maybe a spin around or two, watching their hair fly in the wind, and telling them how much I love them. Now, considering that people with PTLS have weak muscle tone, it may or may not be a long ride. Now, the next one they can expect is very predictable, We will watch Romantic Comedies alot! Yes, we can watch general Comedy and maybe a movie or two where things blow up, but, absolutely no Horror Movies! I don’t like them and I never will. Another Thing that is, again very predictable, is that we’ll have talks about what is going on in the news and maybe, again in my dreams, watching Glenn Beck together. Also, speaking of the news, we’ll cuddle together nightly on the couch and watch the news together, but it’ll be more for fun instead of discussing it, that’ll be saved for the next day. As far as cuddling goes, we’ll cuddle all the time because it’s fun. Now, of course, on topic of the fights, most people, even soulmates, fight sometimes but it won’t be very often, if at all. As for the Cheating, I would Absolutely Never cheat on them because I’m a classy guy, It is sin against God, and I would never do that, and I respect them too much. Considering the fact that I mentioned about having a relationship with God they will expect that we pray to God both at Dinner Time and Bed Time, to thank him for all he does for us. As for Drama, the only time that would happen would be if something is bothering me and if I “shut down” and not be as talkative as I usually am, then you’ll know. Also, I hate to say it, but another things you’ll expect from me, is that I’m going to Clear My Throat, probably more than you would like. Now, I should mention that it is not habitual but, it’s the nerves in my stomach and throat, along with it’s slow emptying that causes it, but hopefully, it won’t happen that often and I hope it doesn’t annoy you too much. This is a huge concern of mine! And finally, as mentioned in the beginning of this campaign, they’ll expect to meet My Families (Intermediate Family, Smith Family, and PTLS Family) and I believe you’ll love them as much as they’ll love you. All in All, Now that you know what I expect from you, you now know what you can expect from me. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be a Man or Women for your word, it will get you far.

For this week’s newsletter and newsletters dating back to October 2006, check out My Website, thechristianvillespirit.blogspot.com. feel free to leave comments and suggestions about future topics.

The Christianville Spirit: How PTLS Families became PTLS Family

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 30, 2012- TCS # 302

So, For This Week’s Newsletter, I want to share a story with you about how My 3rd Family, My PTLS Family and how they became my PTLS Family. So, I was diagnosed with dup. 17p11.2(now known as Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or PTLS) at age 4. There was not much known about it, so MY Mom did the best she could and I just enjoyed life being myself. At the time when I was diagnosed, I was 4th in The World and 1st in The United States; I didn’t know if there were people just like me around the world, and even in my own country. So, as I got older More kids were being diagnosed and I started meeting Families with “People like Me” but, for the longest time they were addressed as “Families with PTLS Kids.” After more adding of more families, I changed how they were addressed because I starting growing attached to them. Because the families themselves had someone, who in My View, was “Just like Me,” they felt more like Family to me not just friends or people. Then, came My 23rd Birthday, or what’s now known as the first PTLS Gathering. You See, My Mom had this idea that we should spend My Birthday with My Smith Family in Atlanta and we figured while we were there, We’d see if we could meet up with other PTLS Families. So, I told, who we’ll call PLTS Member, Samantha Pennington, about it because she lived in Nashville which was a couple hours drive from Atlanta. Not to mention also, we could meet up again with The wonderful Pulleys there too. So, Samantha (or now known as Aunt Samantha; more on that in a minute) spread the word on the little Facebook group that we had, I was going to be in Atlanta that weekend and she said she wanted to come down and meet me. So, before long, it turned from just another birthday party to a Mini-PTLS gathering so people could come and celebrate My Birthday, and we could all meet. It was surprising who wanted to come and meet me. people were coming from as far away as Wisconsin and I told My Mom, “These People feel like Family to Me” Well, near the same time that I was going to go to Atlanta, My Dad wanted to go on a cruise, long story short, the cruise was moved to be during the weekend with My Birthday/PTLS Gathering which people from across the country were coming to see me. So, I had a very tough decision to make, go with Dad on the cruise for 7 Days or The PTLS Gathering. Now, for the record, the decision was tough because I don’t like to disappoint people and not to mention, I hate confronting people. and, one of his comments, let’s just say made the passion of PTLS Family and having PTLS burn! He said, “You’d rather hang out with strangers who you haven’t even met instead doing this(the cruise) with your dad/family” and I responded, “I may not have met them(and, some I have). But, they are My Family.” So, to prove My Dad and anyone else who thinks we’re not a “Family” wrong. I gave the PTLS Family Members that I’m close to, official Family Names like Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Brothers/Sisters. Of Course, People may say, “How can you be Family, if your not Blood?” and My Answer is that Family isn’t always blood, it can also be People you love. So, I guess in a way, You can pick your Family and This PTLS Family is getting bigger, I LOVE a big Family! Now, as for the Aunt Samantha thing, I call her that because I’m close to her as well as many others, including Aunt Beth, Christina, Aimee, Joey and Shelly. On the Uncle Side, I have Uncle Chris, James, and Brent. And, I forget anyone, I’m sorry. But, here’s a shout out to everyone. I really appreciate these people as well as many others because they keep in tough with me and really care about me, which is important in a Family. Now, Because the PTLS Family has grown, I Love to get to know about people and they get to know me. All in All, As You can see Family is very important to me, wether they are blood or not.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish the Family you Have and Love the ones, you pick.

