I don't know why I didn't think of this photo earlier...the girls have
used my phone so many times to talk to their "Dayee" and offhandedly,
I will ask them to ask Dayee what time he will be home or if he is
working late. Sometimes Dayee calls and talks to the girls and tells them
to ask me what we are having for dinner.

I am sensitive to CODAS (Children of Deaf Adults) and know what kind of
issues entail from them handling "their" deaf parent's responsibilities.
I am very careful with how they handle the phone and how I relay my information
or ask questions. I do NOT let them answer the phone until I know who it is
calling like my Mom or a friend of theirs. If it is someone calling me, I call
back on the Relay using the caller ID nmr.

One thing I will never forget, is an e-mail from a very special person on Pbase.
I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but it was so beautiful.

By pbase member "johnwaine" (who produces AMAZING PHOTOS by the way)

Julie Ann,

I know I'm not a Mother and I'm not deaf (one or two other parts of mind and
body starting to malfunction as I approach 50 though!) but try not to worry
too much about Hannah.

No childhood is a clean white sheet, and no two childhoods are the same.
Her added responsibilities will just mean she'll more caring, more sensible,
more confident and more self-sufficient than most of mankind!

One day when she's achieved great things, someone will ask her how she did
it, and she'll say "well, I was lucky I had a wonderful Mom who loved me,
but she was deaf so I had to do stuff for her, so the rest of life came
easier to me than kids who sat in front of the TV never being allowed to do
anything real!"

My motto is taken from a Led Zeppelin song - "Though the course may change
sometimes, rivers always reach the sea!" and rivers (people) go on some
pretty strange courses before they get to the Ocean!!

End of sermon (sorry) .......

Best wishes to you and your family

John