Author: Christie Taylor

RISE UP MONDAY!
You can not extend kindness to others when you hold hatred in your heart. Be kind to yourself.

Our flight to Florida was a full one. The kids sat next to each other in a 3-seater row. I sat in the same row just across the aisle. In the row directly in front of the kids, a tiny dog started to yip in the final hour of our flight. Wil is very sensitive to noise, especially high pitches, and this dog’s yips put him in a tailspin.
“Mom, Wil is crying!” Elizabeth said.
I asked Elizabeth to take Wil’s noise protector headphones out of his bag and put them on him. She was able to find them quickly and put them on, but he was already in such an agitated state that his headphones did not calm him down. I reached across Katherine to lift him from his seat and pull him on my lap across the aisle further away from the dog. He was unwilling to move (it was no easy task reaching across Katherine to pull up an unwilling 80 pound child from his seat). After some shuffling, I was able to lift Wil from his seat and pull him onto my lap across the aisle.
Almost immediately upon getting Wil onto my lap and soothing him, the flight attendant was standing by my seat, blocking Wil’s view from the still yipping dog. She handed Wil a packet of pretzels, then discreetly showed me the snack-size Milky Way bar she was holding in non-verbal fashion of asking my permission. I nodded yes.
“Here Wil,” she said. “This is what you do. Take a bite of pretzel, then a bite of chocolate. It’s the best.” Wil was immediately intrigued by this and calmed down. The flight attendant continued to stand there, blocking Wil’s view of the dog that just would not shut up already!
I asked the flight attendant’s name and she said it was Marcelle. I thanked her for her kindness. She stayed and chatted with Wil. Asking how old he was, what he liked to do, and so on. Finally, even though that high-strung dog never stopped, Wil was now calmly talking with Marcelle (his headphones still on).
Our plane’s descent was soon to come, and I knew Wil would need to return to his seat. Thanks to Marcelle’s kindness, and 2 extra Milky Ways (“for later” she said with a wink), Wil returned to his seat without fear.
The dog owners never apologized. Maybe they were embarrassed or maybe they figured it was not their problem. I don’t know and never will. Yet without their silly, little dog the kids and I would never have known Marcelle. Before she was a friendly flight attendant. Her smiles earlier in the flight, as welcoming as they were, would have no reason to stay in our minds. The dog incident is what prompted me to ask Marcelle’s name so I could thank her personally for her forthcoming kindness.
We will all remember Wil’s upset on that flight. Thankfully Marcelle attached herself to this memory turning it into a very good one, indeed.

RISE UP FRIDAY!
When the end goal is overwhelming, remember that success is found in breaking it down to series of successful moments. One little victory at a time opens the path to a liberating future.

RISE UP THURSDAY!
Wil has been home from school with a head cold and we went to the doctor yesterday. As we got out of the car, Wil looked up to the sky and pointed. “Sun, mom!” (we have had many grey days). “Where Wil?” “Right there, blue!” I looked really hard, and then I saw it. The faintest line of blue through the layer of mist and low hanging grey clouds.
I was so used to looking at the grey skies, I forgot to look deeper for the little line of blue. Wil never forgets to look. For that I am thankful.

RISE UP WEDNESDAY!
The secret to a great day: Wake up in the morning overflowing with thanks.

RISE UP TUESDAY!
Be the kindness you seek in others.

RISE UP MONDAY!
Tune out the outside noise by tuning in to your inner joy.

Wil was born with Down syndrome. I knew within hours of his birth. The fear of the unknown overwhelmed me. I felt the loss of what I believed he would be. The hurt and shock of that moment has not faded over time. I still cry when I think back on that time. I may always cry when I think back on that time. Yet what I know today that I did not know then: this moment of time was a blessing, not the curse I believed it to be. I do not wish this hurt away, or wish it never happened. The deepness of this hurt was exactly what I needed to grab my attention. A place within me that I thought was without light, is the same place growth was ignited and began to evolve. Life became magnified. The littlest events became full of meaning and power. Joy intensified. Love is everywhere, I just forgot to look for it. The happiness I know today is not from outside forces but from deep inside. A place I wouldn’t know how to get to, or even know was there, without the initial guidance from this deep hurt. I may always cry when I think back on that time now almost 10 years ago. I hope I always do. These tears reflect a baptismal; a blessed new perspective on life.

RISE UP FRIDAY!
A little smile in the morning can change the entire focus of the day.

RISE UP THURSDAY!

Make it a dragon tamer kind of day!