New Years Goals for 2025 from Us and Our Listeners

In this episode, we share our goals for 2025 from us and our amazing listeners.  We also share our goals for the Raising Disabled Podcast for this year and a few guests that we would love to have on the show very soon!

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Transcript

Rhandyl: Hey y'all, welcome back to Raising Disabled, and we are talking all about the new year and New Year's resolutions, and we didn't do a lot. We don't go all out for New Year. A lot of times we don't even stay up until the ball drops in our time zone, but this year we, We got the kids down early and then we just played pool and hung out 

, I'd , saw a meme right before New Year's. It was like, if you start. The movie Forrest Gump at this time, then you'll celebrate the new year with Lieutenant Dan. Oh my gosh, that's hilarious. Yeah, I didn't we didn't actually start it at the time it said I was just it made me want to watch it It's like one of my favorite movies And so we never watched it 

Deonna: all the way through. I need to watch it. 

Rhandyl: Are you serious? Okay, so I've watched it so many times. It's one of the only movies on VHS that one of my grandmas had. It was that and the original Jurassic Park. And I swear my brother and I, anytime we stayed over there, we just watched them on repeat. And like looking back as an adult, I'm like, Oh my gosh, we watched, there's some, pretty graphic not child friendly scenes in Forrest Gump. And as an adult, I'm like, wow, like I had no idea what was actually happening. It's funny. 

Deonna: Yeah. Grandparents houses are where you went to go do things that your parents didn't know about. My grandma, , did not care what we were watching. And it was so funny. Like me and my cousins would watch happy Gilmore and I couldn't have been.

Maybe a fifth or sixth grade. I mean, young and I'm sure my mom and dad would have died if we were watching that, you know what I mean? But we've just, they didn't care. Like, yeah. 

Rhandyl: And now watching it after having a disabled child, there's actually a lot of disability awareness in my movie Forrest Gump. And so it's pretty, it's pretty cool. Yeah. And of course that movie is very fictional, but , I just love it. It's a classic for me. It's one of my top 10 movies. But so we did that and this, it was, it was chill, very chill. But what about you guys? What'd y'all do? 

Deonna: , so my husband was working nights. I feel like that always happens on the stereotypical night holiday type things. And so me and the kids, we've started doing this thing. thing every year and it's, it's kind of a nod to New Mexico. So New Mexico has this huge event and it's not on New Year's, but they have this huge thing called as a Zozobra and it is this massive monster looking thing and people can send. All these things that happened to them within that year that were bad, like divorce papers or, you know, bills or whatever that is. And they, in New Mexico, they stuff this giant, marionette looking thing with that. And then they burn it like a huge bonfire, like saying goodbye to the bad karma.

Or, I mean, I don't know if it has native American ties. I'm not really sure. But yeah, , or it might have some Mexican ties. I'm not sure what it is, but we basically decided we're going to do that every new year. So we make this little monster and the kids decorate it. And then we go through my phone and we just write down all the months of the year.

And we write down what was good that month, maybe what was bad. If , you remember bad things. And then we just stick all those papers inside of there and light it on fire and kind of tell the year by so it's like a fun new thing. 

Rhandyl: I like that. It's a tradition. I like that a lot. That's a cool thing.

Deonna: I did stay up till midnight this year because I didn't have nursing and so, you know, you're up late. Yeah. And then I just thought I'm just gonna watch TV , when I'm on night shift with Allie. Yeah. You know, like we sleep out in our entryway. And so it's not the most luxurious experience of your life.

And so I stay up as late as I can to get just so exhausted so that I can just hit, you know, pass out. And so , I did actually stay up till one and I was pretty proud of myself because I never ever stay up on New Year's. So I felt very, you know, young. 

Rhandyl: Yeah, you watched, you watched multiple time zones.

