Rachel Coleman

It was early Tuesday morning and I didn’t want to get out of bed.  Truthfully, it wasn’t even that early.  I had already gotten up and tag teamed with Aaron to get the girls out the door and off to school and then I had returned to bed and had no desire to get out.  See, I have meetings on Tuesdays and though I have been tempted to show up in my pajamas before, I never have actually done it.  No, I usually give in and shower, get dressed, pull my hair back in a ponytail and show up 10 minutes late with an honest excuse like, “Sorry I’m late!  I couldn’t get out of bed.”  Who would say that?  No, I usually call it “getting stuck in traffic” or “running into unexpected construction” and here’s a tip, no one can argue with, “The bus was late.  Very late.”   

On this particular Tuesday, I pulled my laptop out from underneath my bed and “took on the day.”  That means I hit “Send/Receive” – my inbox began filling up.  It fills UP, because I sort my email with the newest ones at the top.  I try to deal with each email systematically and then on completion, I file it away to keep my inbox clean, which I don’t and it isn’t.

Amidst the meeting reminders and Baby Signing Time post-production epistles marked “Urgent!!!!” one email subject caught my eye, it read, “Subject: Rhett’s Wish & Star Party.”  I only know of one Rhett, and he is an almost 2 year-old boy here in Utah who has Down syndrome.  I had been peeking in on Rhett’s blog for over a year.  I started checking in on him, when I had heard about this little boy who had a near fatal, accidental, painkiller overdose in the hospital.  I opened this email to see what it held.  It had a message from someone who expressed a wish to remain anonymous.  So, the edited version is this:

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Hi,

Just incase you don’t already know, i wanted to let you know about Rhett’s wish.  I heard Rhett wished for a big screen TV and Signing Time DVD’s to watch on the big screen.  Anyway, his wish was granted, and now it is time for Rhett to hang his star with all of the others.  He will be having his star party on this Tuesday at 7 PM at Make-A-Wish.  Rhett’s blog is: http://www.rhettsjourney.blogspot.com

Rhett is a really fun little boy to talk to, if you haven’t met him yet, I am sure you will love him at first site.  Rhett will be back in the hospital later this week, unless it was postponed.

Thanks, for all you do, our family has benefited from Signing Time as so many others have also. 

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I jumped out of bed.  If there was going to be a Signing Time related wish today in Salt Lake City, I was going to be there.  I showered, and put on my “Rachel” make-up and did my “Rachel” hair, checked my closet for a set of Signing Time “Rachel” clothes.  Then, I checked Leah’s closet.  I had my ST! outfit, Leah did not.  I was pretty sure Alex didn’t have one at home.  I called Marcus, “Hey I don’t know what you are doing today, but I need a set of purple for Leah and a set of orange for Alex before 5PM tonight.”

I then scoured Rhett’s Blog and found plenty of details about making the wish and having the wish granted, but no mention of what the wish was or if it included Signing Time. I called the Utah Make A Wish Foundation and wondered if they would even tell me anything or would some sort of confidentiality law like HIPA apply?

When I called, I told them that I had heard there was a Signing Time related wish planned that evening and I said, “I am Rachel Coleman from Signing Time, and I would be happy to support you in any way possible.”  Eventually we had a plan…

And with that, I will let Rhett’s incredible parents share the rest of the story.

The day after Rhett’s wish is granted, Rhett’s mom shares OH.MY.GOSH

Rhett’s dad shares the following day on the post STILL GLOWING

Rhett’s mom put together the following video slide show, Rhett’s Wish.  (Grab a tissue!)

And then mommy comes back a week later with this post, simply entitled, “WOW!”

After meeting Rhett and signing with him, I was very impressed with his signing vocabulary.  I let his family know that their little boy is “on my list!”  He is a great signer and he signed everything that I asked him, on cue!  We enjoyed spending time with this remarkable family and it was a thrill for all of us to be a part of such a special celebration!

I was up late last night, very late.  Marcus, who does wardrobe on Signing Time, stopped by with my clean, steamed orange outfits close to 11PM.  I could not really pack until after he got there and I didn’t really pack after he left.  Marcus wants me to blog about the many wardrobe secrets of Signing Time.  (Sigh)  I just don’t know if I dare!  Not that you want to know the potential wardrobe malfunctions, so you are looking for them, but I am sure I could save you some wardrobe malfunctions of your own.  If you bug me about it enough I might just give in.  Or maybe we should have a wardrobe chat, like the sweater folding chat which was followed by the sweater folding blog.  

