Lunch with a Purpose

We made it to Hannibal, MO for lunch on the second day. The minute we opened the car doors, I knew I was getting closer to home. The temp was around 93 and the humidity was well over 100%. It was a far cry from the mid-70s that we left behind in Minnesota the previous day.

Before we left Mount Pleasant, I had searched the web for places to stop for lunch in Hannibal, MO. I found a place called Twainland Cheesecake Company. From the map, it looked like it was right on the historic Mississippi Riverfront. And they had cheesecake. I was sold.

What we found was an amazing small-town story of determination. As this article and another article elaborate, the woman who runs this restaurant was once herself on welfare and didn't have a high school diploma. She founded her business to lift herself up -- and now helps women in similar situations.



The walls of the restaurant are filled with pictures of Lynn (the owner) receiving accolades from sentors and governors. She was the focus of a speech given in the U.S. House of Representatives on people moving from welfare to work.

We got the chance to meet her as we left (after an excellent slice of Oreo cheesecake). I told her she had led an amazing life and I was really impressed by her story. She thanked me, but then came around the corner and knelt down by Frankie. She said "hi" to him and he waved "hi" back.

She was nice enough to tell me that I was leading a pretty amazing life. All of her staff had been talking about what a nice guy Frankie was -- and how patient and loving I was with him (Frankie had had major ants in his pants during lunch).

As we left, Frankie blew her a kiss and she returned the favor. We told her we would definitely stop again on our next trip down to Saint Louis.

You know, in the movie CARS one of the themes is how people miss out on small town life and small town gems by just traveling on freeways. Our chance encounter with an amazing person like Lynn Carr is proof of that.

Great Start to Day 2

We left Mt Pleasant, Iowa around 10am, after a fine breakfast of freshly-made waffles in the hotel lobby -->

Frankie Graduates!

Wow ... in the rush to leave town, I can't believe I forgot to post the fact that Frankie has graduated from kindergarten! I don't know which is more odd ... Frankie being done with kindergarten, or the fact that he'll soon be in FIRST GRADE!

Here's a pic of Frankie with his diploma ...

... and his cap, which he was not crazy about wearing:

The day after the graduation, Frankie's class celebrated with a picnic in Loring Park. Here's Frankie with one of his favorite teachers, Miss Gloria:

Frankie's school (Fraser Academy) is a year-round program, so he'll be back in school on July 17. That still gives us two more weeks to hang out and enjoy lazy summer days!

Heaven in Iowa

Here's one of Frankie's favorite pools -- the Family Aquatic Center in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.



In the background, you can see the big waterslides. It's a hike up the hill to get there, but Frankie loves sitting on my lap and riding down with me.



We got to Mount Pleasant about 6pm. We quickly checked into our hotel, put on swimming suits and headed into town to dive into the pool. We spent about an hour at the pool. Frankie looked so relaxed (and happy) floating on his back all around the pool. He even jumped in off the sides a few times.

Then we headed to our favorite Mt. Pleasant dining spot -- Little Mexico --- >

The Journey Begins

Frankie and I left two weeks ago to visit my sister and her kids in Saint Lous. We had a rotten Internet connection while we were down there, so I didn't get to update things from the road. I'll hit the highlights of another fun vacation with my favorite travel buddy.

Here's a picture of Frankie starting the trip in stride along I-380 just south of Waterloo. He slept for about 2 hours, which allowed me to make up some time we had spent playing at a playground at a rest area just south of Albert Lea, MN.

We drove that first day to our favorite halfway point on the way to Saint Louis ... Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Chasing CARS

As a reward for spending Friday morning under anesthesia, Frankie and I saw CARS on Saturday afternoon. Frankie's review? Considering he sat slack-jawed and wide-eyed through the whole thing, I think he would give it a thumbs-up.

The best kept secret in Minneapolis movie-going are the Block E Cinemas downtown. While it's sad, it's also true that even movies just released (like CARS) are never sold out. On a rainy 60 degree Saturday afternoon in June, the movie theatre was maybe 1/4 full. We had a row almost all to ourselves.

