In early February, Jane Holtz and I dropped off our two Laurens at the Desales Family Center in Michigan so they could participate in a D-Pan weekend camp. While Jane and I stayed in our pajamas all weekend and read books, our girls were having fun with Sean Forbes and a group of fellow campers. They produced two videos, “We are the World” (below) and “Smile,” (coming soon) in a tribute to Michael Jackson and in recognition of the Haiti earthquake.
Enjoy!
Photos from the weekend:
Dear Illinois Senators,
We’ve got a bill up for consideration, S. B. 2516, and I hope you’ll pass it. You see, there are five generations of folks in my family who wear hearing aids. Every time we need new hearing aids, we need a doctor’s prescription to order them. Every time we inquire about insurance coverage for our new pieces of ear technology, we’re told, “Sorry, insurance companies rarely cover hearing aids.”
It is time to change that.
From the research I’ve done, it appears that it would cost anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars to provide coverage for hearing aids in Illinois. There really shouldn’t be any opposition from insurance companies– after all, hearing aids have to be medically prescribed and they certainly aren’t cosmetic devices as they’re sometimes described.
You see, without hearing aids, I literally cannot enjoy any music, hear the doorbell or turn at the sound of my kid’s voices. I can’t hear a single thing without my hearing aids.
Senators, think about the Illinois residents who have been prescribed hearing aids but who are facing the uphill battle of no insurance coverage for these medical devices. You can change that for Illinois residents. You can make history in Illinois and say, “Yes, the time is now to provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents of all ages.”
I will thank you. My family will thank you. The deaf and hard of hearing residents and their families of Illinois will thank you.
Read on for more:
It’s been a busy year for the Z-Team– we’ve launched a new Z videophone: the Z4! Come and join the Z-Team at the Chicago Z-Fest on Saturday, March 20th from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hinsdale South Cafeteria at 7401 S Clarendon Hills Rd, Darien IL. Pizza and pop will be provided. You’ll have a chance to meet folks from the Z-Team and learn about the four different videophones that Z provides.
You can RSVP on the Zvrs Facebook page: Chicago Z-Fest
And guess what, we’ve got some new services coming up– join us to find out what they are!
Some photos from our visit with the folks from St. Louis Deaf Professional Happy Hour:
See you at the Z-Fest!
“Son, there’s something wrong with the computer. Can you troubleshoot and figure out what’s wrong?”
“Troubleshoot? Sure, Mom, no problem.”
Last week, I hit the library in search of some books for a weekend getaway. Jane and I dropped off our daughters at DeSales Center in Michigan for a workshop with Sean Forbes from D-Pan and we planned to hang at the hotel and do nothing but read all weekend. While at the library, my eyes caught a title in the “Hot” books section: The Leap: How 3 Simple Changes Can Propel Your Career from Good to Great
Hmmm, I figured, can’t hurt to know how to go from good to great where I’m at now.
I spent Friday night wading through emails, Twittering time away, chatting with folks on the Z4 and watching the Comedy Channel. “Ahhh, this is so nice,” I said to Jane. “No one to interrupt me, no dishes to wash and a whole bed to myself. I could get used to this.” Jane just smiled– she was deep into a Harry Potter book.
Saturday morning found me submerged in the bathtub and I dove into ” The Leap.” Written by Rick Smith, he describes it best in this paragraph:
The Leap is a guide to personal evolution. It’s a “good to great” manual for individuals, a book about aligning passions and skills, and about the amazing energy that gets released when we find our personal “sweet spot.” All of us have a special place on the spectrum where the best of our ability intersects with what most inspires us. Too few of us ever find that spot or even know it’s there. But it is there, and it’s magic. This book will point you to it.
And sure enough, it did. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Back in the bathtub, I dove into the first chapter where Rick describes a climb to success that ended up with him riding down the elevator after being let go by his company. He had written a best-selling book, The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers: The Guide for Achieving Success and Satisfaction and all of a sudden, he was facing the fact that his career had suddenly ended.
Rick came up with the idea of putting together a company that would network the top well-known, highly respected executives in the world. He named his networking group/company World50. He faced opposition right from the beginning, with nay-sayers shooting down his idea left and right.
