January 16, 2019

Lunch with Jane:

Before I left for Florida, I visited Jane. It was Monday, which is usually when my brother & sister-in-law visit so it wasn’t a solo visit. When I was talking to my stepmom about what kind of magical treat she would like me to bring home from Disney World, my sis-in-law said “I bet you’d like some ears Jane, wouldn’t you?” As luck would have it, I was handed a pair of special edition marathon ears when I crossed the finish line of the Marathon on Sunday.

If you’ve been following Jane’s story for awhile, you know my last few attempts of bringing something home from Disney haven’t faired very well on the flight home. Last time I was there, I had an amazing lemon blueberry scone & when I mentioned this to Jane on Monday, she said oh yeah – meaning that’s what she would like. You may remember Jane’s favorite cupcake is lemon, so anything with lemon catches her attention. And it traveled so much better! It made it to Jane from Florida in tact!

In addition to the special treat I brought from Disney World, my running buddy, Steven, brought biscuits all the way from England for my stepmom. He’s never met Jane – just follows my story here on facebook. We both were in Florida to run Dopey, so he told me he wanted to bring something special for Jane. It’s a beautiful tin which plays music. That alone mesmerized Jane, but when I opened it & gave her a biscuit, she was thrilled! They are Jane’s biscuits so I didn’t eat one, but she assured me they were delicious! We both think it’s really cool that Steven did that & are grateful for his generosity. This is why I say running friends make the best friends!

After lunch, Jane & I headed outside. We wanted to sit under the trees, but it rained much of yesterday & most of last night so all of the chairs outside were soaked. That forced us to head to the clubhouse for our visit. We had it mostly to ourselves so Jane didn’t mind. I shared pics of my trip with my stepmom & told her all about my races. When I talked about the marathon & shared the pic of me crossing the finish line, she grinned from ear to ear. I believe she was proud of me. Jane was very alert today & engaged in my stories from my trip. She ooooh’d & ahhh’d a few times when I talked about the animals I saw outside my room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. In some ways, it was like the old days. It was a nice visit.

After our visit, I wheeled Jane back to her house. It’s a nice day here in Phoenix so we took the long way & walked slowly – just enjoying our time together. I helped Jane out of her wheelchair & in to a chair in the great room. We texted my dad to tell him where he could find Jane’s biscuits & reminded him to get them for Jane after lunch tomorrow. We shared a biscuit with Robin because she’s always so nice to Jane & that made her day. Overall it was a good visit.

It’s so funny how a horrible disease changes your perspective on life. A year ago, I would have described today as a bad day because Jane has very little ability to speak. But this disease has taught me to listen with my eyes & watch for Jane’s engagement. When my stepmom is engaged the entire visit, it’s a good day. We don’t have many of those anymore. I’m glad the treats from Florida & special gift from England made Jane smile today. It really is the small things that make all the difference.