The Christianville Spirit: In Memory of Lynee Watson

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 23, 2012-TCS # 301

So, Yesterday was the 3rd year anniversary of My Awesome Friend, Lynee’s Death. So, I thought I would do a dedication to her. You See, in our lifetime, we meet people everyday that can be “Friends” to us and we have someone to talk with, that is the easy part of making friends. But, however, It’s the really great friends that you can tell anything to that really matter. Lynee was one of those friends but, remember that I was in Elementary School, so I wasn’t as social as I am now but, either way she still tried to understand me. Of Course, we know that sometimes we lose those Great Awesome Friends because they pass away or they disappear and you realize it too late, how great they were. Once we realize how great they actually are then it’s the greatest feeling in the world to realize that they were the friend that by the time, you become 70, they’ll be the one friend out of all the others you’ve been made that stood out, whether they are alive or dead. As for Lynee, I have comfort that I have her as My Guardian Angel, also I know that she can hear and see what I’m doing. If I’m doing the right or wrong thing, She sends me signs that tell me she’s around, stop doing what your doing or she’s just messing with me, as spirits do sometimes. Even though, I know that she’s around, I still miss her and I wish I knew that she had passed, so I could have paid my respects and tell her how I felt about her. I know now that she knows because like I said before, she watches over me. Now, I’m sure some of you are asking, “How do you know when she’s sending signs?” I know by feeling, things I see or hear, like the numbers 11 and 2. Back when I was obsessing about 11-11-11, I asked God to have me the Number 11 and 2 as confirmation that I’m doing the right thing or on the right path. Ever Since, I’ve been hearing and seeing the Number 11 when I’m on the right track. What I mean, by the way, about seeing the number 11 can be anything, in the time, something someone says, something on the news, and other times. All in All, Friends are easy to find, the Awesome True Friends are Priceless.   

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish the True Friends that You Love because You Never Know.  

The Christianville Spirit: My 300th Newsletter!