Deonna: I did, I did. I know, I, I watched a few. I think I saw the Jonas Brothers sing. So, you know, that was, I did that. But yeah, that's pretty much what we did. ,

so for this episode, what we kind of just wanted to do is talk about, we asked all of our friends on Instagram and Facebook, what their goals were for either themselves as the parents or what their goals were for their own, for their disabled kids, and we got a lot of answers. And so we just wanted to share them with you guys today and kind of talk about um, And share some of the things that we want for ourselves or for our kids. 

And so the first one is from @summer_sumbum, and she said making happy memories. And I kind of loved this one because it was one of the most simple ones we received. But I mean, really, that's all I want. I mean, it's just, Like we've been through so many bad things, a lot of us have, I mean, pretty much anybody has been, but for us and the disability world, you just go through these constant hurdles. And so, seeing her just say make happy memories and , it's not necessarily specific to where or what, when, but just feeling any sort of happiness is a really big deal for, Us, sometimes, and so, 

Rhandyl: yeah. I thought this too. I liked it. I mean, we, we get so caught up in the, the must do's and the daily medical routines and, you know, it's just hard to prioritize anything outside of that. And so, I felt the same way. . That's what it's all about in the long run, you know, just to make those memories and hopefully they're happy memories. Yeah. Good ones. Mixed in there. Yeah. Yeah. 

The next comment was from @psykodrjulie, and she said, mobility, nutrition, sleep, speech and communication, and love.

And my favorite part about this comment is the love, and I know it seems like We have to focus so hard on keeping our kids alive that, you know, the normal book reading and cuddling and things that are easier to do with a typical child, they're sometimes on the back burner, honestly, but prioritizing, you know, the best quality of life for our kids is, you The definition of love, and so even though that's different, you know, she's wanting all of these things, the best things for her kid, and also love, but I also want to give her a little grace that all those other things you're doing does definitely show your kid love, but sometimes it just looks different.

But, I catch myself a lot of times, Feeling guilty because, , I did this certain thing with my son during his nighttime routine, but Remi gets a breathing treatment and I have movie and a good night kiss, you know, so it's just but yeah I liked this I like the love for those comments. I mean, obviously everything else is great. I think we all have lots of medical goals for our kids, for sure, but.

Deonna: Yeah. I, I mean, it is hard because sometimes the way we show our medically fragile kids love or disabled kids love is doing all of those other things. And so you, I mean, I think when I do all those things for Allie, she knows I love her. But yeah, it is hard, especially if the kid doesn't understand the why of all of that. They might just be like, man, why is my mom torturing me all the time? This sucks. You know? So yeah, that's a, that's a good one. I like that one. 

The next one is from Alfonsina Gomez she said that she wants more trips and memories and staying far away from long hospitalizations. 

So there's a lot to go into on this one. First of all, she's not even asking to avoid hospital completely. She's like, just not wanting a long one. So that's kind of funny. I, I mean, for everybody, I guess a long hospitalization is a different amount of time. But I mean, we're like, I don't want to go in there at all. But that's just a fact of life for a lot of us. So, I mean, anything, I can do the weekend ones. Like I'm annoyed, but I can do it. But when it starts stretching over a week and a half, two week period, I'm like, Oh no. Oh yeah. Better start moving in. 

Yeah. Yeah. If you have to pack more than one little bag. But yeah, again, with the memories and I think a lot of people are going to say stuff about memories and I just, this is something that if you're listening to this and you have a typical kid, like you have to make memories because you just don't know, like we're not actually guaranteed, well, nobody's guaranteed to have your kids for the rest of your life.

But . You have to make memories because all of us have probably been told that our kids life expectancy is not what we hoped it would have been. So, I mean, you just have to do, even with Dane, I always am telling him, we have to do this because you just don't know, like you've got to do everything you can do, even if it maybe pushes her to her limits, sometimes you got to do the things, but The more trips, I'm always for more trips too, and like we've talked about many times, that is quite the big deal to go on a trip with any sort of disabled kid, no matter if they have to take all the stuff like us or I mean, just some kids have a hard time in the car. I mean, there's a lot of. There's a lot. So, I'm hoping she gets to go on at least a trip or two this year.

