Dear Sushi,

You are turning 9 this month, but most times when I look at you, I still see that little baby that you once were. I still remember your first solids, first laugh, first swim, first steps… all your firsts. I never seemed to have missed any of it.

I was worried when you started talking late, but today you just wouldn’t stop. You can talk about anything from baseball statistics to U.S. Presidents, topics that bore kids. That’s why you love being with grown-ups who know what you’re talking about,

Even if it’s the first time you met them,

And even if you’re the only kid at the table.

You will read anything (that also bores me) - Time magazine and such.

You will read anywhere as long as there’s light - at a concert.

I was afraid you’ll be a nerd (like me), but not after I saw you shoot hoops,

And pitched a baseball at 32mph.

My favourite moments with you are when you are being silly with me,

Chatting in our hikes,

Sharing our birthday ice cream,

Sitting at the back row of the car, even if we both feel carsick, guessing if Roar or Royals made it to the Top20.

You thank me if I make sacrifices, and so you would always give me the best part, or the last piece, of anything. This is up on our wall at home because of you.

Your kind words surprise me, and your hugs for no reason. Oh, the privileges of being your Mom.

It makes me proud when I see you hold the door for the kids in your school. I trust that you will take care of Shoti with the same kindness.

Please don’t ever stop wanting to learn.

Keep on being helpful.

Go on with your reading - whether to a crowd

Or alone, and even until you wear glasses.

Don't be too serious.

Keep playing and enjoy being a kid!

I love you to pieces... to infinity... and beyond....

 XOXO, Mom

“The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born…. Your life, as you know it... is gone, never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life.”
- Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola

Dear Sashi,

This summer I had the privilege and pleasure of several days-out with you.  Much like me, you have always loved to ride the train, subway, bus, and streetcar.  I was able to fulfill your wishes with the help of my eager co-worker - thanks P! It was a joy ride. 

You were so easy.  You sat through 8 innings of baseball with Mom. I thought you wouldn’t even make it pass the 1^st. 

You could spend hours entertaining yourself - with mist,

Or with sand.

 

That’s why I didn’t mind giving up this daybed for your play area.

You are so full of energy.  You could climb this huge rock endlessly.

 

And do an imitation with your toys.

 

You would try anything and do every thing - from hammering

to batting.

You're afraid of nothing - deep water,

Even the police officer.

And most recently, you biked with Mom farther than you ever had, longer than I would expect from you.  You never gave up.  You blew me away.

These moments are my best with you, doing anything or nothing at all.

Love every minute of it. Please don't grow up too fast. 

Happy birthday, Sashi!  High 5!

XOXO,
Mom



Back to School

My dear babies,

Each year around this time I get butterflies in my stomach.  Another school year begins for you.  I would constantly remind myself that I’m not the one heading back to school.  It’s you, my two mini-me’s.  You are very much an extension of myself, and so I can’t help it. It’s challenging for Mom to release you each new school year, but I am confident that you will thrive well – socially and academically.  Enjoy school.  If you should come home with ripped pants and worn-out shoes from having way too much fun, that’s okay. In fact, that will make me very happy.

XOXO,
Mom

P.S. Daddy said good luck to me. I asked, what for.  He said he knows who's going to cry on the first day of school and it's neither of you. Dang!

To My Boys

Love each other unconditionally. Now and always.

 

 

2012 Sports Kids Of the Year: Conner and Cayden Long

What if someone you loved couldn’t play sports? He or she couldn’t feel what it’s like to catch a pop fly, see a shot hit the back of a soccer net, or cross a finish line.

Conner Long is nine years old. His little brother Cayden is seven. But Cayden can’t do a lot of things his big brother can do. At four months old, Cayden was diagnosed with a condition called hypertonic cerebral palsy, which leaves him unable to walk or talk on his own. Playing sports is a great way for brothers to bond, but it seemed to be out of the question for the Longs — until Conner had an idea.

A year and a half ago, he and Cayden started participating in triathlons together. Conner swims while pulling Cayden in a raft, bikes with his little brother towed behind him in a trailer, and pushes that trailer when they run. Over the past 18 months, the pair from White House, Tennessee, traveled up and down the East coast to compete in races. Seeing the brothers working together has inspired onlookers, while bringing Conner and Cayden closer than ever. Their amazing determination and spirit is why the Long brothers are the 2012 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKids of the Year.

[2012 SportsKid Of the Year Finalists]

A Simple Plan
It was spring of 2011, and Conner’s and Cayden’s mom, Jenny, was flipping through an issue of Sumner Parent magazine. As Conner looked over his mom’s shoulder, an advertisement caught his eye. It was for an event for kids that included swimming, biking, and running: the Nashville Kids Triathlon. Conner asked his mom if he could try it. Then he asked if Cayden could do it too. “You never want to tell your kid no,” Jenny remembers, “but . . .”