Growing Up in Hospital PJs

On Friday morning, Frankie made a trip to a familiar place. He went in for a CAT scan to check out the configuration of his jaw. We meet with his ENT doctor on Wednesday to talk about possiblities to open Frankie's jaw wider. Right now, he can only open it about half an inch, maybe an inch at the most.

In order to get the CAT scan, Frankie had to go under anesthesia. There's just no way that boy would hold still for 30 minutes. So we went back to familiar territory -- the pre-surgery area at Children's Hospital Minneapolis.

There was a time when we seemed to go thru this department on a monthly basis. Luckily, those days are long gone. After 15+ trips into the little room with the gas masks, you start to lose count.

Frankie is a real pro thru the whole process. He cried a little when he saw exactly where we were going in the hospital, although he usually knows what's going to happen when he wakes up and doesn't get his usual dose of cereal and juice.

But the rest of the time, he was happy and laughing and exploring the whole unit. Most of the nurses there have seen him at one time or another. They're always delighted to see what an amazing boy he is growing up to be.

Here's a comparison of Frankie in Dec 2000 (in the green PJs) and Frankie now (having graduated to the blue PJs very recently). That picture from 2000 is always a little sad to look at. He looked so happy and bright-eyed, but had a rotten stomach surgery in his future.



On this Friday, we were out of the hospital in about 2 1/2 hours. No big deal at all. As a reward this weekend, we went swimming on Friday night (complete with a Happy Meal afterwards) and went to see CARS on Saturday....

Two Goals for Summer

Since tomorrow is June 1, I wanted to set some goals for Frankie for this summer. This is a good place to broadcast the goals so that we are sure to follow through on them.

The first is to walk all the way to our closest playground. It's 3 1/2 blocks away. I know that Frankie has the mojo to get there. It just takes patience on my part to keep him focused and moving forward all the way there.

The second is to get him to a ride a bike with training wheels. He won a bike in a contest almost four years ago at the place where he gets his hair cut. He has been working over the winter on a Big Wheel at school and is just about to get the idea of pedaling on his own. It would be fun if he could pedal for one block by the end of the summer.

I'll post updates and pictures on the goals as we get closer.

Sharing Time

Every Thursday morning, Farnkie's kindergarten class has "Sharing Time", a fun show-and-tell time where all 15 kids bring in something about themselves that they want to share.

Since Frankie is non-verbal, I always write a little note along with the item we send.

Here is what Frankie shared today:



Frankie says:

This is a picture of me at one of my favorite playground – right on Lake Calhoun. A lot of times my Dad and I ride our bike around the lake and then stop at this playground. I have a special seat on my Dad’s bike. I also have a cool blue helmet with orange flames on it.

I like to walk up this ramp and then go down a small slide. I am also trying to figure out how to climb up the slide.

In a different part of the playground, there is also a long bridge to walk across. After I go across the bridge, I like to go down a bigger slide.

In the summer, we wear our swimming suits and go swimming in the lake!

The Happiest Moment at the Dentist

After having jaw surgery when he was four months old, cleft palate surgery at two years old and numerous other pokes and prods in the general boca area, it's no wonder Frankie loathes going to the dentist. Checking out this mirror in the waiting room was definitely the highlight of his trip there.

His jaw is anatomically very tight, so getting in for a good exam usually involves lots of cajoling, lots of crying and at least one torture device in his mouth.

The good news is that Frankie's teeth look great. He has already lost two of his baby teeth (both within 3 days of each other) and his adult teeth (ADULT teeth!) are coming in just fine.

The nicest part of the visit was how wonderful they are with special needs kids. When Frankie's dentist was running 30 minutes behind, one of the receptionists came out and said to us, "You are so good with him and you both have been so patient. We'd like you to have these." She then handed us two movie passes.

When we went back to see the dentist, his assitant apologized immediately for the wait. We got to go into a private room, since they knew Frankie doesn't always have a great time at the dentist's office. When the dentist came in, HE apologized for the wait.

Their thoughtfulness towards special needs kids made the most out of a rotten situation.

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First Message from Frankie

Hello everyone ---

I'm testing out starting a different blog for Frankie. I am checking settings to update and add blogs via email and my cell phone.