Rhandyl: Me too. Yeah. The long hospitalizations, I was like, yeah, that's, that's always a great goal for sure. I mean, of course , none of us want to have hospitalizations, but sometimes that's unrealistic for some. So. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, none of that. Let's keep all that away. 

The next one is from @linds8611 Lindsey Coulter. Her comment said, no surgeries, improved strength and mobility, and hopefully learning how to walk with her walker before the end of the year. 

And I'm like, ah, I love, I love all the mobility goals just because, you know, it's what I do, pediatric PT. And so that's honestly where my head goes when I think about this question or the long term goals that I have for Remi. Okay. My PT brain just goes to, all these long term goals that I want for her and her mobility, but and a lot of these comments definitely are, around therapy and progression and things like that, which is great. everybody wants their kids to progress , so whether they're disabled or not, but yeah. I'm loving all the, the mobility goals, for sure.

Deonna: I have to tell you a story about this girl real quick. So, Lindsey, the one that just did this comment, we were in Target one day and my mother in law is with my nurse and Allie and Cole and I was somewhere else in the store. And I walk up and I see this mom and her kids talking to my mother in law and I hear my mother in law say, Oh yeah, here's The mom, and at first I was like, Oh, here we go. What, you know, what are we asking? Or, you know, whatever. And cause her kid wasn't visibly disabled, you know, I couldn't tell. And We started talking and her daughter has, I think she has spina bifida, but she's really teeny. She's so cute, but they were bonding over Billy's shoes. And so it was funny.

And so we talked, We said bye and everything. And then I go chase her down like 10 minutes later and give her our raising disabled card and told her to contact me and we would talk, cause she lives in another town. Oh, okay. It's just funny. Which I couldn't tell her kid was disabled until she told us, like, it's not the like flashing red lights of disability, like Allie is. Ventilators and trachs and, yeah. But yeah, there's no getting past that with us, but yeah, she was really nice, but it's just cool when you see these people out in public and can kind of bond over your mutual. Doctor's appointments in life. I mean, it's just, that's the whole point of this whole thing is , it's cool when you get to meet somebody in real life though. So that was kind of fun. Um,

So the next one is @allisonnicoleford, and she said 2025 is going to be the year. She learns to walk, she is working so hard on cruising and supported standing. And I think this will be her year. I also am praying for big jumps in her verbal communication. It's going to be a great year for my girl. 

And so, yeah, again, more mobility goals and that's such a big deal. It sounds like she's getting really close and so I really hope she can do it. And like , Me and you've talked about, I mean, the verbal communication, it just makes their life so much less frustrating when they can try to do it, , but it's hard. I mean, that stuff takes so much effort and energy and speech and I mean, it's just, it's a lot. So it sounds like she's really dedicated to trying. This year to do as you know, yeah, this may as much as they can do. 

Rhandyl: Yeah, I, I liked it too. So , this one made me think back to the time where I remember wondering if Remi would ever walk. I mean, she was three before she even sat up on her own. She was four or five when she started crawling and now she's, It's walking in a gait trainer over 500 feet now at eight years old. So I'm just, don't give up for anyone out there listening who their kid's years and years into therapy and they haven't started walking or crawling or all the things You know, , not all disabilities and diagnoses is that the case, but sometimes you just don't know and there's no prediction.

I mean, your kid's going to do what they're going to do when they want to do it and when they can. So I, I like to tell that story about Remi because Most people, if their kid's not sitting up at the age of three, like, hmm, you know, I even had those thoughts, like, it's probably not gonna happen, you know, and then mm-hmm here she goes. You definitely never know. 

The next. Follow@j_jcamp er Jennifer Kearby Camp said I know my daughter is itching to have more independent playtime so the goal is trying to figure out one, mobility and strength for what she enjoys. And two, enjoy more time. In the Peapod chair, which she hates, she put like why, why ? Yeah. Yeah.

