by Dan | Oct 2, 2018 | Drops of Wisdom
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by Dan | Sep 12, 2018 | All Essential, Jeffrey
Each morning we seem to hold our breath. We never know how it’s going to go. And the thing that is really tough is that it can change very quickly. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s mornings with Jeffrey. Our morning starts out with him now getting woken up with his watch. We gingerly walk into the bathroom to greet him as he prepares for his shower. Will he hug us and smile? Will he grumpily grunt and give us the cold shoulder? But it’s the next part that keeps us guessing – when he comes to breakfast. Most days he will come down and greet us both with a huge smile and hug, sits down for breakfast, and completes his morning routine. Today was NOT one of those days. He was pleasant enough before the shower, but after he was in rare form. Didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to eat, didn’t want anything from us. And that’s why we have been so blessed by these oils. Before the oils, there were days when he would continue this behavior, arguing and fighting his way through EVERY step of the morning – brushing teeth, getting shoes on, putting jacket and backpack on, walking to the bus. It got so bad one time that our neighbor asked from her front door if we needed any help because he was screaming at me so loudly.
But the more we have learned about the benefits of essential oils, the easier it has become for us to ‘break’ him out of his funk. Now he has been taking Life Long Vitality and getting frankincense and helichrysum for his migraines, but Kami learned something at convention that she whipped up. She added some black pepper and a new oil, Copaiba, to his frankincense and helichrysum, rolled it on the back of his neck, and the effect was unbelievable! Before he was finished with his waffles, he was smiling, laughing, talking like the Jeffrey we all love to be around. He hugged both Kami and me, and strutted himself to his bus without any issues.
We know that there will be more mornings like this in the future, but we also know that we are now armed with the tools to help our man-child deal with these emotions when they pop up. And that will help all of us breath easier.
by Dan | Jan 1, 2017 | Jeffrey, Life
Bowl week elicits different emotions in our house. For Kami, it’s “UGH – more football!” But for me, it brings back some great memories. Let’s go back to 2005. At this time in our house, things were a little crazy. Megan was not being the most cooperative kindergartner, Kami was pregnant with Christian, and Jeffrey was 3, but he wasn’t your typical three year old – Jeffrey wasn’t talking yet. Grunting, crying, screaming, pointing. No words. He could understand us and could communicate yes and no, but no words. For those of you who didn’t know us then, Jeffrey was deaf when he was born, profound in both ears. When he was three, he entered a pre-school for children with hearing loss where he was being taught sign language and at this time he was beginning to make progress with his signing.
Also, Jeffrey was still really attached to his mom more than me. We hadn’t yet found that ‘something’ to bond us. So it was during bowl week that something really cool happened. I love football, all kinds. Even those really crappy bowl games that no one cares about. I can’t remember the game or the teams, I only remember what happened when the game went to commercial. I hadn’t even noticed that Jeffrey was watching the television, but every time there was a break in the action, he would turn, look at me, and begin to scream. Because he wasn’t talking, I really had no idea what was happening. It didn’t take long to realize what he was upset about because as soon as the game came back on, he would stand right in front of the TV, jump up and down, and start making ‘happy’ noises. It was so cool. I started to experiment by changing the channels, and each time I did he would turn and look at me like, “Come on Dad!!” For the rest of the week, I watched more football than I had ever watched in my life.
What a joyous feeling to finally have a connection with my boy! Since that day we have spent countless hours watching football together. At first, it was ok that he stood by the tv because he was too short to block my view. But now….he’s bigger than me so he must sit. It also didn’t take him long to figure out the “ON-Demand” features for the NFL Network and BIG 10 Network highlights. Soon thereafter he was able to navigate YouTube to see highlights of past games, big hits, and anything in between.
It didn’t take long for me to indoctrinate him into Eagle Nation, which has become his favorite team. He has jerseys, hats, socks, jackets. You name it. His favorite movies were the 10 Greatest Eagles Games given to him by his best friend Frederick. One of my favorite moments was the first time I took him to an Eagles game when he was 6. The organization was awesome and allowed me to take him onto the field for pre-game warmups. To see his eyes widen as we walked out of the tunnel was something I will never forget.
Even though we don’t watch every football game together anymore, (he’s too busy playing guitar lately) I will always look back fondly to that week as the time Jeffrey and I became more than father/son, we became football buddies.
by Dan | Dec 26, 2016 | All Essential, Running
Sixteen weeks. One-hundred twelve days. Sounds like a long time. And it is! Sixteen weeks from today is Monday, April 17th. Not a day that stands out to most people, but to me it’s the best day other than Christmas. It’s the day of the Boston Marathon. For those that don’t follow running or marathons, it is the ultimate goal for the serious marathoner. You can’t just sign up for this one. You have to qualify for Boston by running a marathon beforehand in a certain time.
Today marks the official start of my training for the Boston Marathon. From last May when I qualified at the Pocono Marathon until today, running for me was optional. I run because I love it, but if I woke up and didn’t feel like running, I could skip a workout and not feel guilty about it. I don’t worry about how many miles I’ve run or will be running. But as of today, running is more like a job. Runs and workouts are not optional. Even if i don’t feel like it, I have to run.