Like I said, it was still very late and I hadn’t packed.  I was on my computer doing all of the important things that just can’t wait until tomorrow, when you have an 11AM flight.  Plus, as I became more tired, I lost the ability to complete a task with velocity and finally could not complete a task at all.  Eventually in a sleep deprived, groggy state, I had that jarring, recurring thought… “Is my cell phone ringer off?”  (If you have read any of my posts in the past two weeks, you can understand why this makes my heart pound!)  I located my cell phone and the ringer was off, I turned it on and there were no calls. This was around 4:30AM.  I thought about plugging it in to charge and then I paced a few pointless circles in my kitchen, noticed all of the lights were on in the kitchen and dining room and then… my home phone starts ringing.  Just so you know, no one calls my home phone during daylight, so it is even more rare for it to ring in the middle of the night.  I fumbled through the sofa cushions and found the cordless phone.  ”Hello?”  I said nervously, thinking to myself, ”I have never anticipated someone’s reply more than right this second.”  

“Hello.  I am calling for Rachel de Azevedo,” said the woman on the other end of the line.  

“That would be me.”  I respond quietly and intently. 

“Ms. de Azevedo, (of course she slaughters the pronunciation of “de Azevedo”) this is Erin, I am an agent with Delta Airlines.  Your 11AM flight tomorrow has been canceled and you are now departing tomorrow at 9 o’clock PM.”  I asked her some random pointless questions, like “When was it cancelled?” and “Why didn’t I know sooner?”  As if that matters, but it was 4AM and I was half horrified I was going to have to try to get a first time baby delivered in the next 5 hours before a flight.  THAT is PRESSURE!  

The moral of the story is, sometimes you CAN have your cake and eat it too!?  And the other moral of the story is that procrastination can pay off!  Ok, neither one of those is the moral of the story and I am obviously very tired and thankful that I can still pack, take a nap, see my kids when they get home from school, AND fly to Oregon tonight!    

As promised, here is my nephew Carter who was born yesterday.

And I am working to get Twitter up on my blog so that I don’t have to commit to an entire blog every time the phone rings in the middle of the night.  Or when Lucy chooses to run for student council and yesterday she gave the speech to her class, that went like this,

“Hi!  I am Lucy Coleman.  If you have any questions about the school, I am willing to answer them.  Vote for me!”  

And then, she won!!  See, with Twitter you will get all of that and so much more

Last Thursday, I became a Bradley Birth Coach.  Twelve weeks of 2 hour classes and it’s official.  ;) I even have a card to prove it.  I told my friend Natalie that I would flash my card around The Birth Center so there would be no question of who is the boss.  Our birth class teacher said, “Rachel if you plan on showing that card to anyone, I am not going to give it to you!”  She ended up giving it to me and now I am going to show it to all of you!

Official Coach Card

The good news is that I had a great event in Oklahoma last weekend AND Natalie did not go into labor!  Whew!  (So far there is no bad news) Natalie was due on September 21st, so, she could be having a baby any time now.  (Cue dramatic music)  I leave for Oregon tomorrow afternoon.  I fly from Oregon to Colorado on Saturday.  I return home Sunday night.  If she goes into labor this weekend, it will be interesting.  I have saved miles on Delta and on Southwest, and I am not afraid to use them.

My friend Brooke told me that her friend Brandy knows Natalie, small world.  They came to that realization through an odd conversation that went something like this.

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Brandy: “My friend Natalie is pregnant and she asked the Signing Time lady to be her birth coach.”     

Brooke: “How random!  Do they know each other or is Natalie just a fan of the show?”

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This cracks me up.  I imagine an email that goes like this, “Dear Rachel, Our family loves Signing Time. You are such a big part of our lives.  We feel like we practically know you.  I know you believe that children should be introduced to ASL as early as possible so, we would like to invite you to the birth of our next child.  Please wear your orange sweater and colored tape on your fingers.”  

For all of you wondering if I am now providing labor support services in addition to entertaining sign language DVD’s the answer is: Yes, I will do that for you, if you have been my friend for 20 years. Why not?!

This morning my brother Christian called to say his wife, Rachael, had a 7 lbs 12 oz baby boy, their second boy.  I believe the count is now 14 unmedicated/natural births of nieces and nephews in my family, which is 100%.  (Again, if I just count nieces and nephew I don’t have to count the 2 c-sections that I had with Lucy… Yes, two with Lucy.)  Today is Christian’s 27th birthday.  Christian is in the army somewhere in Georgia.  He played the bass guitar on “Show Me A Sign.”  He also speaks Arabic, thanks to his fabulous Army training.  Now you know.  How’s that for random trivia?  I will post baby pictures as soon as I see some.