I. Remember the stage of trying to figure out how to get Remi to engage in play. Like, the first few years of her life, she did not care about toys. She did not care to reach for them, look at them, like, nothing. If it wasn't a screen, she didn't care. So, and even now it's so random what she decides to play with or enjoy during her, , independent playtime, but But yeah, I just remember, for the first few years of her life, all of our OT goals were just revolved around, , Just trying to get her to play. And so this comment definitely hit some feelers for once upon a time for me, but once you figure it out and , it's very random, at least for my kid, what she decides is fun, but I hope that, this, . Is the year for her daughter. 

Deonna: Well, and it's probably good. I don't know how old this child is, , if the kid can play by themselves for 20 minutes while you're doing X, Y, and Z, that's a huge deal because moms need just like a second sometimes. So, I mean, there's that too. It's like, she wants her kid to have this nice time, but then she also might need, I mean, I'm assuming, cause she's probably similar to me. She's like I need. Tim alone time to, but it made me laugh when she said that her daughter hates the peapod chair, because I'm assuming because I've gotten things similar to a peapod chair or something like that.

And I mean, they're either very expensive. So you'd either shelled out thousands of dollars for this thing and then your kid hates it and you're like, are you kidding me, or you went through the brutal, Insurance process and denials and getting like other funding or appeals and you know all that because I've been through that with some things with Allie and then she's like, I don't know if I want to use that today.

And I'm like, you're using it because I threatened 20 people to get it to you. So, you know, that made me laugh when she's like, why, but yeah. So @mrs.amberteal who we have talked to in another episode, . She's in our episode, Amber Raising Henry, and her son can get broken bones very easily. Like, Very easily because his hands aren't developed in the same way. And so he falls and just like eats it all the time. Yeah. And her, her goal is no broken bones. And so I feel like that would be a big deal because that's what she did. Oh my goodness. He's had so many broken bones. I'm like, he's the cutest thing ever. Yeah. I pray that this is his year. No broken bones. 

Rhandyl: Yes. This is his year for no broken bones. Oh man. So our next comment is from @nowisee_journey. They said, hoping I get a year with neither of my littles admitted to the PICU.

Yeah, and I'm like, yeah, yeah, if you have two you're worried about not going into the PICU. I know. I am sending good vibes to that. Like let's, yeah, stay out of the PICU. Amen to that. 

Deonna: It's like we love that it's there, but when you are in the ambulance headed to the PICU, you're just like, man, I, I don't want to do this. Like, I don't want to sleep up here. I don't want my kid to have to be in here sometimes. I mean, I've had legit moments where you're going in the PICU and you're like, I hope. I, she comes out of here alive. I mean, it's a huge gamut of thought. I mean, like it can really go depressing quick. So I, yeah, I also every single year I'm like, please don't let us go in.

And we're going to talk about superstitions here pretty soon, but I don't like to talk about how long it's been since we've been in the PICU because then we will definitely be going into the PICU. We are not talking about it. Yeah, we won't mention it. 

Our next one is Jeannette, she's called @kelsiesfriend1, but she said learning how to sleep on his own.

And there's so many, I don't know this kid's , diagnosis, but I mean, there's so many diagnosis where you either are afraid for your kid to sleep. In a room that you're not in or, or they just can't do it. I mean, they cannot sleep unless they're in your bed or right by you or, , different things like that. My Allie was kind of like that when we first got home, she just, she would stay up all night long crying. And I mean, I just thought, is she ever going to. Be easy again at night like I and she is now but I mean years she wasn't it was really hard. 

Rhandyl: Oh, yeah, it's like We still have at least one night a week that remi's awake from like You know three or four hours in the middle of the night and so I think like most parents It's just, in general, can relate to this in the newborn, like, toddler stages. Yeah. But for disabled parents, like, this can last for many, many, many years. Forever. And for kids like ours, like, they have to be monitored all night long, like, forever. So, you know, it's us or it's night shift nurse. So I mean, thank God for night shift nurses, is all I have to say, because, well, yeah, it's rough.