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 16, 2012-TCS # 300

Well, My Readers, Loyal Followers, and Subscribers, We have made it! This is the 300th Newsletter of The Christianville Spirit and I cannot believe I’ve written this many newsletters since I started in October 2006. I mean, who would have thought I would write a newsletter that started out as an Email to Friends and Family to become a weekly newsletter that I write every Wednesday. As for My Reader Base, since this newsletter started, it has grown, along with the adding of more PTLS Family Members, which I Love! Anyway, in honor of My 300th Newsletter, I’m giving you a treat and I think you’ll LOVE this one. So, There is this show on FOX on Thursdays called Touch, It’s a really interesting show about an 11 year old boy with Autism who doesn’t speak words, but he has a gift; of connecting people from all over the world, by using Numbers. It’s one of those shows though, that you have to follow from the Beginning and Concentrate on it all the way because if you miss something, you won’t figure out how the people on the show are connected. It’s a take on the 6 Degrees of Separation, only it’s more relatable to Life. Anyway, so one of the connections was about this girl named Celeste, who met this wonderful guy in Italy and after they met, she went off to Paris and The guy left a videotape telling Celeste to meet him at this place in New York, so this random girl, Natalie, finds the tape and spreads the word in her video blog to try and re-unite Celeste and the guy, Paulo. So, long story short, Paulo doesn’t meet with Celeste but, Natalie instead because they both “Believe in Love.” So, that inspired me to begin what I’ll call an “I Believe in Love Campaign.” Not only does this follow the inspiration of Touch but, also there’s a saying that most Romantics believe in that says, “As long you believe in Love, Love will always find it’s way in” So, I’m going with that also. Now, considering there are many different kinds of Love, I’ll be specific in what kind of Love I believe in. The first one is one that most people have, Self-Love and Unconditional Love (or the love, you get from Family), of course having 3 Families (Intermediate, Smith Family, and PTLS Family) it’s quite a bit of Unconditional Love. But, the kind of Love that I believe in is more Romantic like, Belief in Soulmates, Life Mates, Twin Souls, The Person of Your Dreams, and Love at First Sight. But, the best thing to believe in is that there is one person who is created just for you by God to find and be with forever. That’s where the terms, “The Right Person”, “The One”, and “The Person of Your Dreams” comes from. Now, for the record, Soulmates, Life Mates, and Twin Souls are mainly the same thing, although New Agers and Scholars will tell you the more complex version of it. Now, when it comes to falling in love with this person, the question always is “how do you know that the person is The One?” Well, from what I’ve heard, the answer isn’t explainable to everyone else outside you and that person but, the most simple answer is that, “You just Know” and you just have that feeling that it works. The next question, people ask is “how will you know when you’ve met the person of your dreams?” because you have this magical feeling that This is It, That person is The One, it goes by the term, Love at First Sight. So, with that, I have high hopes that I’ll meet My Soulmate, “The One”, The Girl of My Dreams. All in All, If you have been blessed to find your “Person of Your Dreams” hold on to them tight and never let go.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Thanks for Following and Reading My 300 Newsletters. I’ll make sure to keep them coming.           

