Birthday Boy and Girl

 Celebrating together...

Birthday Boy

On The Walk Home

I took this photo of Sam on our walk home from his work. No occasion in particular (other than it being the day before his birthday). It's just a nice, typical photo of Sam.

Same As It Ever Was

 Here is this year's birthday list from Sam...

Except for the video game at the top (crossed out) and the video game at the bottom (not crossed out) this is basically a repeat of every birthday and Christmas list from over the last many, many years. (It should be noted that many of those items sit unused in bags for years in his room - except for the video games, crossed out or not.)

Above and Beyond

 

Click to enlarge

Kudos to the management team at Dollar General for putting up these helpful signs to assist those customers who don't know to divide a number in half.

Four Steps (More or Less)

There are several steps of my involvement with Sam when it comes to him starting with a new support group. 

Step One is that I go in with him for the first couple (or more) gatherings. 

Step Two is I go in with him - then pull further into the background as he seems more and more comfortable (while staying within his sight). 

Step Three is I walk him in, then, before leaving, promise him that I'll be close by and if he needs me, he can call or text me and I'll be right over. Sometimes this means waiting outside the door, sometimes it means I'll be just down the street.

And Step Four is I walk him in and tell him I'm leaving (this after prepping him in the intervening week(s)) - and that if he needs me, he can call or text me - but he will have to wait ten-or-more minutes before I can get there. 

The goal is for me to not be involved at all in his activities (unless it's a family-type thing). It's not that I don't thoroughly enjoy being with Sam. I do. But the idea is to help Sam be independent, to build his confidence, to meet new friends, to create and expand his own social and support network - not only for today but for when the time comes that I can no longer be around.

I'm happy to say that, generally speaking, we reach Step Four a little more quickly than we did several years ago.

What brings this up is that in recent weeks, Sam has started with another support group (currently one of three). The pictures below are relevant to nothing in particular but were taken while I was on a walk, alone, killing time during Step Three of Sam spending time with this new group.

Tonight's Walk

 

It's slowly (very slowly) getting brighter out on our evening walks. Sam and I no longer have to carry our flashlights - unless we're out past the ungodly hour of 6:30 PM or so. 

Still, spring feels a long way off.