And so, I really hope that. The sleeping gets better for them, for sure, because it's so hard on everyone when it's not.

Deonna: Oh, it affects your whole next day. I mean, it's for everybody. It's so hard. 

Rhandyl: Yes. So @estabana1234 said, Hoping for no surgeries, so he does not have to go into a bubble and enjoy just being five. And that mom doesn't have to use all her PTO on surgeries, and they can actually plan a fun trip instead. And she wants him to eat better and gain some weight. And she put her own goals in here, that she wants to focus on decreasing her stress levels and prioritizing her mental, physical, and spiritual health.

And, Man, I hope and pray that this family can enjoy his fifth year of life outside of the bubble and that they can get that trip on the calendar for sure. I love that this mom put goals in there for herself as well because that was part of the question, but the majority of people, and I think it's pretty typical being a caregiver is different from parenthood. It takes so much of us and it's so hard to prioritize our own like well being sometimes and yeah, we have, but the thing is we have to be mentally stable. We should be mentally stable in order, in order. Yeah. Like in order to make good decisions for our kids it's hard though. It is a struggle.

Deonna: It is really hard. That's what I was just thinking of. I was like, she is one of the first, I think she's the first one in this list to mention herself. And I mean , that is so how it goes. It's like, we're so. Centered on the kid and what they're doing and everything. And then you forget you even have a lot.

And I like, I like how she's got a goal that I think is doable. Like just decreasing them a little bit. I mean, it's like, we're always going to have these levels of stress. I, I can't foresee a time. It, as long as she's alive, where my stress is just totally chill because I just have to stay on a little bit of high alert all the time.

And I mean, there's just so much to manage and things like that, but I do think prioritizing yourself is. It like feels like it's not okay, but it is pretty dang important because, you know, we, yeah, we're not going to make it if we don't, yeah, can't take care of them if we're laying on the ground. 

The next one was @emily_pwalker and she said, mobility, taking breaks from therapies to playtime with non disabled kids. And, I liked that, how she was talking about taking breaks from therapies. We actually are cutting Allie's therapies back quite a bit, but I will tell you, like, in a quick nutshell, , she's kind of plateauing out her Her improvement, it's not like some of these kids where they're practicing mobility and they're getting way stronger and stuff.

Like she's kind of hitting her glass or her ceiling of, you know, what she can do and she's getting stronger with what she can do, but you know, I talked to her therapist the other day and they were like, I'd rather her be having playdates and living her life than doing this and so I totally get what The mom is saying here because that's kind of where we're at too.

Rhandyl: That's kind of, I was actually thinking the same thing just about, you know, I think therapy breaks are very important in so many cases, like not only for the kids, but for us caregivers as well. I mean, it's also overwhelming sometimes. Coordinating it. Oh yeah. 

Deonna: Well and I'm lucky, I really like mine. And so when, or, you know, Allie's. P T and O T. So when they're in the house, we're having fun, we're joking around, it's like a good time. But, you know, it's just, yeah, when they get to a certain point, like, they'll even say, she went off, it's a holiday, she went off, and I'm like, yeah, she does not want to do anything. 

Rhandyl: Yeah, no, and that's a part of it, you know, , like Allie, if your kid has plateaued in progress. And it's not crucial for their, well being to take a therapy break, then I think it's a good thing. It doesn't mean that , they can't start back up again at some point, but it can be nice to just have a break for everyone from 

Deonna: Or cut back or, you know, just different things like that. And I like that she has a goal for her child to play with more non disabled kids. , like with Allie, she actually doesn't get a chance to be with disabled kids. very often. Like , it's all non disabled kids because that's just what she goes to school with and things like that. And, but I mean, it's doable and , it is a little gut wrenching. I'm not going to lie. Like a lot of kids are going to be weird, but You'll meet these kids who are like magical unicorns who treat your kid like they're just like everybody else and I don't even think it's taught. I just think it's who they are. And I mean, oh my gosh, they deserve a special place in heaven or something as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. I love them. I love them so much.