The Christianville Spirit: About The Girl of My Dreams

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 9, 2012- TCS # 299

So, back when I was working at the Frisco Roughriders, back in the “Madison Days” I told Madison one night that I kind of liked one of these girls that I worked with and one day she blurted out to a girl with the same name but, the wrong girl that I liked her and while we were walking to our working position at the ballpark called the “Center Field Entrance” as we’re walking, it’s pretty awkward between us, not knowing each other and Madison blurted that out. Then, she says, “What do you want in a Girl?” and at that time, all I could say was “I want her to be Nice.” Anyway, so that brings me to today, lately I’ve been talking a lot about the so-called “Girl of My Dreams,” the lets just say Mystery Girl that I’m going to fall in love with and be with the rest of My Life. By The Way, I am quite a romantic so the idea of Soulmates and The Girl of My Dreams is quite normal. So, years ago as you remember, I wrote things that were specific about a girl I named Carol Holiday. Well, the Carol Holiday thing actually came true but, she was married, had 2 kids, and was “Younger” than me. So, apparently, I wasn’t that specific in who I wanted and what she was going to be like. Now, although I tried again to come with a name and a story, I’m going to go the route of describing what she’ll be like. For the sake of The Law of Attraction, we’ll call her Bridgett and yes, that is what I’m led to believe is her name; Of Course, if it is or not, it is left to God. Anyway, I’ll start with what Patti Stanger of The Millionaire Matchmaker calls “The Non-Negotiable’s” or the things you can deal without and according to Patti’s Rules, there should be no more than five. So, here they are, She Must Believe in God, have a great relationship with God, or at least be Spiritual; She Can’t Drink or Smoke because I don’t like Alcohol myself but, Social Drinkers if anything is OK and I do not want a smoker; She has to be Smart, know’s what she’s talking, and we can have good discussions about things like News, Politics, and Geography and how they all relate; and, two things about Family, the first is that Family is Very Important to Me and I want it to be important to her too, and this one for the average person is a deal-killer, that they have to come from a Classy Family. Why?, Because My Family is very Classy and we’re one of those families that have “Family Dinners” to introduce new romantic interests and with that comes with, passing the “Grandma Honey Test” and they don’t pass, good luck. Only the best for us Smiths. Anyway, that covers the NG’s (My acronym for Nonnegotiable.) And, now for The rest the description, I believe that she’ll be down-to-earth, she likes Romantic Comedies, General Comedy Movies, and that after My Mom and I teach her about all the things of PLTS that she’ll be able to understand me, will help spread the word about PTLS, and get involved with My 3rd Family, My PTLS Family. I’m led to believe that in Bridgett’s Family, they do not swear or nor allow it in the their house, but I think the Classy Family thing I mentioned above explains that. Anyway, The best summery of what person that a Classy Family guy like me should have is something that again is referencing Patti Stanger, “Beauty, Brains, and Class.” Now, as a note, the Beauty thing, she can be Beautiful but, looks don’t matter to Me. And, the big question, does she or will she have Special Needs, well in Bridgett’s Case I don’t think so but, like Beauty, it doesn’t matter wether or not she has Special Needs and, finally, she’ll be what I call “My Life Path,” meaning she doesn’t just live in the direction that I want to go, she lives in the city that I want to go. All in All, Having Special Needs doesn’t mean that I don’t dream of finding My Soulmate, I know she’s out there and it just matter of time.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Stay Tuned for Next Week’s 300th Christianville Spirit!

     

The Christianville Spirit: The Meaning of MMMBop

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

May 2, 2012- TCS # 298

You Know Something that people don’t notice or care about anymore?, the Lyrics to the songs that we hear everyday on the radio and in TV Commercials.  Over the years, the “Lyrics” to songs have gotten less clean and have less meaning now then ever. You See, back in the old days, before my generation and during my generation, The word “Lyrics” meant more of a poem about something that happened in your life, someone that you really loved, or dedicated songs to someone. Now-a-days, not necessarily, Now, Of course it depends on the artist whether it’s dedicated to someone like family or a person you’ve always loved, a few songs of Lady Gaga’s are dedicated ones to Family and for the person you’ve always loved there’s “You Belong with Me” from Taylor Swift. But, never mind that. I mean those songs like (With all due Respect to the artists) “I’m Sexy and I know it”, a song called “Hot Problems” about the fact that pretty girls have the same issues as we do (they say it’s worse than Rebecca Black), and of course Rihanna’s recent songs. By The Way, people thought that Rebecca Black’s “Friday” was bad and it turns out to be good; I’d think of it as one of the songs to play on our way to work and home singing “It’s Friday!.”  But, anyway, what about those good meaning songs or songs that have a meaning that no one notices until you listen to it real carefully, songs like Hanson’s Legendary song “MMMBop.” Now, for those readers of mine outside The US, Hanson was a good boy band that was as good as The UK’s “Spice Girls” and for those here in The Us, this song is about get into your head again, after you tried so hard to get it out. Anyway, this song “MMMBop” isn’t just about what sounds like messed up lyrics but, the words in between that matter. So, it starts like this, “You have too many relationships in life, Only one or two will last, you go though all this pain and strife, and life is gone too fast” they continue “and, it’s gone so fast,  yea” and now, here’s the important part, “So, hold on to the ones who really care, in the end they’ll be the ones who will there, when you get old and start losing hair, can you tell me, Who will still care?” and then comes the funny lyrics, “MMMBop pa-du-pa-dop...” and finally sing “In an MMBop, their gone. In an MMBop, their not there” and “but, you don’t care.” Anyway, I would have to copy and paste all the lyrics so you know the whole song, but I’m pulling the important lyrics that I know by heart. So, What do the lyrics mean? Well, like most art as My Brother will tell you is subject to one’s own interpretation but, I believe it means, stick by the friends who really care about you and you care about them, no matter what they say or do and stick with them. Because even though you maybe going different directions in your life, you should still care for them. And, the weird thing is that you care for them but, they don’t for you that much, they will realize that they do care and they’ll be standing there next to you in the end. All in all, that’s the true meaning of being “Friends” with someone. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. MMMBop through Life.         

