One Week...Not So Weak

One week ago today we set out on a new adventure in the unknown world of blogging.

In just one week we managed to get 15 followers and 1954 PAGE VIEWS!!!

NOT  TO SHABBY!!!

Yet I confess...I am not at all surprised.  We knew coming into this Mando had something very special. Mando had WARRIORS. Wherever Mando goes his Warriors go...in Mind, Body, and/ or Spirit.

It is your hands that hold us when we are weak.

It is your hearts that love us when we are alone.

It is your prayers that are heard when we can pray no more

It is the sound of the warrior's feet that set the tempo of our journey.

Mando can hear you. He urges me to write another post. He told me "Mom they're gonna want another post..." He knows you're there.  I am but a messenger between warriors.

I am grateful for that.

WHERE THERE ARE WARRIORS THERE IS WONDERFUL 

Don't Cry Over Dropped Forks

It was getting late so rather than eat in Salem we decided to hit the road, not to mention I erroneously wore shoes two sizes too small. We got back in the car and headed southwest with a plan to stop on the Mass Pike before Mando would have to begin his evening fast.

After about an hour or so we pulled off into a Thruway rest area. Sure enough, there was a Boston Market. I thought that would be fitting enough given a Boston trip. Mando and I had never eaten at Boston Market before so it would be the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
                                                                             
I've noticed that when dining in a cafeteria style dining hall people tend to censor their behavior less than let's say more formal venues. I spied a family to my left. A man, his wife a two absolutely beautiful tow head toddlers, a boy, and a girl. The American Dream family. One of the tiny toe heads dropped a plastic eating utensil on the floor. It then that Dream Dad's demeanor changed in a flash. I watched the crimson rise up his neck into his cheeks. Black and gray puffs of smoke began to billow from his ears, which by the way matched identically from the smoke of his new balance tennis shoes as he stomped back to the Boston Market counter to retrieve baby tow a new fork. I wondered what his blood pressure might be and turned my attention back to Mando.

Mando was just licking some mash potatoes that he spilled from the side of his plate. Eating has never come easy for Mando. Chewing and breathing at the same time is especially hard.Managing to get a fork anywhere near his mouth even harder. DROP THINGS? FORGET ABOUT IT! I mean seriously FORGET...ABOUT...IT. That's what we do.  Why on earth would I even care? I am grateful just to see him breathe, that is a miracle in itself, anything beyond that...magic. That's not to say that I don't still try and teach Mando things like etiquette and manners. Sometimes he finds the rules silly. He is patient with me.  "Why must we keep our elbows off the table?"

What goes on in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. American Dream and the Tow Tots is none of my business. Who am I to judge?

I will tell you this, however. I have spent many a moment having envy of the Dream couples of America. What a privilege it must be to take so much for granted. I have spent days on my knees till they were raw and bled, begging the creator to restore some bit of function in my child's body while others had everything and never seemed to notice.

It is a privilege you would be wise to count amongst your blessings...

All in all, I count Mando..the way he is as one of my GREATEST BLESSINGS EVER!

Drop the Pills and Let's Head for the Hills

It was last year when the doctor confirmed my worst nightmare. Mando had Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Knowing that is one thing. Watching then administer chemotherapy for the first time is quite another. The medical staff cleverly arranged to begin the infusion while I was out of the room. I returned to the horrible site of this toxic substance pouring into my baby's body. I could scarcely breathe. My mind screamed STOP. I trembled for I knew this was for the best. I couldn't stop a thing if I wanted to. I hated every single solitary millisecond of what was happening. I was helpless to do anything about it. In my heart of hearts, I wanted to rip every IV, port, catheter, and tube from his frail little body with my bare hands. I wanted to snatch him up as fast as I could and head for the hills, where no one would ever find us again... I didn't. I stood. I watched. I cried. I prayed.

Mando just started the second week of his third chemotherapy. The last two drugs did not do as we hoped. Mando takes his chemo twice a day. He must fast for 3 hours with each dose. He is supposed to take this for the rest of his life. Mando does not complain. He is so utterly NOT  bothered by it that you would swear he was taking a couple of aspirin. I still hate it. Every day in my mind I throw those pills as far as I can and grab Mando and head for the hills. Every day I know we run but we could not hide because Leukemia would follow us. Instead, I stand by. I watch. I cry. I pray.

Chemotherapy if you must inhabit my little boy's body then I beg you, please to do your job, fight as hard as Mando does and once and for all kick that leukemia's ass.

