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Eric Bissell

In Memory of Poppy

Shortly before he died, Dr. John Koomey recognized a transportation problem for students with special needs at our local high school. The high school has a Functional Academic School-to-Work Program, but due to a lack of transportation, the student’s access was limited to establishments within walking distance of the school.

Dr. Koomey’s family said he often talked about doing something about this problem. But sadly he passed away before he had time to address the situation with the school district. After his death, Dr Koomey’s family decided to follow through with his wishes and they purchased a wheelchair accessible van for the school department. The donation also includes funds to maintain the van.

Dr. Koomey was fondly known as ‘Poppy’ by his grandchildren, two of whom are special need students in the Grafton public schools. The words “In Memory of Poppy” are inscribed on the back of the van.

I was personally touch by the incredible generosity of this family. What a wonderful tribute to Dr. Koomey! This gift will benefit many children for many years to come, including my boys. A BIG Bissell thank you to the Koomey Family!

Eric – in his stander at the far left – with his classmates
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Eric | cindy | | 2 Comments

Shriver’s Dream Evident in Grafton Special Olympians

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Upon her passing August 11th, politicians and celebrities from around the world came to Hyannis to pay their respects to Eunice Kennedy Shriver. But there was also another group who came to say their goodbyes. A team of Special Olympians, holding torches, gave light to the pallbearers as they carried the coffin of the Special Olympics founder to Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver believed that every child, regardless of ability, deserves to live in a neighborhood, attend school with other children, and play any sport of their choosing. The Special Olympics honor guard represented the thousands of families, whose lives have been touched by her dream of a more welcoming world.

Watching the joy and smiles on the faces of the Grafton Special Olympics children playing softball on the field at Grafton High School this summer, it is clear that her dream remains alive. For the past six Sundays, these kids, along with their fans and coaches Phil Jackson and Wendy Watkins, have come here to play softball.

Special Olympics is about more than winning and losing, it is about courage and sharing and finding commonality. The kids who participate in the Grafton Special Olympics not only gain physical fitness, they have a chance to do something that many children take for granted.

Just about everyone can learn something from the Special Olympics; things like everyone has something to offer, and never to give up no matter how many obstacles stand in your way. Maybe most importantly we can learn that we can accomplish a whole lot more working together than we can going it alone. We are a community and we all belong.

But I don’t think any of the athletes playing on the field at Grafton High were thinking about these things. They were just there to have fun. The softball season ended this past Sunday with a well-deserved ice cream party at Swirls & Scoops, who donated the ice cream.

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Eric Library | cindy | | Leave a comment |   Grafton MA Special Olympics

Dog Sled

We’ve been trying to find a sled that will work for Eric in the wintertime. When he was little, there were lots of options, but now that he has grown, we haven’t been able to come up with anything. He needs a firm backrest and his feet need to be off the snow. I know of others who have used a dog sled, so I’ve been watching eBay for a good deal. These dog sleds are not cheap.

We were driving around one Sunday and saw a dog sled at the side of the road with a “FREE” sign on it. Great price, so we grabbed it! It was a rusty old thing made of steel with a wooden seat that was rotting. I took the sled apart, sanded it down and primed and painted it. The seat had to be replace with new wood. Here is a before and after photo.

Before and After

 

The good news is that it came out nice; the bad news is that I don’t think this will work for Eric. This sled is made of steel and is very heavy. I can’t imagine being able to push this heavy thing with Eric in it (add 120 lbs), and I have no intention of getting dogs to pull it! I know nothing about dog sleds and don’t know why this particular sled is so heavy. Maybe it was made to slide on ice? Most of the sleds I’ve seen online are made of wood and look much easier to push.

I think I’ll have to keep hunting for a light-weight sled or some other solution. Will give this one a try when the snow flies, but I have a feeling this will just be a conversation piece and maybe a Christmas decoration in December.

Anyone need a big, heavy, newly refinished dog sled;-)

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Eric | cindy | | 4 Comments |   disability Dog sled handicap

First Day of School

First Day of School

Officially, Anthony starts 11th grade and the twins start 10th grade today. Although grades don’t really mean much to us.

None of us were too happy to get up early this morning, especially Mom who has to get up at 4:30am in order to get all of the boys up, fed and off to school on time.

I still get that first-day-of-school-sick-to-my-stomach feeling every September from my own school days. Aaron and Eric were both stressed out about who the van driver would be, who would be on the van, who their aides would be, etc. Anthony was just happy to be going to school:-)

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Aaron Anthony Eric | cindy | | 6 Comments |   first day school

Play Ball!

Growing up, I was a tomboy. I loved sports, especially baseball. I hate to brag but honestly, I was a better ball player than most of the boys in my neighborhood. Every spring when the little league had it’s parade and the baseball season started, I was so jealous of the boys, because back then girls were not allowed to play baseball. All I could do was watch the games from the bleachers.

As I got older, I did play some girls softball in school and even made the varsity team in my first year of High School. But it wasn’t the same and it was short-lived, since I had to get a job and could no longer play after-school sports.

Years later, when I found out I was pregnant, I was hoping for a boy, so that I could teach him how to play baseball and maybe I would even coach little league. Even if I had a girl, that would be fine too, at least she would be allowed to play, if she wanted to. When I found out I was having twin boys, I was thrilled! Surely one of them would like baseball.

Well, things didn’t work out the way I’d planned. Aaron has absolutely no interest in sports of any kind. I think Eric would have liked sports, but that didn’t work out quite the way I expected either. Eric knows nothing about baseball, but rather than teaching him how to play, he taught me that it’s not whether you win or lose or how you play the game, it’s having fun that counts:-)

Eric at Bat
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Eric | cindy | | 4 Comments |   Baseball little league softball Special Olympics