Games People Play - Computer Fun

I remember Teresa assembling puzzles in her teens - upside down - sideways - even without knowing what the puzzle was about.  She can see shapes and quickly put them together.  And playing cards was just her cup of tea. On any given day, she would diligently play word puzzles.  Or, she would pull out her calculator to use with math workbooks.  Or, she would pick out just the right magic marker to color a beautiful drawing.  On occasion, she would put a "Good Job" or a colorful star as a reward sticker on the completed page.  As a young woman who has much time on her hands, she has become the student, teacher and recognition coordinator all in one person.

I've recently acquired a new computer with, of all things, games on it.  There is no comparison to a paper workbook.  It's ten times the fun.  I had no idea.

Watching her eyes light up I notice how she is intrigued to learn how to do things on the computer.  You don't need stickers because the sounds on the computer are silly, and sassy and make you grin from ear to ear.  The colors of the games on the computer screen make the paper workbooks seem almost boring now.  You can even play a card game with your computer if no one is around.

Our goal of one new game each week is easy to reach.  We are assembling a page of internet links of really fun games that she enjoys - all of them are free. (that is if you don't mind watching a commercial in between each game). 

Bravomundo to the online game makers, who provide us with this incredible entertainment system.  This makes every day, a celebration at our house.

Planting for the Future

I remember, when I was newly married, an Italian woman telling me that she only allowed her husband to have two fig trees.  Over the years I understood what she was talking about as we have had as many as 6 fig trees at once -- each being a labor of love.  They grow quickly, produce wonderful fruit, and need to be pruned each year.  We now only have two fig trees, having cut down a few last year. 

Yesterday, my husband proudly received a package and I should have not been surprised to see what it was.  Another fig tree.  He couldn't have been a happier guy.
The little tree arrived two days after we received a doctors report summary for our daughter who suffers from her seizure disorder which occurred as a result of injury from a brain bleed when she was two months old.  The report that narrates what changes have occurred in her over the past year-and-a half states her epilepsy is not well controlled, and that her behavior changes including intense raging, could be a result of her seizures.  Further testing is needed.  The report says, as others have told us, that we should consider surgical approaches to clarify where/how the seizures are starting.  They've asked us to find an expert epilepsy surgeon at an expert epilepsy center.  Whenever the word surgery is used, we first think of getting a hematologist on board because of her bleeding disorder (factor V deficiency). 
By next year, we will have progressed with our daughter's epilepsy - both her treatment and possibly recovery from surgery.  By then, we'll also include a comparison photo when we celebrate our fig tree's one-year birthday.  Planting for the future is planing for the future.  By next year it is our hope that both our daughter and our fig tree will be happy.  We hope our daughter will be doing better and strong enough to enter back into something fun in her life.  And by next year we hope that our little tree will be getting rooted and stronger in her life - in order to bear many delicious figs in the years to come.  Both require a labor of love.

Now that I think about it, two fig trees just aren't enough. Yesterday's arrival was truly something to celebrate.