[Photos from the Sportsman Awards Gala]

Conner insisted, and the Longs decided they would find a way to get it done. They talked to race organizers, and they reached out to Mandy Gildersleeve, a youth triathlon coach from Florida, who helped them get the necessary equipment for the race.

That first race together, in June 2011, started with 100 yards of swimming. (The swimming leg was Cayden’s favorite, as he laughed and smiled the whole way.) Gildersleeve carried Cayden out of the raft and to the trailer for the hilly three-mile biking leg of the race. In this race, Conner would bike alone while Gildersleeve rode alongside him with Cayden hitched to her bike. Conner didn’t like that arrangement one bit. The whole ride he kept telling Gildersleeve to let Cayden ride with him. Finally, after they cleared one last large hill, Cayden’s trailer was hitched to Conner’s bike. “And he just took off,” Gildersleeve remembers.

Then came the half-mile run, and after a total of 43 minutes and 10 seconds, the Long brothers crossed the finish line, with Cayden smiling in his trailer and Conner triumphantly pumping his fists in the air. “That was my favorite moment,” says Conner. “Because I knew we could finish that race.”

Unstoppable
Since then, Conner and Cayden have competed in a total of 14 races, from triathlons to fun runs. When they go to races now, they are celebrities. People approach them for pictures, or simply stop to tell them how inspiring they are. Their Facebook page is filled with encouraging messages from strangers, some of them parents of special needs kids.

Many see Conner as a hero, but he doesn’t quite understand the hype. For him, these races are just a chance for him and his little brother to have some fun. “When we went out for the first race this season,” Conner says, “Cayden [had a look on his face] like ‘I’m so happy to be back out here, I can’t believe we had to wait this long!’”

And Cayden definitely has fun. He smiles and giggles throughout races. He’s even become a bit of a prankster. “We were warming up for a race once, and Cayden was really interested in this bright-colored van across the street,” says Gildersleeve. “He started to wheel himself towards it, so I said ‘Cayden, please stop.’ Instead he just started going faster. I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Right before he got to the curb, he stopped his chair. He turned around and looked at me with this huge smile and started laughing. He knew exactly what he was doing.”

Even if they don’t realize it, the Long brothers are an inspiration to others. Many people would have looked at Cayden and assumed he’d never be able to compete in a race. So when the Long brothers finish a triathlon, it’s a reminder that kids with special needs can participate in many of the same activities that other kids do everyday.

As for the future, the Long brothers have no plans to stop racing. The Long family is trying to start a non-profit organization to inspire more people, help the Longs travel to races, and, as Cayden gets bigger and heavier, upgrade their equipment.

Conner’s ultimate goal is to one day race with Cayden in Kona, Hawaii, at the Ironman World Championships. Kona is where the best in the world compete. It’s a grueling race, a 2.4-mile open water swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and finally a 26.2-mile marathon run. No one has ever finished the course in less than eight hours.

By the time they’re old enough to compete at Kona, Cayden would be a grown man. Is it even possible? Of course. It will take years of hard work and sacrifice. But the Long Brothers each have one good reason to work towards that dream: each other.

 [source]




 

Dear Sashi

Dear Sashi. Thank you for constantly reminding me that I could stop whatever I am doing and just listen to you. Even if it's again about airplanes and airports. Even if it's just for a while. It's always my pleasure.  XOXO, Mom.

Surprise!

I picked up my boys today from school. Sushi surprised me with this - “Since I’m turning 8, I already made plans for my future. So I can be a step ahead of my friends, I have decided whom I want to marry.” That someone who doesn’t even know the word “crush” has certainly crushed his mother. *fainting*

He talks about this girl every day (and night). How he plans to tell her that he wants to marry her, even if “she might think I’m crazy.”

Borrowing Sashimi’s new line – Seriously?

Please don't grow up too fast.

 

 

 

 

Dear Sushi,

You are barely 8, and recently you declared “ladies’ washroom no more!” It is bittersweet to watch you grow up.

This is you, a few days ago, where you had your very first pop treat. You first thought it was beer. You were surprised Mommy let you in on such treat.

At a bookstore in Quebec, I asked you to pick something you like. History shows you are mostly likely to pick a book. But this time you picked Yoshi. I was cringing deep inside hoping you’ll change your mind. You did not. It was a sweet reminder to Mum that you are still a child.

I wish you’ll stay like this forever.

XOXO,
Mom

To My Boys

Dear Sushi,
Today you asked me what I do at work. To satisfy your curious mind, I went into detail about education plan, college, degrees and occupation. I know that’s way too advanced for your age. But I know you understood them. You’re only 7 but you talk like your 18 and insist you’ll be a “different kind of teenager.” You know now that life is not all about you, and that there’s a bigger world out there that you have yet to discover and explore. You make me proud.

Dear Sashimi,
Every time we pass by the Purolator building, you say that is your office. You’re only 3 and you already want to go to work.

Please don’t grow up too fast.

XOXO,
Mom