I called Natalie and told her that there is no race.  It’s over.  Everyone I know has had their babies and she is last.  I also said that there is no hurry.  Please wait until Sunday.  

I do have a layover in Salt Lake City on Saturday night, when I fly from Oregon to Denver.  If she goes into labor Saturday I could skip the Denver leg, help deliver the baby and then drive to Denver before my performance on Sunday, maybe even catch a flight.  Never a dull moment!  Stay tuned…..

Last month I performed at a fundraiser for The Dream Catchers in Virginia Beach and I spoke the following day at The Pathways to Possibilities Conference.  A few weeks before the trip The Make A Wish Foundation contacted us and said there was a 4 year-old little boy named Collin, in Virginia Beach who had made a wish… his wish was to meet me.  I don’t know if I have the words to explain what an honor it was to hear that.  He wished for me?  Really?  Me?  

We set up a private meet and greet prior to my sound check the night of the fundraiser.  I walked in the room and met his whole family.  Collin was in his wheelchair, I came close to him so he could see me.  After a few tries, Collin pushed a large yellow button on the tray of his wheelchair that voiced, “Hi Rachel, I’m Collin.  I love you!”  (Whew, I just tried to hold back the tears!)  I asked which songs are his favorite, his mom said, “Caterpillar Dreams.”  When I started singing, Collin lit up, he sat up in his chair and started laughing, he knew that voice.  There was no question, he knew it was me.

I invited them in for my sound check.  At the start of each song (and throughout) Collin would let out a happy holler.  Even during the show, I could not help but smile each time I heard Collin sound off from the back of the hall where he was near an electrical outlet for his suctioning.  Before my last song, I shared how humbled and honored I felt to be a wish.  Collin’s mom joined me on stage, I thanked her.  We hugged.  We cried.  I presented them with the full Signing Time library.  

The final song I sang was “Shine.”  Before singing Shine, I talked about how Lucy inspired the song.  We say, “Lucy you are shining!!!” when we witness her miraculous milestones.  In the bridge I sang, “…and Sammy will do what Sammy will do, when Sammy is ready to do it!  And Collin will do what Collin will do when Collin is ready to do it!  And Lucy will do what Lucy will do when Lucy is ready to do it!  And they’ll do it, in their own time. They’ll shine, shine, shine, shine, Shine!”

It was an incredible night.

You can listen to the song Shine on the Signing Time Music Player

Ok, I just HAD to vent share.  Tuesday afternoon Lucy’s bus arrived.  Her bus driver is an older man and his assistant is his wife.  I have to guess they are in their late 60’s maybe early 70’s.  Their job (every day) is driving the bus that carries kids with special needs.  They have been doing this for years.. I don’t know how many years.  So, the bus pulls up, they unfasten the straps that hold down Lucy’s chair and Lucy drives her powerwheels to the door and is waiting for the ramp to come down.  The bus driver, let’s call him “Mr. B” is standing outside of the bus and is ready to drop the ramp so Lucy can pull up… the point is Lucy, Mr. B and I are all within 3-4 feet of each other and Mr. B says loudly, “So, what’s Lucy’s problem?”  

My first thought, was “Oh crap, what kind of problem did she have on the bus today?”  I looked at him searching for more info and realized he was actually asking something else.  I think I blinked a couple of times and my head shook – yep, I did a double take and said slowly, “Oh!!  Do you mean, ‘Why is Lucy in a wheelchair?’  and ‘What are the physical issues she lives with? and “Would I mind sharing about Lucy’s disabilities?’”  I looked at Lucy and smiled and winked.

“Yes!” Mr B. answers.

 ”Well,” I said, “Lucy has spina bifida and cerebral palsy.”

And in response to that, Mr. B throws his fists down and hollers, “That is TERRIBLE!!!!”

I am pretty sure my eyes widened with horror, because that’s what happened right now as I typed it.  I looked back at Lucy who seemed a little confused.  She may have been asking herself, “IS this THIS terrible?  I had no idea it was terrible!  Am I terrible?”  

I smiled again at Lucy with another, “Let me handle this” wink and I said to Mr. B, “Actually it’s really not terrible, it’s not bad at all.  Lucy is a brilliant little girl and she has a pretty incredible life and her wheelchair  is just how she gets around.”

