It seems Jonah is a trendsetter with his cow-cuddling – just look at this BBC article I saw the other day:
Why a Dutch Wellness Trend is Taking the World By Storm https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08kzw6t/why-a-dutch-wellness-trend-is-taking-the-world-by-storm
I guess Boo is on to something. Maybe there’s a local farm that would let me bring Jonah over to lay next to one of their cows on a regular basis. (Talk about sentences I never thought I’d type!)
I’m going to join a zoom today to hear the State of Anderson Address given by Patrick Paul, CEO, which will include a discussion of the major challenges and wins, upcoming projects and initiatives, and financial status of the school. There has been a lot going on and I’m not going to get into it here – at least not today.
I see Jonah just about every Sunday for our lunch and campus walk, complete with music and usually a Reese’s peanut butter cup or two. As usual, he is impervious to the cold but seems resigned to wearing his winter jacket and even putting the hood on. When he was little he absolutely refused all manner of hats and hoods, so this is a definite improvement.
He did have a violent episode several weeks ago when he was walking the campus with Andy, so now we both carry walkie-talkies on our visits and can call for help if necessary. A few years ago my mental state would have crashed after this incident, at the hope that rises when he goes any length of time without an aggressive behavior and the resulting despair when it happens yet again. I’m not sure what has changed – maybe I have come to understand the cycle has not stopped, may never stop, that he may not “grow out of” this. Andy has always seemed more resigned to this cycle, even when he is the recipient of the aggression. I am slow to accept the inconvenient truths and could learn a thing or two from the way Jonah’s father accepts the situation, loving his son with an unwavering steadiness despite all the uncertainty and pain.
Tonight is our Rock Voices concert at the Egg. It’s almost sold out, and I am looking forward to performing with my chorus peeps. Rock Voices has saved me, and my friend Laurie who sings with me, in so many ways. As my boss Denise says, it’s hard to be depressed when you’re singing. Amen, Denise. Here we go…
Happy New Year to you all – may 2025 be full of love and laughter…and music, always music.
The Never Normal 