Rhandyl: Same. So the next comment is from @tahnandtakodah, and they said, no ER visits would be unrealistic, but great. To sit up, maybe even crawl a little would make my year. So another, you know, mobility and No hospitalization type situation here, which we all hope for for sure now, right? 

Deonna: Definitely we get it. Yeah The next one's from @heyheyitzheather and Her name is Heather Mullinex and she said to get some answers so she can be a kid. And so I'm assuming we are not diagnosed yet, which is so frustrating. Mm hmm. I, you go through this every day of your life.

You don't know. Yeah. And you maybe never will. So I, I only went through this for a few weeks and it was. Stressful, but then when she did get diagnosed, I was like, Ew, wait, no, let's go back to not knowing. Oh my God. But it is hard when you just live in that like constant state of what's going on. Like, because you're probably going to the doctor like crazy trying to figure it out. I'm assuming that could be part of what she's saying. Like, you know. 

Rhandyl: We don't really know but, you know, for me as a mom with no answers to why My daughter's mobility delays. I mean, we have answers for other things like her respiratory status and things like that, but I've definitely felt this way a lot over the years, but now, my feeling about it is she's living her best life and she's happy and that's that's good enough for me now. And, , even if we don't find out the why We just have to make the most of life for them and for us. And so, I just, if this mom's listening, keep trying and keep advocating, but don't let that big wall of why hold you back from trying your best to just let your kid be a kid and be happy and whatever that means.

Deonna: Yeah. Our last one is from Ruby Mosley and she was on an episode with us named Ruby Raising Lexi and she said her goal, I'm assuming this is Lexi's goal, the daughter, not the mom's. And she said that her goal this year is to place at her first solo dance competition at the end of this month. 

And so she is. coming in hot. She is wanting, you know, she is wanting to get in the top. I have to see this. I, Oh my goodness. I hope that she sends us in our town. I would go like, seriously, I would go, but I highly doubt that it is. But yeah,, We're going to need videos of this and everything because I'm obsessed with this goal. So come on, Lexi, like, I think you got it. Oh, she's so cute. 

So we kind of thought about what our goals or resolutions are for 2025. And so we'll kind of talk about those for a second, but I asked Allie the other day, I was like, what is your, Goal or resolution or, you know, like I first had to explain like what that is.

But yeah, I was like, what is your, something you want to do in 2025? And she said, get better at math. And I'm like, okay, that's fine, but whatever. What a little nerd. I love it. I'm like, okay, we're going down that path. But she I mean, it is hard to do math when you can't use your hands and , I mean she can't even like showing her work is Hard, you know, like she's getting into third grade. You're having to start trying to show your work Well, she's right. So 

Rhandyl: and this new math, I think we're both in that era where it's like so different I'm not looking forward to that when 

Deonna: I am not kidding you, last night I went and played Bunko with some girls for the first time, and like, I haven't played that in 10 years. Do you count by using the touch math, where you like, The dots. The dots. Yeah. Well, I guess they don't teach that anymore. No. But, I mean, I learned that a very long time ago. And last night, I'm adding in bunco, like, dot math, and I thought, how stupid am I that I cannot count up these numbers, but whatever. But, yeah. So that's not my goal. Millennial math. That's okay. My, yeah, my goal is to use my calculator more. Yeah. There you go. So I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I, I don't care about getting better at math, but that's her goal. 

And then for me I have one for me and then one for the podcast, but my kind of thing is I just, ever since we've lived here, it has just felt like High stress, hustle and bustle. You're running from this place to that place. You're freaking out. I mean it just, it's been really hard and I feel like I'm just in the last maybe five or six months kind of starting to Feel a little bit back to the way things were before, as far as just feeling like I can take my time and slow down a little and kind of calm down. And I mean, I know that just one emergency you'll send me right back into, you know, fight or flight. Yeah. But we, you know, it just hasn't been as frequent as it was, but my thing is just, I've been looking into this whole, like live slow. Don't get in a big hurry and, and even if you're late or, I mean, it's just not the end of the world.