Mr. B’s wife was standing at the door and it was clear she agreed with Mr. B, with antics like throwing her hands over her face when I said, “spina bifida and cerebral palsy” and letting out big breaths of air like she could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Lucy was being lowered on the ramp, almost touching down to our driveway and Mr. B says, “Well, seems like all that doesn’t really affect her brain.  Her brain works fine doesn’t it?”

“Yes, Lucy has a great brain, she is very smart and understands everything.”  I think he missed my emphasis there.  I think he missed a lot of my re-wording as well.  When Lucy cleared the ramp, I hugged her close and whispered, “Maybe we should get you a t-shirt that says, ‘What’s YOUR problem?’”  Lucy giggled.

As the bus drove away Lucy and I were able to share a moment and have another conversation about how many people just don’t know how to ask what they want to know, without sounding like a knucklehead.

And this is our life, re-wording things that others say in hopes of modeling less-insulting, non-labeling conversations in hopes of maintaining, if not building my little girl’s self-esteem.

No Problem Here!

I would love to hear your best and worst stories.  Did someone say something unbelievably sweet, rude, insensitive or adorable?  What do you think is the best way to ask these questions?  Even I get all weird and nervous when I want to ask someone why they are in a wheelchair.  Will they be offended and say, “I’m in a wheelchair because I can’t walk!”  

And I hate it when people stare and don’t ask anything.  Lucy is the stare magnet right now, everywhere we go people stare at her.  So, we figured the best way of dealing with it is this- Lucy looks right at them smiles and says, “Hi there!”

We spent Saturday afternoon at Bounce U for my nephew Owen’s birthday.  My sister Rebecca was not there, she was resting at home and had been having contractions all morning.  On Labor Day, she was having good, strong contractions and was a little disappointed when they stopped cold leaving her dilated at 3 for the past 2 weeks.  Rebecca’s son Shawn and husband Robi were with us at the birthday party yesterday.  Rebecca called me around 3:30 to say her contractions had been 10 minutes apart all morning… (sound familiar?)  But they had just jumped to 3 minutes apart and were getting stronger.  Her midwife was on the way.  I asked if she wanted her husband Robi and son, Shawn home.  She said, “Not yet.  I am just letting you all know.  It could take a while.”  I talked to Robi and he said he had just received a text from her too.  We kept playing and bouncing and went in for cake and ice cream.  

The party ended at 5.  I loaded Alex, Zak, Leah and Lucy in my car.  Robi stopped me and said, Rebecca had called and she felt like this labor was going much faster than Shawn’s.  He was heading straight home and he asked if Shawn could come with me.  I loaded Shawn in my car and finally loaded Lucy’s power wheelchair on the back.  We got to my house around 5:30.  The older kids unloaded and ran downstairs to play video games.  Lucy “babysat” Shawn, reading stories to him and letting him play the ukelele for her.  Around 6:30 Shawn, started saying, “Mommy!  Mommy? Mommy!”  I teasingly answered “Yes?”  Lucy told him, “My mommy is the only mommy here.”  We had just started watching the movie “Robots” and Shawn, looked at me and said, “The baby is crying!” This caught me off guard, then I realized the baby Robot had been put together and had started crying.  When he said, “The baby is crying,” I reached for my phone.  It was now 6:40 and I realized I didn’t have my phone on me, it was plugged in to the charger.  I ran down the hall (sound familiar) to my bedroom and saw that at 6:40 I had missed two calls from Robi!  I called him back and heard a baby crying in the background!   “Is that your baby?”  I asked in disbelief.  ”Yeah,” he answered, “It’s a boy!”  I ran back to the TV room, “It’s a boy!  Rebecca had a boy!!”  Lucy was thrilled, Aaron was shocked and Shawn seemed confused.  I loaded Shawn in my car and we talked about the baby.  At first he just said, “No baby.”  I explained again, that now his family was mom, dad, Shawn and baby.  To which he insisted, “No baby.  Baby cries!”  He had seen Asher a few days earlier and did not like the whole crying part.  I told him, “Babies cry and babies sleep and babies nurse and babies poop and pee and that’s pretty much it.  Sometimes they cry and sometimes they are quiet.  Let’s go to your house and see your mom and dad.”  ”And baby!” Shawn reminded me.  

Rebecca looked beautiful and relieved, she said her hips no longer ached, she felt great.  When we came in she was already nursing her 9 lbs 8 oz baby boy.  He takes the title for the heaviest baby born into our family so far.  He is 21.75 inches long.  Rebecca had her second successful water birth at home.

Shawn meets baby brother

Brand New Baby Boy