Climbing Every Mountain: More than a Song
My life journey has been to try and create an inclusive world where everyone belongs, a decent quality of life for my family, and particularly my son Aaron who has the label of autism.
“Aaron” means high mountain
My husband and I have always loved the mountains. In hindsight, maybe instead of naming our first born “Aaron,” which comes from the Hebrew meaning “high mountain,” we should have chosen a different name which meant something like “gentle stream” or “quiet brook.” 🙂
Climb Every Mountain
In 1965, I was part of a small group of aspirants who put on our Sunday black veils and were given special permission to go “into the world” to see The Sound of Music in a real movie theater. When Mother Superior started singing Climb Every Mountain, me–Mary the aspirant– prayed that I too would find,
“a dream that will need all the love you can give, every day of your life for as long as you live.”Â
Perhaps another misstep. Seems that God chose to answer that prayer. But then, Helen Keller who knew a thing or two about disabilities, wrote: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.”
So climbing every mountain, my life continues to be an incredible daring adventure and though I get discouraged and exhausted, I feel blessed and know I am making a difference.
For Parents and Caregivers of People who have Disabilities and are Elderly
As parents and caregivers of vulnerable people each of us is climbing our own mountain. Each of us is searching for courage and fellow travelers. Often in our real world, our family, friends and even the professional staff who are being paid to help us don’t share our vision. When my parents turned 80 and physically became vulnerable, I was able to use many of the lessons and information I learned with Aaron to help them improve their quality of life. There are many similarities for those who can look past the stigma of “disability.”
Make a Comment, Join our TEAM
I am hoping you will want to join this community of climbers and paradigm pioneers as we prepare emotionally and practically for the journey to the summit.
I am hoping you will consider this site a sort of Base Camp where we gather to dream dreams, trade resources and share the personal stories that make each of us a unique gift to this world.
I am hoping you will add comments and chat with us. I’m hoping you will sign up to “Get New Posts” (top left on homepage) and be notified by email each time a new article is posted.
Climbing the Blogging Mountain
Experience with including my son and other vulnerable people into the community–I have, but I’m trying hard not to panic as I begin this new journey into websites and blogging.
I’m hoping the great stories, useful tips and information will make up for my lack of tech “savyness”. And yea, if we are going to be trying to create a new inclusive world that never existed before, I will make up words from time to time.
Welcome! As life puts new mountains before us, grab onto that life rope and climb with us.