Kathryn,
Your mom and I are so thankful for the opportunity to have spent another year with you! Sometimes I still think about how very different our lives would be today if your first diagnosis had been correct. To celebrate your birthday, we took you to Cold Stone for some ice cream. You threw a huge fit because we wouldn't let you play in their restroom so we took you home, put you to bed, and ate your ice cream without you. You can thank us later. Your class at CSD made brownies to celebrate, and you and I started spending Saturday mornings together over chocolate milk and doughnuts (thank you, Brian Berry!).
You also got a name sign this week! Your mom and I are pretty excited about it because "Kathryn Elizabeth Schlichter" takes WAY too long for us to fingerspell right now. Your teacher, Maureen, gave you your sign because you always have a barrette in your hair to keep it out of your face. We thought about just going with KB since all of your friends call you Katie Beth or shorten it to KB (especially in text messages and emails) but we liked the idea of something descriptive. Your mom was adamantly opposed to using the sign for "cat" even though we chose "Kathryn" specifically because we liked the nickname "Kat." Anyway, you go by "Barrette" now. Good luck with that. :)
It was a big week to finish up a big year for you—and for us. The first six months were pretty uneventful but ever since your ABR in August SO MUCH has changed. Most of our free time now is spent trying to learn ASL faster than you, which means classes, watching kids' TV shows like Dr. Wonder's Workshop (because kids' shows are about the right level for us right now), even making new friends so we can practice and, at some point, we'll be looking for a new church (that's going to be difficult for me). At first I thought learning ASL wouldn't be that hard but it's a bigger challenge than we expected and, frankly, sometimes I just want to give up. We went to a lecture on deaf literacy Tuesday where we learned it will probably take us around five years before we're conversationally fluent in ASL, and it'll be as much as 10 years before we're fluent in formal or academic ASL. You'll be in first grade before I'll be fluent in your first language. It feels like an unconquerable task and sometimes I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I don't know how to tell you about God; I can't read stories to you; and I see other parents on the playground at school signing to their kids so fast I can't even understand what they're saying to a two-year-old! There are two-year-old kids with better vocabulary than I have, baby girl.
I've been feeling pretty down about the whole situation recently, until breakfast today. Today at breakfast you told me that you love me anyway; that none of that stuff matters. You were sitting on the kitchen counter while I was cooking bacon and I put the box on your head. You grabbed a spatula, I grabbed a spatula, and the Bacon Knight did battle with an evil warrior trying to steal all the waffles.
We're watching the Olympics on TV as I write this and what stands out to me this year, more than ever before, is how many people it takes to succeed in an event. Even in the "individual" events, coaches, gear techs, family, friends, sponsors, and many more people are involved, even though you only see the person competing. Behind the scenes of team Kathryn there are many people working hard for you too. Your teachers at school (who take time out of their day to tutor us as well); our new friends who have helped us gain confidence and wait very patiently while we sign away with our two-year-old level vocabulary; our old friends who have prayed for you, babysat you while we take classes, and listened to whine and vent about how difficult things are right now; Teresa who has added ASL lessons for all the kids at your daycare; grandma Nancy who has entertained you for many weekends to give us a chance to relax; and your doctors who keep you healthy. Life is a team sport and you have a lot of people on your team.
I hope you had a happy birthday, Kathryn. Here's to your future successes!
Your mom and I are so thankful for the opportunity to have spent another year with you! Sometimes I still think about how very different our lives would be today if your first diagnosis had been correct. To celebrate your birthday, we took you to Cold Stone for some ice cream. You threw a huge fit because we wouldn't let you play in their restroom so we took you home, put you to bed, and ate your ice cream without you. You can thank us later. Your class at CSD made brownies to celebrate, and you and I started spending Saturday mornings together over chocolate milk and doughnuts (thank you, Brian Berry!).
You also got a name sign this week! Your mom and I are pretty excited about it because "Kathryn Elizabeth Schlichter" takes WAY too long for us to fingerspell right now. Your teacher, Maureen, gave you your sign because you always have a barrette in your hair to keep it out of your face. We thought about just going with KB since all of your friends call you Katie Beth or shorten it to KB (especially in text messages and emails) but we liked the idea of something descriptive. Your mom was adamantly opposed to using the sign for "cat" even though we chose "Kathryn" specifically because we liked the nickname "Kat." Anyway, you go by "Barrette" now. Good luck with that. :)
It was a big week to finish up a big year for you—and for us. The first six months were pretty uneventful but ever since your ABR in August SO MUCH has changed. Most of our free time now is spent trying to learn ASL faster than you, which means classes, watching kids' TV shows like Dr. Wonder's Workshop (because kids' shows are about the right level for us right now), even making new friends so we can practice and, at some point, we'll be looking for a new church (that's going to be difficult for me). At first I thought learning ASL wouldn't be that hard but it's a bigger challenge than we expected and, frankly, sometimes I just want to give up. We went to a lecture on deaf literacy Tuesday where we learned it will probably take us around five years before we're conversationally fluent in ASL, and it'll be as much as 10 years before we're fluent in formal or academic ASL. You'll be in first grade before I'll be fluent in your first language. It feels like an unconquerable task and sometimes I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I don't know how to tell you about God; I can't read stories to you; and I see other parents on the playground at school signing to their kids so fast I can't even understand what they're saying to a two-year-old! There are two-year-old kids with better vocabulary than I have, baby girl.
I've been feeling pretty down about the whole situation recently, until breakfast today. Today at breakfast you told me that you love me anyway; that none of that stuff matters. You were sitting on the kitchen counter while I was cooking bacon and I put the box on your head. You grabbed a spatula, I grabbed a spatula, and the Bacon Knight did battle with an evil warrior trying to steal all the waffles.
We're watching the Olympics on TV as I write this and what stands out to me this year, more than ever before, is how many people it takes to succeed in an event. Even in the "individual" events, coaches, gear techs, family, friends, sponsors, and many more people are involved, even though you only see the person competing. Behind the scenes of team Kathryn there are many people working hard for you too. Your teachers at school (who take time out of their day to tutor us as well); our new friends who have helped us gain confidence and wait very patiently while we sign away with our two-year-old level vocabulary; our old friends who have prayed for you, babysat you while we take classes, and listened to whine and vent about how difficult things are right now; Teresa who has added ASL lessons for all the kids at your daycare; grandma Nancy who has entertained you for many weekends to give us a chance to relax; and your doctors who keep you healthy. Life is a team sport and you have a lot of people on your team.
I hope you had a happy birthday, Kathryn. Here's to your future successes!
