Monticello, then dinner at the pool!

Hello all,
Blogging is a difficult balance. If I blog everyday, I am afraid people will get bored. Maybe my life is not that interesting, although I think it is. I think I am living the American Dream, but maybe not. So I skipped a day. But, I am going to tell you about yesterday. Yesterday, Courtney and Carli and I visited Monticello. This was a lesson not only in American history, but also in American tolerance. Courtney and I probably have a closer bond than most teenage daughters and mothers, and this is partly because we are raising a child with Down syndrome. Carli is only 2 years younger than Courtney, but Courtney seems light years apart. Courtney is my assistant, really, and is completely in tune with with whatever is going on with Carli. We took the day and went to visit Monticello.
Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson. He was the 3rd president of our nation. He was an amazing inventor and built a completely self sufficient farm, where they did not depend on anyone from outside the farm to sustain their lifestyle. The house took 40 years to build,with 33 rooms and four floors. The garden was 1,000 feet long and has over 330 different vegetables!It was all so beautiful-and the girls really enjoyed it , except for-
THE STARING PEOPLE
Now, I am not one to get on my soapbox, especially when when it comes to kids with disabilities, because I don't want be one of those crazy moms-however-let me just mention a few things- if you SMILE and stare, that doesn't make it better. We went to lunch at a cafe' in Monticello, and while I ordered, I sent Courtney to the table with Carli to wait for me. There was a woman next to our table who, I kid you not, turned her chair around to stare at us. Not just while we ate, but the entire time. Now, she smiled, like she thought it was so cute that we had a disabled child at the table- that did not make it any better. It seems like it's always the older generation that is so interested in Carli. Carli was not doing anything out of the ordinary that would make one turn around and stare, but still, she drew stares. It is SO RUDE! Courtney and I both mumble under our breath, these are the same people who, an hour later, stare at us as we try to maneuver the stroller, which is very heavy-it holds up to 130lbs- on to the shuttle bus. They watch, but no one offers to help, they all just watch. I am lucky I have Courtney, who jumps in at every opportunity to help, but so many people don't have that. People are rude, we are pushing the stroller uphill in loose gravel and they refuse to move to the side. It really is something that everyone does not experience. Don't ever tell anyone "You understand"because unless this has happened to you, you don't. You don't know what it is like to have a child that people stare at, that people don't understand.
That is my soapbox for today. Today Courtney watched Carli while I went to the store and then we made a picnic dinner and took it to the pool.Mark showed up at about 4:30 and we swam with the kids and had dinner and some wine, then got Carli in bed. Not too exciting. Courtney is at a friend's watching a movie. Carli is loving Ruby, as she always does, then going to bed. I have to get to bed too, Krista is coming over tomorrow to babysit Carli while we are at work, we only ask Courtney to babysit on Tuesdays. Check out the Monticello pics-they are so cute!