Taylor Talks

Hello. So last time we went over all the big news bombs. Nothing else has really happened since then. Will is great and so is my family. Will is going to be born really soon. I am super excited! I try not to develop a picture until he is actually born because I may get disappointed if my vision is wrong. Even though I try really hard, I still picture a cute little baby with brown hair. He could have blond hair though it is most likely to have brown hair since my mother and father both have brown hair. I also assume he has blue eyes like the rest of us (except for my mom who has beautiful green eyes.) My mom has always wanted to adopt a little Chinese girl and a little Irish boy so if Will gets some red hair or even auburn she will be happy. The hair colors I hope he will have is #1 red or auburn for my mom #2 brown because I imagine him like that #3 blond because we don't have as many blonds.

The other day we were going in our pool and we were looking for bathing suits. I saw a little pair of swim trunks and I said, "Maybe Will can wear these when he goes in the pool!". My mom said maybe and that he may not even be able to take a bath. I was shocked. I asked her why and she started to explain when my sisters came parading into the living room with my grandmother. She was giving treats to our dog Luna.

How far she explained (This is what I remember, if you want real, 100% accurate info go www.spinabifidaassociation.org to or www.rarediseases.org) So she said since there is a chunk of his spine missing there are vulnerable nerves and I think it would be bad for water to touch them? I really am not sure. I do not have the greatest memory and she was interrupted by my littles sisters who wreak havoc everywhere they go.

Next week we are going to beach because of much begging (mostly on my account) and a much needed break from life. I am super excited. I am not sure how much my mom will be able to do because she has Will. She can't carry anything up to 10 pounds. She probably can't be near the bigger waves and can't be out in the sun for too long. I am sure it will be fun no matter what. We are staying at my aunt's house. She is very nice but I do not see her and her husband often. I think I will wrap it up for now and I'll see you next time! (Don't think I did much better on the shortness of this post.)

Bye,

Taylor

Hi. My name is Taylor and I am the second oldest out of 4 girls. I am 12 turning 13. On Christmas Eve, I found out my mother was having a baby. Years before, we had asked her if we could get a baby sister or brother but she always said no. So, it was quite a shock to realize this. At first, I didn't get it. She had us look at T-shirts that said, "Future Big Sister" (That was the youngest Izzy's shirt.) or "Future Baby Rocker". I thought they meant we could babysit our younger cousin and wasn't very excited. Who would be? If all you got was permission to babysit your cousin but then I saw my sister Izzy's shirt which is the easiest to realize what was happening. Then I actually screamed. (Later, I was asked my baby cousin's older sister if they heard me.) Afterall, I found out my mom was having a baby. It was pretty big news. My mother actually recorded our reaction.

Anyway, so we found out about the whole spina bifida thing a while after all that. My mom doesn't like the word spina bifida because growing up whenever someone had spina bifida they were destined to life with a wheelchair. Like, with cancer. In the 90s, our medicine and treatments were not as advanced. So, anyone who had cancer were going to die. But, that isn't a thing anymore! My mom just feels the stigma from growing up during that time.

After we learned about spina bifida we learned my mom would have to go to Miami for a doctor's visit. I wanted to come because not only would I be able to help my mom somehow and I could get a break from COVID-19 effects! She ended up not going because of some thing or another. (My mom will explain better.)

Corona is definitely a big factor right now. My sisters and I have to do online school. That means being on a computer for 8 hours for 5 days a week. Once we knew about Will (William), my mom's doctor's told her not to go anywhere. She is allowed to do drive in pickups for groceries and such. Luckily, we weren't doing that anyway. (The going out part. We do some pickups.)

Alright, so yeah my mom called Will's other problem "spina bifida evil cousin". Yeah, Will just happened to be missing a part of his spine. How awesome, right? (Just so you know that is my version of sarcasm. I would never actually say that.) That made my mom really distressed, so we had to do school and stay over at my grandmother's house.

We were watching Purl on Disney+ when our parents told us they needed to talk to us. I personally love that short. It is literally about female equality and justice. It is a very nice short film that my younger sister put on. Before that day, it had nothing to do with Spina bifida (And it's evil cousin) but now it always makes me think of Will. I think if I stretch it a little it sort of fits. Like equality with people who are different than you. I'm going to be done talking about a short film.

I assumed someone died because the last few times they did that was when some of our relatives and dog passed away. (I think that was all in the same year.) So, when I found out I wasn't really worried because Corona and other things gave me tough skin! I think all of that was our training for when Will is born.

That is it for now... I think.

I'm going to let you go because this is way too long. (Have fun reading my mom's first entry!)

Bye,

Taylor