Now I don’t want anybody feeling sorry for me. I’m choosing to do this. You see, running in the Boston Marathon is like participating in the Super Bowl for runners. And to get to this place seemed almost unimaginable to me. I was an average athlete. I made the travel teams and all-star teams, but I was usually the last one to make it, and it was almost always because of my last name. My mom and dad were involved in all of the leagues so I guess they had to include me. In high school, I was varsity in soccer and wrestling, but never won any awards or made any teams. So now that I have earned this opportunity to participate in this event, I will not waste it.
This will be my fourth time running in Boston, and each training season I learn a little more. Last winter I think that I finally found the routine that is perfect for me. I don’t have a specific plan that I follow, it’s more of a blending of lots of plans with the guidance of a few friends. Six days a week, with Fridays off, for the next 13 weeks until the taper comes. But the biggest difference that I found last year was what I was doing besides running – I was actually taking care of myself. Sleeping better, eating better, and of course, implementing doTERRA products into my daily routine. Even with a huge increase in the amount of miles that I ran, for the first time in 6 marathon training cycles I didn’t miss a workout due to illness or injury.
So here we are, 16 weeks until I race again. My favorite 16 weeks of the year.
Please check back here or on our Facebook page for updates on my training.
by Dan | Nov 7, 2016 | All Essential
We’ve always had a musical household, which is kind of funny since Kami and I aren’t very musical at all. It started when Megan was in kindergarten and wanted to play violin. After a few years she switched to piano and then added clarinet in fourth grade. When Christian was in kindergarten he started piano with Megan’s teacher and moved to drums in first grade.
During this time, Jeffrey didn’t really seem to have any interest at all with playing a musical instrument and we were ok with that. However, our awesome piano teacher, Kara, was going back to school for music therapy and offered to give Jeffrey some lessons as part of her program. Of course he was excited to get started since he could be like his brother and sister.
They started with the basics of beat and rhythm, and Jeffrey couldn’t wait for Kara to come back each week. She would bring her djembe and guitar and they would have a blast. At the same time, Christian’s drum teacher gave Jeffrey his old bass guitar. He would walk around the house strumming that sucker and singing at the top of his lungs. The problem was that it was too long and heavy for him, and he kept banging it into all of the doorframes and walls.
So we decided for his 11th birthday we would give him a guitar. (It was my old guitar that I used when I was taking lessons for a few months before Christian was born.) He was so excited! He didn’t take this guitar off his shoulder for what seemed like days. And since he was now in middle school, he would be able to play in the Junior High Band at our church. Fortunately, we had some wonderful band directors who allowed Jeffrey to practice each week and perform at the various services. They never plugged him in since he wasn’t really playing anything, just strumming along to the beat.
As he received his lessons each week, Kara would tell how sharp he was getting. He knew the notes and the chords, and could tell when she would make mistakes on purpose. The problem was that his fine motor skills couldn’t keep up with what his brain knew. We were all kind of resigned to the fact that this might be the best he would play and were just happy that he was happy.
In the meantime, Jeffrey basically spent his free time with his iPad and headphones playing his guitar and singing. We would hear him sing and play his guitar all the time, but it was more like noise than music (I can say that since he’s my kid.) Then one day we noticed that he was constantly on a website called “Worship Tutorials.” He would watch the videos on how to play his favorite songs. This was the greatest thing to Jeffrey because it combined his two favorite things, worship music and guitar!
As the middle school was winding down, we knew there might be a problem. Jeffrey dreamt of playing in the Senior High Band at church. But with his limited ability, we needed to come up with a plan. With the help of the band director, Dawn, we decided that the best chance for him to perform was by playing the djembe, something that he was good at and could do without really disturbing the rest of the band.
But one day this summer, something changed. One morning as we were sipping coffee, we heard something unusual – and it was the sweetest noise I ever heard. Jeffrey was truly playing the guitar! As we spied on him, we could see his fingers playing the right chords and it sounded like a real song. It just clicked. If you know Jeffrey’s story, you’ll know this is not abnormal at all. He struggled all of his life with the “milestone” moments, but once he “got it” he was secure in that skill. For instance, Jeffrey didn’t walk until he was 19 months old. He didn’t do the typical take a few steps and fall down thing. He got up one day and just walked! It also happened with talking, swinging, reading, and now the guitar!
This led to us back to the Senior High Band. With his new ability to play a real song, he was determined to play guitar at church. So we had Dawn come over to hear him play. She was amazed at how much progress he had made. We all decided it would be a good idea for him to go to practice with the band so he could get a feel for being a part of the group and hear them all play. The plan was for him to sit out the service, but since he was doing so well, Dawn allowed him to play the final song. Boy was he excited! All day he was practicing that one song, and when it was time to play, he walked on stage like he owned the place.
The next week he practiced with the band with no promises of playing at the service. But once it was over, Dawn informed us that Jeffrey could play all five songs! If there was anything higher than “Cloud Nine,” he would have been on it! So when the big night came, he didn’t disappoint. He still wasn’t plugged in, but he was able to learn all five new songs and play with confidence and competence. He wasn’t just a “throw in” member, he was truly part of the band. As he played his last song and raised his hand to praise God, tears filled our eyes as we watched our little boy become a Rockstar!
Here he is in action!!
https://youtu.be/_hl0RRmF2dk