I've realized like, I do like to be on time. I think it's rude if you're not on time, but you know, you don't have to be just hustling and bustling and running around all the time. And so just, and kind of being okay with even silence. I. Yeah. I used to always have to have, , the news and the TV on and just noise in my life, and I'm kind of starting to realize it's just, , making me anxious and overwhelmed. Oversimulated. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And so, just sort of living slowly, like, I actually started a Pinterest board that was, like, 20, 25. Vision board and it has been kind of nice. Cause every time I see something, I pin it to that. And then if I feel kind of stressed, I can go back and look at that and just be like, okay, calm down, you know? So that's been helpful, but hopefully I can do that. And I just want to sit by the fire and read books and watch movies. I mean, that's my vibe for 2025. So we'll do it. We'll see if I can do it. 

But, for the podcast, I was thinking about what I kind of want for us. And I've actually been really happy with the people we've talked to and the things we've done. And it's not always all about the numbers. I feel like you can get caught up in things like that. But to me, it's exciting to be able to, we already have some committed for this year. Me and you sat down the other day and. planned out. Passed it out. Almost the whole year. Yeah, it's exciting. And started asking people and getting going on that.

And , I want to interview more people who are disabled. Like, I still want to interview people who are the parents because that's kind of what this whole thing is. But I think if you are a podcast about disability and you never talk to disabled people, that's not good. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. So, I'm excited for us to be able to start kind of bringing that. In a little bit more. And so I'm excited about that. That'll be good. So what are your things you're wanting to do in 2025? 

Rhandyl: I have never been a resolution gal. I think it's kind of taboo. I think it also is like one of my superstitious things. Oh gosh. But after thinking about it and you know, obviously we asked our guests and followers this question, so I'm like, okay, so I need to just suck it up and do it.

You have to say something. Yeah. No, but for Remi, she's been walking a lot more in her Just with assistance by every way we're making her walk everywhere in the house Everywhere at school. So she's she's already like progressing a lot there, but she has these new wheelchair So here we go with the mobility stuff, but she has this new wheelchair wheels and They're sort of self-propelled, but Right. You have to initiate them. So, I mean, it's still a manual wheelchair, but her wheelchairs so heavy. 'cause it has like the vent and an oxygen tank and like all this stuff, so Oh yeah. Way heavier. Those, those wheelchairs are designed to be lightweight so that kids are able to easily. manually move them and but it's so heavy that it's hard.

So we got these awesome wheels that, like you said earlier, there, it took a lot of fighting to get them, but we did. And then she's like, I hate these. Yeah. And she's, she's just kind of like, she likes to just spin them. Like she can, she's realized that she could just like do doughnuts with one hand and like just spin them. Do that really fast and she's just like kind of does a wheelie and she she just likes the thrill of it But she has started getting it more and doing it at school She really doesn't care to do it at the house. But so that's a goal. I would love for her to start using that yeah more because Yes, walking is great, but her endurance is gonna take a long time to do anything, you know, longer distances and in public and things like that. So, that would be nice. 

And then she's progressed so much with her communication device this last year. Oh, yeah. But she, she's also started really vocalizing with her voice. And so I That's exciting. Would, like, that is something that I would love to just hear more from her. She 

Deonna: Does she mimic her AAC? Like, if the AAC Sometimes. says something? Mm hmm. Because I was wondering about that just now. 

