2014 National Stuttering Awareness Week

Who knew when I had Nate, that his birthday would fall during National Stuttering Awareness Week and he would stutter?  Nobody!  But, it does!  This week is National Stuttering Awareness Week and today is Nate's 12th birthday.

Nate is extremely kind, compassionate, intelligent and giving.  He loves his family and will do just about anything for his siblings. He has a strong love of soccer, and plays his hardest on his club soccer team.  He loves to serve on the altar at Mass, and his favorite role is carrying the crucifix during Mass. He's also musical, and excited that we are looking for a string bass for him to call his own this summer.

He is my selfie partner, the child who will always care for me when I'm not feeling well, and is the most empathetic of my three children. He will go out of his way to make sure others feel included.  He is a thinker, and is always considering how others feel, as well as how things work.

Today, we made a video about stuttering in honor of National Stuttering Awareness Week.  Here it is!

Sharing Arizona with friends

Last week, I let the kids play hooky from school! It was well worth it because a friend of ours, Sarah, was in town from frigid Boston.

We had the good fortune to meet Sarah thanks to the National Stuttering Association, where she takes charge of many of the kid activities at the annual conferences.  Over the last 3 years, we've gotten to know her better and think she is awesome!

She stutters, and is an ELL teacher, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the NSA.  When Nate's teachers mentioned earlier this year that they couldn't imagine a teacher stuttering, I wished I could teleport Sarah into their classrooms so she could show them that it was no big deal!

One of the things that I like about Sarah is that she is extremely kind and considerate towards everyone. She really takes the time to listen, especially to kids! She has taken a genuine interest in my 3, but I know that if you asked any parent whose kids spent some time with her they would say the same thing!

We were excited to show her the Desert Botanical Gardens during her stay in our lovely, warm state and she and her sweet friend had a great day.  My kids shared their wealth of knowledge about Arizona and I know that if nothing else -- the sunshine and warmth were highlights of their day.

On our way home, Lydia piped up from the back seat -- "I really like Sarah's stutter!" and Nate said "I liked being able to spend the day with someone else who stuttered!"  It reminded me again how grateful I am that we found the National Stuttering Association.  It's allowed us to meet the most amazing and wonderful people and build fabulous friendships.  Along the way, we've learned quite a bit about stuttering -- mainly that it just doesn't matter if someone stutters!  No matter who you are, or what your gifts are, all that matters is how you treat others.

Sarah is a shining example of a wonderful person that I'm glad my kids look up to.  She makes our world a better place. If she didn't stutter, we probably never would have met -- so I'm also grateful for Nate's stutter and her own!