This month has flown by, with so many events, so much travel and so much production. My schedule this month has been crazy and incredible. Each weekend I have been out of town. Sure some has been for family fun and some work and some both! The travel alone is doable. But when you add the fact that we are in the middle of producing new “Signing Time!” shows AND I broke my arm last month AND the girls are out of school. Can someone please schedule me a nap?

Here’s the play by play –

Weekend 1
Rachel and Aaron go to San Francisco, CA
Fisherman’s Wharf fried shrimp. Ghirardelli Square ice cream sundae. Arcade Fire concert at Berkeley. Aaron plays basketball with the band before the show. (Probably helped that I’m related to Win and Will)

Weekend 2
Rachel, Aaron and Leah go to Abilene, TX
The Grace Museum, Kidzfest. Incredible hospitality and tons of fans. I’m on a billboard. Performed with Dan Zanes. Texas salsa and steaks. Tried hominy. (Hi Dennis and Stacey!!!)

Weekend 3
The 4 Colemans go to Carolina Beach, NC
Friend’s 40th birthday surprise party. Collecting shells on the beach. Key Lime Tarts at the Blue Water Grill. Tried fried okra and hush puppies. (Happy Birthday Kelly!)

Weekend 4
Rachel and Renee go to Indianapolis, IN
WFYI PBS event – I’m told to prepare for HOT HOT weather yet had pouring rain. More rain. Fabulous “Signing Time!” fans stay for both shows in spite of pouring rain. ☺ Great event! Missed my flight home.

This Weekend
4 Colemans and Renee go to Las Vegas NV
KLVX PBS Ready To Learn Event – preparing for HOT weather again ☺ I am considering having Lucy join me on stage for a song. Will be a great event for all! Taking the girls to see “Mama Mia!” Lucy will probably sing through the entire show. Will have an In-N-Out Burger.

I know it can be overwhelming when you have a child or children with special needs. In the beginning I felt like I had to fight for everything for Leah. Every meeting was like prepping for battle and I started to notice how I took that attitude with me once I left the meetings as well. People are curious and they are going to stare and if you are lucky, they will ask questions. I finally put down my guard when I noticed that even I felt awkward asking other families questions about their child with a disability. I started cutting strangers some slack and took the opportunity to educate them. Plus, it’s incredible what comes out of other people’s mouths, and I started writing them down. Things like, “She’s too cute to be deaf!” or “Wow, one is deaf and the other has spina bifida? You must have terrible genes!” I figured that there might come a day when I could laugh about it. (I guess that’s now!)

Though my all time favorite comment was from a little boy who taught me not to judge the words from strangers and showed me so clearly that I am often the one adding meaning to what they say…

Lucy has hydrocephalus and her head was noticeable larger as an infant and toddler. One day I was at a taco stand, late picking someone up from the airport. Baby Lucy, 7 months-old, was balanced with her head on my shoulder and I was on my cell phone trying to get the flight status. This young boy, maybe 8 years-old came up and said loudly, “Your baby has a big head!” I ignored him and continued balancing Lucy, the phone and waiting for tacos. I was wishing he would go away! “Hey lady! Your baby has a big head!” he said even louder this time. The blood was rushing to my face and I wondered why parents forget to teach manners nowadays. I hung up the phone, got my bag of tacos and spun around to face him. He looked in my eyes and with complete sincerity said, “Hey! Your baby has a big head. I bet she’s going to be VERY smart!” I couldn’t even respond. I went back to my car and cried.

I am packing up for my trip to Abilene, Texas to perform tomorrow at their KidzFest. Our flight leaves this afternoon. Aaron and Leah are coming with me, which is unusual. Usually I travel with Renee, she coordinates and manages these outreach events. Renee is on a cruise in the Mediterranean, how sad for her So, Aaron is going to coordinate and manage. Leah is coming along since I broke my arm. I wasn’t sure how well I would be able to sign and figured it would be a safe bet to bring her along. She can sign, obviously, and I figured it would be a good distraction from my right arm, which can’t quite do everything I need it to do. Hope to see you in Abilene! I will also be performing later that day with Dan Zanes and Friends.

I hear there is a billboard in Abilene with my picture on it. I will have to hunt it down and take a picture.

Oh! I have to share because this is so funny! I started physical therapy last week. The PT asked me how many hours I have to work this week and I said, “Well, this week I have to work for 1-2 hours in Texas.” He looked interested and said, “What do you do?” I said, “I have a children’s television show that teaches sign language. It’s called ‘Signing Time!’” His eyes got bigger and he asked, “With Alex and Leah?”
“Yep, that’s it!”
He then continued to tell me how his kids love the show and his brother had a child with a speech delay and it made such a big difference. Then he stopped mid-sentence with a look of dismay and said, “Oh no! Do you know what the worst part is?”
“No… what?”
“I can’t tell anyone that I am working with you!”
(Gotta love that HIPAA!!!)