25 years

It's rare that anyone stays at a job for 25 years. It's even more rare for someone with a mental handicap.  My 42 yr old nephew, Blaine, celebrated 25 years with Wal-Mart yesterday!  Quite an accomplishment I'd say! 👏 

There is no one more proud than Blaine himself.  He is 100% self supporting in that he lives alone, pays his bills, has a savings and a 401K, plus is active in Special Olympics and the University of Jamestown sports program.  
Does it take a village? Yep! Does he have limitations in understanding time, money, task, and exhibit poor impulse control at times? Again, yes.  Does he have a malicious bone in his body? NO.  Does he want to be loved, appreciated and valued as a person?  Yes!  Probably more so because of his handicap.   But, tell me this.....why is he any different than you or me? (other than his handicap, ie 14 yr old intellectual age).
I'm close to Blaine.  Do I hold him accountable for his actions? Sure do! Do I love him unconditionally? Wholeheartedly....as I would any member of my family.
I'm so proud of Blaine!

 

Comments

Rob said…
Yup, I've read a lot of favourable mentions about your nephew Blaine in your blog over the years. He must be quite a guy.
April 14, 2023 at 7:49 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to the Shit Show!

 I'm trying not to breaking one of my hard and fast rules - do not  talk politics or religion .  But for the love of all things holy, I cannot not   comment on the total shit show of last nights presidential debate.     America, we're screwed!     I want the chance to write in a candidate.  I think anyone would be a better option than the two we have right now.  UGGGHHHH!   I'm soooooo tired of the bickering . right vs. left.  I'm tired of the media, I'm tired of black lives matter (ALL LIVES MATTER, shit heads!), cop kiilings, riots and the disrespect and downright hatred  of the flag, of our Country!   I'm scared for everyone concerned.  I feel  the anger, the despair, the lack of consideration and respect - not only for the country -but for humanity .   I heard Savanna Guthrie , NBC Today Show, say that Social Media was the cesspool of society."   I couldn't have said it bet...
Read more

Merry Christmas!

Image
For Christmas 2022, I had promised Blaine that I would take him to Million (aka Michael) and get his UJ (University of Jamestown) tattoo recolored.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and I couldn't fulfill my promise to him. Christmas 2023 I was  subtly  reminded that I owed him his gift from last year!  He forgets  to brush his teeth or clean his apartment but gosh darn he sure remembers if it's something he wants!  Michael was all about making it look like new again and hooked us up with an appointment yesterday.   What a day!!! We started out with coffee and egg McMuffins and plenty of conversation as we rolled down the interstate! I think his mouth was going faster than we were traveling! We covered so man y topics! We laughed a lot but cried a bit too as we remembered the farm and grandpa and grandma. After the tattoo, we went ro Scheels for a few more Christmas gifts.. a swim bag for his Special Olympics swimming gea...
Read more

A Repeat...

Once in a while I receive a request to "repeat" a blog post. This is one of the repeat posts that I hope you all enjoy the 2nd time around. It was originally posted in May of 2008. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Greetings Everyone, I received an email about 9 years ago from a far-away-friend that touched me to the core. It was entitled "Life's Lessons." I printed it out and tucked it away to read when I needed some inspiration. I ran across it awhile ago and, not surprisingly, it touched me as much now as it did then. So, to my friend Lee - wherever you may be, thank you for sending me something so beautiful and for thinking of me. Be well My friend. Life's Lessons Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be; your ...
Read more