His first customer turned out to be Carl Gustin. Suddenly, I sat up in the bathtub and read on with even more interest. Carl Gustin was the former Chief Marketing Officer for Kodak and Apple. I had met Carl Gustin last summer in Las Vegas when he came to the Zvrs Team Week and gave a presentation. He also sat through our each of our team presentations where we shared our marketing ideas. I could see that he was a little nervous at first, after all, it was his first opporunity to spend a day surrounded by deaf and hard of hearing folks with all the hands zipping through the air. By the end of the day, Carl was laughing along with us. “This company reminds me of Apple in the early days,” he told us at the end of the day. “You guys have a lot of passion.” Carl joined us all for dinner and I had the opportunity to chat with him and ask questions. Soon after, he joined the board of Zvrs and has been with us ever since.
After I finished the book, I took the “What’s Your Primary Color” analysis over at www.theleap.com. I found myself smack dab in the middle of the spectrum, a gray-blue color:
The book is filled with questions to explore– I’m saving those for later in the week when I can focus more on that. I have some ideas of how I want to go from good to great this year, but I also learned that my work with Zvrs is right where I want to be– my passion and my talents are aligned with where I want to go.
Now all I gotta do is…
Leap.
It’s that time of the year again, the weekend where moms of deaf and hard of hearing kids kick back together! Registration is already half full, so act quickly to join in on this special weekend!
Illinois Hands & Voices presents:
Saturday, February 20th and Sunday, February 21st
(an overnight retreat!)
Holiday Inn Select Naperville
1801 Naper Boulevard
Naperville, Il 60563
(630) 505-4900
Event begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 20th
and ends at Noon, Sunday, February 21st
“Making Connections”
Dinner provided: Snacks, crafts, massage and so much more!
Sunday, February 21st; Will include a breakfast buffet and panel of deaf and hard of hearing adults sharing their life and work experience.
Remarks from last year’s participants at Mom’s Night Inn:
“It was great having time to relax and getting to know the Mom’s”
“I liked the small group activity; it was a good way to meet new people.”
“Meeting other parents, having an idea of what to expect and look forward to was my favorite part.”
“Now I know what to fight for.”
“Loved meeting the deaf and hard of hearing panel, their stories were inspiring.”
We hope you can join us, space is limited so register soon!
To register: www.ilhandsandvoices.org
Photos from past Mom’s Night Inn:
Judy Myers is my new idol. This “Old Lady” is my new inspiration each day, because she’s got me all fired up about barefooting again. Here I was last year, all sad and feeling like my best years were behind me– and then I learned about this 66-year-old gal who was skimming along the water like a spring chicken. So I’m heading down to Florida in the spring to meet Judy and try my hand at barefooting again.
Judy took a little time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions and share some photos of her barefooting. Enjoy!
Judy with her biggest fan and supporter, husband Casey
You started waterskiing at the age of 53 – tell me what it was like.
Actually I was 48 when I started waterskiing. We had gotten out of Dune Buggies and decided to buy a boat (A big boat with a giant wake). We invited friends to come out for the day and they use to water ski when they were younger so decided to bring along their old (wooden) skis. We had a ball but the next day we were so sore even our hair hurt!! I was hooked. I have always been around or on the water and really liked sports so this was perfect for me. I attend clinics, ski schools and skied a lot. I became a good recreational slalom skier and really enjoyed it.
How did you get into barefooting? How old were you? What was that first experience like?
I was 53 and went with a group of girls to “The River” (meaning the Colorado River in Yuma AZ). One of the girls (much younger than I) barefooted and decided we should all try it. The first gal scooted out on the boom and immediately flew off ripping off her barefoot suit and losing her bathing suit top in the process, the second girl did pretty much the same thing but first managed to hang on long enough to almost beat herself to death. It was my turn and after watching what went on before me I almost changed my mind thinking I was much too old for this. I told them they had one chance and that was it. I scooted out, put my feet on the water and again was hooked on a new sport – BAREFOOTING! What a rush to be actually walking on water! That moment literally changed my life!!
How did your barefooting evolve over the years? How did you get into competing? What was your first competition like?
My barefooting started out as just being a recreational sport and has gone from that to I now work at World Barefoot Center with Keith St. Onge and David Small each spring. While there I do the office work and lunches but the reward is I get to ski every day with two of the nicest and best in barefooting in addition to “Swampy” Keith’s coach.
When I first started skiing I went to FL for lessons as being an “old” Physical Education teacher I wanted to learn the proper way and save myself injury. I went to Ron Scarpa’s and it was Ron who convinced me to compete because of my age. It was here I also picked up the name “Old Lady”. Women tend to leave barefooting for various reasons and we felt it may help women realize they could stay in the sport, compete and have fun. After all that is what life is about – having fun and enjoying it to the fullest.