Rhandyl: She mimics us a lot. So she, she mimics us. She'll say, like, she says her therapist's names. She says my name. But it's like, Only whenever she wants to or like she'll, she'll know a word to a song and she'll say it at the right timing and things like that. But the communication device has helped tremendously with her just being able to have some independence and decisions and things like that. So, yeah, but. I would love for her to start using her sweet little voice more and,

but I'd like to plan more family fun time, game time with the kids, like outside of watching movies or it's just sometimes it's hard. I mean, it's always hard to, to get out and do something cause you have to load everything up but just prioritizing that and then in the evenings, in the colder months, it's definitely harder, I feel like, because in the summer, it's easier , we have more daylight, and we have a pool, and that's our fun, but then I feel like we kind of get complacent , in the colder months, and I just would love to. To try to plan more game nights, family fun nights, whatever that might be, whether it is just at the house or somewhere else. 

But for me I have already started purging and organizing. I try to do that every year anyway, but I've kind of fallen off since we moved into this house in 2021, we have bigger closets, and we have more space, so then things just don't seem as cluttered, until they do, and so, I've already cleaned out like every closet in the house, donated tons of things, toys, clothes, completely repainted the master bedroom over the past weekend. Anyway, I'm just like, on it with the whole house situation right now. 

But no, but I, kind of going back to , wellness and , mental health. I would like to get back into yoga. I got into yoga, , Probably a decade ago, and I really enjoyed it and I would love to just for my husband And I after we get the kids to bed just like do a yoga session together before mm hmm We go to bed, and that's a goal that I have I haven't shared that with my husband yet, so we'll see but that's my I'll do yoga or whatever But I think it would be good a good

And that also includes reducing evening screen time, like my husband and I actually just recently talked about. We'd like to try to make that a goal for an hour every evening to just put the phones away and whether it's putting together a puzzle, like Yoga, listening to a book just something that doesn't involve the TV or phones um, so those are some goals we'll see, but like I said, I don't get too worked up on these resolutions just because.

Yeah. Yeah. But I would like to hope that we could make that stuff happen. So we'll see. 

Deonna: I was, I was telling my kids too, I was like, I might, one of my goals is to just not get all been out of shape so quickly, , and then like the first week, somebody in the medical world did something really dumb. I was like all mad and my son was like, I thought you said you were going to quit getting mad. I said, no, I said I was going to work on it this entire year. It's the fourth day. I haven't even gotten started. Yeah, like it's going to take me the full year to not be like this. , are you kidding me? But yeah, I messed that up in the first week, but in my defense, nobody does their jobs. So it's like, you know what I mean about it? 

Rhandyl: And nobody wants to work in. After the holidays anyway. Oh, that includes everybody. 

Deonna: Yeah. So it was, it was a fun moment for us, but yeah.

Rhandyl: But no, I have the same goals and aspirations for the podcast. , I of course hope we continue to grow and Get more listeners and, you know, all the things, but I really am excited to hopefully talk to more, like you said, disabled guests and get that actual perspective. Of course, you know, this podcast is centered around caregiving and raising disabled, but to get that other side of the story, like I loved our sibling. Um, Episode. And so, 

Deonna: well, it's just like an understanding. I mean, you know, we can't understand our kids unless we learn from other people sometimes who are living their life. I mean, it's, cause adults can articulate things in a way that kids just can't sometimes. So I think it'll be good for everybody. Me too.

 So we hope you guys had fun listening to some of these goals from other parents, and maybe some of these can inspire you to, , think about these for yourself, for your kid, Some of these, maybe you can just feel connected to somebody else, because a lot of these were very similar and like me and Randall said, if there is Any time that you can make for yourself as a caregiver we're going to share some ideas this year about ways for caregivers to help take care of themselves and in like an easy ways, like little life hacks.

And things like that. And so we're excited about sharing those things too. And so we hope you guys had fun listening to this. We really, truly are wishing everybody a hospital free 2025 lots of mobility, lots of goals. So, , I'm hoping it'll be a really great year and we're excited for where this show is going this year. And so we will see you guys next time.

**Disclaimer

Before we go, I wanna remind our listeners that this podcast is for the purpose of education and entertainment only, and is not a replacement for seeing a doctor. We suggest you seek out the help of a trained professional for help with your child's specific situation.