10 May 2010

Day 176 – Grayson’s Journey


Dear friends and family

When I spoke with Grayson this evening, he was already in bed, and didn't want his residential assistant (RA) to turn the light on. He was in bed, but he wasn't sleeping yet, and wanted to talk with me for a bit. Conversation with Grayson these days is not about deep intellectual topics as they once were, or asking advice on how to solve a problem, or even to discuss interesting "stuff". Today conversation is just about making a connection – demonstrating love – making sure that Grayson knows that someone cares. When his RA asked if he wanted to talk with me, Grayson said "yes" and made a personal connection. It's all about meeting someone where they are – and we met.

Today Grayson and his roommate teamed up to make dinner, under the watchful eyes and guidance of their respective RAs. This was a first in my recollection. To respect privacy, we'll refer to Grayson's roommate as "Fred". Fred was responsible to boil the water and make the pasta, and Grayson was responsible to "make" (warm up) the meat sauce and (heat) the garlic bread. I'm not quite sure how it fit in, but a vegetable was made also. This place is pretty good about getting balanced nutrition in these guys! After everything was prepared, Grayson and Fred sat down to eat. Grayson finished all of his food and asked for more. This is great news, as he is currently down 60 pounds from his emergency room admission, and is now at the bottom of the recommendation for his height.

After dinner the roomies did chores – Grayson the vacuuming and Fred cleaned the bathroom (remember that Grayson did it yesterday. I need these guys at my house – with their RAs of course!). Grayson's vacuuming was not too good, and the RA had to help him with what is called "hand-over hand" – the RA put's his hand over Grayson's to guide the vacuum where it needs to go. Remember, this is all about building life skill patterns, not about how well the task is accomplished.

After the chores, Grayson and his RA went for a walk around the grounds, while Fred and his RA picked up the mail. Grayson or his roommate picks up the mail daily. If you are interested in sending Grayson a note or a picture, email me and I'll send you his address – I'm sure that he would love to hear from you!

Pax!

Brant
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11 May, 2010 08:09

    Hi Brant and Regina--I love the "hand over hand" technique. It reminds me of how the Lord takes me down to my most humble self, and places His hands over mine and says quietly into my ears, "Now, Doug, this is how you do it. See how we do it? OK. Now, you take ahold and you do it...No, not like that, like this...yes, that's better, now do it again, and again, and again..." I've learned my most important lessons that way, and I know Grayson is getting these rudaments down real well, with the help of his RAs, and in the "hand over hand" technique of the Lord.

    In Him,

    Doug

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  2. Anonymous11 May, 2010 21:15

    Hey Brant-
    I tried e-mailing you through the link on your blog but my computer wasn't working with Outlook. So I was wondering if you would please send me Grayson's address to my e-mail which is prncss92784@yahoo.com. I read your blog everyday and love hearing about how Grayson is doing. I would like to thank you again for including all of us in your journey.
    Sara

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