Kindred Spirits.

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” ~ Anne of Green Gables

Siblings with the one and only Don Meyer! 

Dearest Readers,

It seems I've been bitten by the writing blog after those long months away. So, hello, again!

If you have ever read "Anne of Green Gables," then you're sure to be familiar with those words that describe friendships so perfectly--'kindred spirit.' She also uses 'bosom friend,' which I loved to use after I first read the books as a 10, 11, 12 year old, but my mom quickly told me that those words might not be appropriate in this century. I am glad she did, though secretly I continue to use them in my journal and in my heart.

I tend to be of the personality type that squeals when I find a kindred spirit friend. It's easy to know if they really are a kindred spirit, then, by whether or not that squeal unsettles them.

These past two days were sweet, sweet days filled with kindred spirits.

During Lent this year, I decided to follow  Pope Francis's  call to give up indifference. I had decided to observe Lent because so much of our Spanish studies include Catholicism, and the tradition was one I really admired. Of course I adore the Argentine Pope, and so when I read his words about how so many people give up things with ulterior motives, I was immediately convicted. I had planned to give up bread, not just because it's my favorite food group and would definitely be a struggle, but because I also knew it would have positive effects for my body. He said indifference is the real problem with our world today, and I couldn't agree more. It was an incredible season for me, and I learned so much I could write several blog posts about it.

I realized that I was being indifferent to the special needs siblings like myself. It wasn't a hateful indifference, it was simply a "It's hard for me to think of your struggles and to see myself in them so I simply don't" kind of indifference. And, to be honest, I would rather focus on the disabled community instead.

I was shunning indifference from my life, though, so I sent Don Meyer, the director of the Sibling Support Project, an email. As had happened the entire Lenten season, God surprised me by how obviously He had ordained for this to happen. Don had just put dates on the calendar for a sibshop facilitator training in Jackson, and within that day I was added as the very first attendee. Crazy, right?


That training was this Thursday and Friday, and oh my goodness, what an incredible two days they were.

It was the first time all of us adult sibs had gotten to meet and know other siblings like us--true kindred spirits. We sat side by side on a panel and faced a room full of service providers and parents whose passion is caring for those with disabilities, but who are realizing the importance of those siblings, too. As we answered those questions and found our answers mirroring one another, I began to understand what a unique community this is. Even though the disabilities our families face varied, we are all linked by not just the struggles, but the undying love we have not just for our families and siblings, but for everyone with a disability. It was an incredible thing.

We've grown up in worlds where our siblings have countless therapists, doctors, teachers, etc. dedicated to thinking about them and worrying about them and caring about them--and though our siblings would probably say they would have rather not had all those people surrounding them, it sends a very clear message that, "You matter." To sit in that room, then, and to hear Don repeatedly talk about how much he LOVES siblings, felt like being told over and over again, "You matter. All of you matter."

It's true; everyone in this world matters. The siblings I met this week and I already have plans set in place to begin discussing starting Sibshops in the Jackson area, and to continue being present in one another's lives. I am truly thankful to have found these dear kindred spirits, and can't wait to bring together kids in this area so they can find their own. What a gift.


I hope you have your own kindred spirits in your life that reaffirm you. You matter very much.

Your blogger,
Claire

I love Cate's joyful smile at the Sibshop demonstration! 

On Writer's Block.

Dearest Readers,

I didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging. I've sat down at the computer several times this summer intent to publish something. I really wanted to share with you about my freshman year, but something always stopped me. Something ugly and intimidating and gross.

Writer's block.

I once read an author say she didn't believe in writer's block, and to a certain extent I don't think I do, either. I have names for whatever has stopped me from writing, and they're called: fear, the feeling of inadequacy, smallness, doubt, and a host of others.

It wouldn't be too much of a problem since this blog has maybe five regular readers. Except I'm speaking at a conference in TX later this month, standing on a stage alone sharing my family's story. This is requiring me to write, regardless of writer's block and feelings of inadequacy.


My first semester, I had a fabulous English teacher. I fairly ran out of her class the first day she gave us a big assignment: to write a paper on something or someone new to us at MC. By that night I had chosen a subject and written all of my interview questions and created a rough outline. I love telling people's stories. When it came time to tell a story of our own, however, and I had to talk about move-in day and the week of Cate's hospitalization that prefaced it, I was stopped dead in my tracks with--you guessed it--writer's block.

I don't really understand it. I believe deeply in my soul that everyone's story matters. I would like to climb on top of a tower and shout to every person in the world that they have a story and it deserves to be told.  I would throw pencils and pens at them and urge them to document the moments of their lives, because they are unique to them and beautiful and the world should know about those moments.

But what a hypocrite I am, because when it comes time for me to write the moments of my own life, my ears can only hear, "You don't even have a story. These words don't matter. The world has better things to think about." 

My dear family and sweet friends are quick to assure me these words are lies--they kindly encourage my heart, and their encouragement gets me through another paragraph or so.

But then I had a video conference with two other women headed to this conference. At first I was silent, struck again with how little I have to contribute. Soon, though, I forced myself to speak and found myself laughing over the strange comments families like ours often get. It felt nice. Until one of them asked me, "So, Claire, do you use a chair?" and I realized with a sickening drop in my stomach that she assumed I had CP. Awkward apologies and explanations followed. Just a single comment, and it was enough to bring that writer's block back so forcefully I just want to cry as I stare at the words I have written and think about the many I still need to fit into my time-slot.

When I struggled so much on that English assignment, I started writing about something that makes me smile (salsa dancing), and it shoved that great big block out of the way and somehow became the paper (seriously I wrote about salsa dancing, ha). While I don't think I'll be printing this out and sharing it at the conference, I hoped it would do the same. As I wrote, I received an email from one of the women from the video call. I had written to apologize, again, over the confusion of whether or not I had CP, and to give her permission to take me off this presentation committee since it doesn't really make sense for someone without CP to stand up there. She actually told me she knew I didn't have CP and wanted a sibling's perspective added. That email, coupled with the words that now cover this page, have successfully shoved that great ugly block out of the way.

I think next time I go four months without blogging I'm just going to slap myself with a reminder to get over myself, haha.

Thank you, readers, for faithfully reminding me that my story matters when I sometimes forget. You show me that every time you click on this little blog of mine, and you have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you.

Your Blogger,
 Claire

P.S. you should write your story down no matter how hard it is because it's important that the world hear it.