So we suck? Now what ...

Beginning a new blog is a daunting task especially for someone not so computer savvy as myself. Truth be told beginning anything new can be quite a challenge, so much so that it might seem easier to NOT try anything new at all.

I am going to break RULE #1 right off the get go. The rule is, never talk about how bad you are doing something while doing it. Fake it until you make. WRONG. I admittedly have no idea how to blog. But I am going to do it anyway. There I said it. Now what?

I did a little research last night on How To Blog. I was alarmed at what I read. Basically, time and again I saw the same message. "You probably suck so don't waste your time." I read messages that said, "Just because you THINK you're a good writer doesn't mean you are. Do NOT start a blog!"
My favorite was "Whatever you do, DO NOT WRITE ABOUT YOUR LIFE! It's boring and nobody cares." Yikes!! That is exactly what I am going to. Now what?

I considered these internet reprimands and warnings carefully. After all, they were written by SUCCESSFUL PUBLISHED BLOGGERS...who am I to disagree? I pondered. They're right. I do suck. I am not a great writer. I'll probably misspell 30% of my words and have grammatical errors up the wazoo. And YES I am going to write about my boring ass life...Now what?

I thought a little bit longer...I remembered I was also going to write about Mando.

Mando, when compared to other kids his age, SUCKS at just about everything. Does that stop him from DOING anything whatsoever? HELL NO!! That is what is most marvelous about Mando, he simply doesn't give a hoot about how much he sucks or doesn't suck at the things in his life, like talking, walking, running, jumping, throwing a ball, shooting an arrow. Mando does what Mando does because he is ALIVE and because he is ALIVE he will do as he desires without care how he measures up to others. Mando does not operate from the ego. Mando IS. Mando DOES. Mando no matter how difficult the task, Mando PERSEVERES. MANDO DOES NOT SUCK.

I thought about all the things I do in life that I probably suck at, cooking is one, I still do it. Dancing is another...sucking has never stopped me. Singing, Oh Lordy, cover your ears Cause I SUCK OUT LOUD...REALLY LOUD and I won't stop singing until they gag me! Don't even get me started on my sense of fashion...WHAT NOT TO WEAR  on steroids. If I only did things I didn't suck at I probably would never get out of bed...(I'm really excellent at sleeping)

So I decided to continue with the blog, sucky as it may be because that's WHAT MANDO WOULD DO. I will shoot my arrow and if I miss the Target, I'll shoot again. Why? It's for the love of shooting the arrow, not for the glory of hitting the bull's eye.

If there is something you want to do in life don't let NOT being good at it stop you. DO IT ANYWAY!!

So we SUCK? Now what? SO WHAT!! WE ARE DOING IT ANYWAY. Why ? BECAUSE WE WANT TO! It's never been about being great it has always been about greatly loving what we do, even the tough stuff. I am grateful for that.

The Journey Continues

It began 1 year ago as a chronicle of facebook posts of a young boy with multiple disabilities newly diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  The story unfolded in its raw, uncensored way, and revealed an emotional journey of  a little boy, from a little town, and his family attempting to cope and have hope in the darkest of times. The little boy was Mando.

Mando surprised everyone. Deep within his pint size body emerged a strength that inspired all who came to know him. Mando captured the hearts of his community.  As his journey continued his community grew. Mando's circle of friends would spread far and wide including folks from around the globe. The community responded with overwhelming support as they cheered their favorite contender on punch after punch. No matter how hard he was hit Mando would not be knocked out. No one was more surprised than the very woman who gave birth to this small but Mighty Miracle. Normando Miracle Mason became his mother's greatest teacher.

In one year's time, Mando would continue to grow and teach and inspire. His mother would attempt to journal the events for all who wished to follow along and journey with them. In one year's time, the words have grown enough that they became deserving of a special place...a blog.

I am Denise. I am Mando's mother. I have long known he is not just MY child. Mando is a child of his community, a community that is ever expanding, far reaching and ultra loving. This blog is for you. This blog is for me. This blog is about Mando. He faces many new challenges. I am assured he will do so with the same strength, courage, and valor he has always.

I do believe that some of the strength he is bestowed has come from the vibrational force of those that care for him. Mando is held up by angels, guardian, archangels and most importantly EARTH ANGELS just like yourselves. For that, I am ever so grateful.

Join Mando as his journey continues and the bell rings on Round 2 of  #MandoFightsBack.