Brainerd Buddy Walk 2011

Quote of the Day:  Walking Together...So no one walks alone. Mary Aalgard, from my article in Her Voice on our local Buddy Walk and the families who are involved.  They honored me by using my words on their t-shirts this year.

The weather was gorgeous in the Brainerd lakes area on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, for the fourth annual Buddy Walk and Roll. This year, they held it at the Confidence Learning Center.

They renamed it the Buddy Walk and Roll to include people with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities.  This camp was started as a place to service the needs of people and families with these conditions.  Read their mission statement here. 

Dave and Becky Meyer were key organizers this year. Their sons Luke and Noah lead the walk.

Luke and Noah are twins. Noah has Down syndrome.  Their older brother Caleb was on a church trip and missed the walk.

This was the first group to use the new trail.

It started with a Ribbon "Cutting" ceremony.

I was so glad to see that not all the leaves blew off the trees from our recent wind storm. The road was paved and smooth. The scenery a feast for the eyes, and the mood of the day was joy and celebration.

This is the other Meyer family that I featured in the Her Voice article. I also interviewed Beth. I walked part of the path with her and her little daughter, Lauren, ran most of the way. I think she just turned four. I smiled at her, and she held my hand for a short bit. That made me smile even more!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What have you recently celebrated? What did you do? Who has reached out to hold your hand?

Fall Color

Friday Favorite Photo

Quote of the Day: Our summer made her light escape, into the beautiful.  - final line from Emily Dickenson's poem, As Imperceptibly as Grief

I pass this gorgeous Red Maple on my way to the YMCA where I work out.  It's extra motivation to go to Group Power while this tree is in full color.  We had gale-force winds in the Brainerd lakes area today, so I made a special trip over to this side of town to capture the colorful leaves before they all fall away.

Close-up of another tree where I parked my van.

Love that shade of red!

I'm looking forward to my drive west and north this weekend for the children's writers conference in Grand Forks, ND. It's always inspirational, and the colors will be like watching a rainbow of trees slide by on the highway.

Journaling Prompt:  Where do you go to enjoy the change of seasons?

POC

Quote of the Day:  Music's the medicine of the mind. - John A. Logan

Also, Laughter is the best medicine. I don't know if anyone gets credit for that one. It's one of the consistent humor columns in Reader's Digest.  Here's my own bit of humor for the day.  It's all good medicine.

I am a member of LAMAA (see sidebar for our blog). It stands for Lakes Area Memory Awareness Advocates.  I am strictly a volunteer member. I joined because I want to learn more about Alzheimer's disease and Dementia awareness, and well, get involved.  I noticed that on our agenda for today's meeting that I am the POC of the website/blog.  Here was my response to that:

Good Morning, Corrie,

So, I see that I am a POC regarding the website/blog. Not being active in the business world, I started to think what POC might stand for:

POC - Person of Concern (like in a crime investigation)

POC - Parent on Call (Me 24/7)

POC - Patient of Corrie, Licensed Therapist (currently, not me, there's always tomorrow)

POC - Princess of Camelot (again, not me, but now I have some ideas for Halloween)

POC - Princess of Chocolate (Strong contender)

POC - Person on Chocolate (me, totally)

POC - Pickle or Cucumber (matter of taste)

POC - Pill or Capsule (pharmacist's question)

POC - Play or Coach (depends on skill and age)

POC - Pissed off Customer (while calling your phone service and kept waiting and waiting, pushing buttons, and waiting and waiting)

POC - Picture of Christ (seen on burnt doorframes and frosted windows)

POC - Piece of Cake (yes, please)

POC - Passed Out Cold (hmmm)

POC - Police on Campus (often, for reason listed above)

POC - Petty old Coot (hopefully, not your next door neighbor)

POC - Plethora of Color (Fall, can you feel it coming?)

This is how my mind works. Enjoy your day. See you tomorrow!

Mary

Go. Create. Inspire! And, have a little fun!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever been a POC?  What might it stand for? Do you ever get confused by cryptic text messages?