The Christianville Spirit: God's Church

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 25, 2012-TCS # 297

So, You Know what I really haven’t written about in a while? Church, or anything about that wonderful church I went to years ago. So, This Week, I’m going to write about it. You See, In My Life, I’ve gone to churches of many different branches of Christianity. I’ve been through many of them, Catholic (because My Mom was Catholic), Episcopalian (something different from Catholic), United Methodist (both here and in San Antonio), and Non-denominational (which was the church I had gone to years ago).  But, the sad part about all this was that except, the one that we go to for the Annual “Special Friends Christmas Dinner”, there aren’t many churches that are accommodating to People with Special Needs. You See, the one that has this Christmas Dinner is first of all, the largest church known in Plano. We have alot of Mega-Churches here in Texas. This church has their own separate area where they can watch the service on the TV Screen or do something else. But the church that we went to, in the way of services was beyond amazing. In Fact, most of it’s congregation referred to it’s services as “Shows”; as in, “are you going to the 8:00 Saturday Night show or the 11:00AM Sunday Morning show” it was that good. How the service would play out was you’d walk into this room that looked like you were attending a rock concert. After you sat down, you’d look at the screens on either side of the stage and it would show a countdown to when the service was ready to start and once it did, that’s when the awesome part came. The band would start playing Christian Rock Songs that got you ramped up to worship God, I mean your hands were in the air, Clapping along with the music, Standing up, and just plain peppy. it was just awesome! It was not like any church service I’ve ever been too. Anyway, after a couple songs, one of the pastors would come out and introduce the announcements of what was going on at the church, following that then, Pastor Keith would come out and do the sermon. Now, the sermon was more relatable to our everyday life and how we can relate to it. Which brings us to the not-so-great part. You See, I though it was going to be awesome if I brought My Friend of mine who worked with me at the local Baseball Team, Frisco Roughriders. I brought so that he could experience this awesome church service and besides, he hadn’t been to a church service in a while so, I decided to take him. So, everything went well until the sermon came and let’s just say, we got a little over-excited. Now, I don’t remember what the whole sermon was about but, I think it was about living the life you want and what to do about it. The thing that got us so excited and by the way, “Pastor Keith” brought this on him, by getting you excited by saying things like “Dance like No one is watching”, “Care less about what other’s think”, and the thing that got us excited, “Love like You’ve never been Hurt!” and then he said from a bible verse, “Follow Me” My Friend and I thought that we were supposed to repeat it and we hollered, “Yeah!” and “Follow Me”. Now, keep in mind though, that during this time in My Life, I was dealing with Madison in “The Madison Days.” Anyway, I thought everyone was going to shout along with us because he said, “Shout it out!” and we did. After that, the whole congregation and Pastor Keith went silent, A second later he says, pointing toward me and my friend at that time, I was about 20 or 19; he asked “who old are you”, I was silent and My Friend answered “I’m 17” and he said “you and your 16 year Old friend, we are supposed to follow you?” I would probably list that moment as one the most embarrassing moments and My Mom was really upset. So, after that, he moved on with the service and at the end, one of the ushers came to meet up with us asking “How old are you”, “What makes you interested in our church”, and stuff like that. From that time on, we stopped going to that church, we spent a couple sundays watching it online and he mentioned us twice in the services afterwords. After a while, My Mom went back to the church and My Mom explained the situation and inquired why they don’t welcome those with Special Needs to the church, as it turns out, we weren’t the only ones who this happened to. So, we stopped going and watching it online and we moved on. This whole  thing leads me to believe that if church is called, “God’s House” then, why don’t they except people with Special Needs and I figure that as long as you have a close relationship with God, you put him first, and you pray daily (however many times a day you want, because he’s always listening) then, you don’t have to go to a Church building or at least one that doesn’t except you. Now, of course that doesn’t stop me from going to the Christmas Dinner because I know full-heartedly that they will except me there. All in all, God knows who He put on this earth and he loves me alot.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Stand on your feet and shout out praise, regardless of those who agree or don’t.       