My first competition was in 1999 at the Western Regional’s at Cheyenne Lake in New Berry Springs CA. I did not have a clue about skiing a tournament and what one even had to do. When I arrived the skiers took me under their wing and went out of their way to get me ready!! They realized I needed to score a specific number of points in order to go to Nationals so while waiting for my turn were teaching me things I could try. Dawn Farrell was awesome as was Gina McKee and then my slalom mentor Theresa Hoffman. I had never even attempted to cross the wake before then and Theresa made sure I was going to succeed!
Needless to say with their support I managed to do what I needed to do in order to move on.
Since putting my feet on the water for the first time and falling in love with the sport, I have skied all over the country, made friends all over the world, skied as an independent in the 2003 Worlds, been honored with the Western Region Barefooter of the Year award, had various magazine articles published about me, was in the MSNBC “Fit TO Boom” video, been on the “Today” show and the highest honor of them all was to win the 2009 “Banana George Blair Award for Barefooter of the Year. What an honor! I was speechless and those that know me know that is next to impossible!
What is a typical day of training like?
Usually we get up very early, do some stretching and go out and ski a couple of sets in the morning and again in the afternoon along with dryland practice. When I am at the World Barefoot Center with KSO and Swampy they work with me trying to improve my abilities (I tell KSO I am his project). I will say age has a little drawback here as it does take me longer to “get it” but I am willing to try and give it my all. I have had a few set backs this past couple of years – torn hamstring and then knee surgery but I am working hard in the off season to get in shape and am getting ready for the up and coming “Spring Training”.
How has barefooting changed your life?
Barefooting has made me realize that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. It has helped keep this 66 year old woman – soon to be 67 – young in heart and spirit and has made me keep myself in good shape and strong. I cannot imagine my life without this!
Can you see why I’m fired up and inspired?
The Best Years of Life Are Still Ahead
I turned 44 last August and I wasn’t too happy about it. Forty four. It had an omnious ring to it–one step closer to “middle age.” I was feeling pretty much like my best years were behind me and I reflected on the years past. Why-oh-why didn’t I appreciate my youth when I had it? Why didn’t I enjoy my size-10 figure when I had it? Why didn’t I run away to Florida and apply for a job as a show skier at Cypress Gardens when I was nineteen?
Fast forward to fall of 2009, and the hubby sent me an email with a link to Judy Myers, the 66-year-old gal who was featured in a Subway video, Fit to Boom and on the Today show. The videos aren’t captioned, but go take a look. That’s right, that 66-year-old is skimming along the water on her bare feet. She looks pretty darn good, doesn’t she?
That video got me all fired up. If a 66-year-old can barefoot, then I surely can do it again. Heck, Banana George didn’t retire from barefooting until he was in his 90’s!
So I decided that 2010 was going to be the year of getting back on my feet on top of the water. That’s right, I’m going barefooting again. I got in touch with Judy Myers and we started chatting back and forth via Facebook. She will be in Florida in the spring and I’m going to join her for a day of barefooting in March.
The last time I barefooted was about ten years ago– I lasted about one minute on the water. I attempted to barefoot last summer but sank in both times. So the last time I was really in shape and able to skim on the water was about 20 years ago.
Last week, I had a dream, and in the dream, I did a deep-water start with my legs wrapped around the rope– skimmed on top of the water on my butt and got up barefooting. The last time I did that was in 1984.
Stay tuned to the end of March to see if I can do that again.
It’s official. I’m a Loser Mom.
That’s right. I’ve joined the 2nd Loser Mom contest, thanks to Devra Renner, who made me realize that I really couldn’t continue to hide my spare tire under those sexy Lanz of Salzburg nightgowns.
The contest is a timely one, as I’ve been so tired of carrying around 60 pounds of unhealthy weight. With my son’s friend Aubrey as a witness, I’ve climbed on the scale and registered it at two hundred and one pounds. Yes, I’m almost ashamed to say it. I’m packing some major flub on my 5′ 4″ inch frame. What better way to be accountable than to blog about it for the whole wide world to see?
At least I have a bunch of other Loser Moms to hang with during the next couple of challenging weeks.
And look at my skinny Mom– doesn’t she look sexy in that flannel?
