Heal Nick

Rather than fill this space with words, I’ll just call your attention to the new album in the Photo Gallery of last week’s work-out at the local athletic club. And, if you have yet to link to “The Robbins Fund", please take a look.

We are going away next weekend, so there will be no posting until the following Sunday.

From a physical perspective this was a very good week. Nicholas was introduced to a new exercise at the athletic club on Tuesday. His personal trainer decided with my blessing it was time to see how he would deal with a mechanical machine. I wish I had a picture of the look of consternation, mixed with a little anxiety, when Nicholas stepped on to the treadmill. However, with his characteristic determination he walked at various slow to medium speeds and inclines for 10 minutes with little or no problem. This was the longest he’s continually walked since the accident. Friday he was back on the treadmill for 15 minutes! This is a big step in instilling confidence in and awareness of his physical abilities.

Nicholas had two short seizures last week. Neither required medical attention and were over in a matter of minutes. Small seizures are not necessarily bad or harmful; however, having three in less than two weeks, no matter their duration, has resulted in making some adjustments to his medications. Seizures are quite common for the brain injured and are something we have to learn to live with and control. In spite of these Nicholas is doing well and even seems a little more alert than he has in the past.

On a more positive note Valentine’s Day is next week so I’ve included a little history lesson in this posting followed by “What does love mean?” answers taken from survey of 4 to 8 year olds. You may have already read these but they’re worth repeating. If you don’t care for history, skip to the survey.

VALENTINE’S DAY HISTORY

Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

“WHAT DOES LOVE MEAN?”

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy - age 4

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri - age 4

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby - age 7

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,” Nikka - age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica - age 8