The Christianville Spirit: The Bridge to Nowhere

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

April 18, 2012-TCS # 296

So, over the past couple months, The City of Dallas has been hard at work coming up with the next awesome thing to make our city a bit more attractive than it is already. You Know, Every City needs to have to a makeover every now and then, so they started with introducing and voting on a Project called “The Trinity River Project,” where they redo the entire riverfront on the Trinity River, along areas surrounding Downtown Dallas. So, their idea, out of many, where to build a tollway along side the Trinity River from West of Dallas into Downtown, add really cool parks to it, and finally rebuild and build new bridges to cross the Trinity River. Well, as far I know, the “Trinity River Project” isn’t doing so well due to funding and flooding hazards, especially the “Trinity River Tollway” and it’s awesome parks. Also, that and the fact that most of the “area of concern,” we’ll call it, which is just Northwest of downtown is a very industrial and poor area. Anyway, they decided to go with the building of existing bridges like the I-30 and I-35E Bridge, which if your from around here, are very old. However, that brings me to the new bridge that they’ve been building. You See, again The City of Dallas thought that it would be smart if they built a new bridge with an awesome design as sort of an extension of Woodall Rodgers Frwy., which runs as a connector highway from those who are trying to get from I-35E to US 75 to reach northern suburbs like Plano and Mckinney, it’s a road the at runs the northern half of downtown; if you are from around here, you know what I mean. Also, it connects Woodall Rodgers in Downtown to Singleton Blvd. in what they call “West Dallas.”  Anyway, they started building it and wanted to have it done to shine off for the Super Bowl that was here last year. So, because the Super Bowl came before it was done, they had a lighting ceremony to show that it was there and it was going to make the skyline look even better. However, this bridge named the “Margaret Hunt-hill Bridge” has had a lot of issues in the way of the weather (Severe Weather, Crazy Drought, and Crazy Severe Weather), Being Struck by Lightning, in The more official Lightning Ceremony; the lights took a while to come on (which by the way, was really funny to watch it on the news as it happened), and changing the opening date twice. Now, of course My Mom will tell you that the building of this bridge, “Wasn’t supposed to be there” because of all the problems that it has encountered and in her eyes, if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen naturally. Because, as I told you of all the problems, if you force something that you want to happen and it seems like it’s happening, your going to have “Epic Fails” along the way. I know it’s not related but, as My Mom’s former boss, Kelli said about her move to Arkansas, “It happened Naturally, I didn’t have to lift a finger.” Anyway, the bridge finally opened on March 31, two weeks too late and yes, knowing me, My Mom and I drove across the first day it opened. By the way, the bridge looks really good for a bridge that goes to the poor and not-so-good part of town. Of Course, the next part of the project will be when it get interesting, The Re-Building of the I-30 Bridge and I-35E Bridge. I’ll tell you though, that I think those bridges are meant to be built because the existing bridges have been there for a long time and there is more traffic then there was when it was being built. Also, the view coming in on the I-35E Bridge will be really awesome with a new design. So, I’ll leave you with an update on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge’s Epic Fails, there’s been a lot of accidents at the “West Dallas” end of the bridge because people are driving too fast and they don’t realize that the bridge dumps onto a not-so-thoroughfare street; now, you tell me, Is it meant to be there or not? All in all, like I said, If things are meant to happen, then they will, naturally.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit.  Let things you want come Naturally, otherwise be ready for the Epic Fails.