Doing Stairs

Bill called me tonight just to let me know that he saw Sam in the gym this afternoon with the physical therapist and with Meghan the speech therapist. Sam was doing stairs and Meghan was having her count ...1, 2...1, 2 each time she went up and down. Bill said she was doing great and in good spirits. He was impressed and just wanted me to know. This past weekend too was terrific. On Sunday, Sam had her special one-on-one hour long painting class which then rolls into the regular "Inner Art" session which lasts for 2 hours. Sam's stamina was great and she painted 3 beautiful works. Dahalia is having me paint now as well, and in fact it was a lot of fun to be painting alongside Sam. We shared each others palettes a bit and were certainly influenced by each other. Dahalia suggested that we may wish to do a mural together...and both Sam and i thought that was a great idea. When Sam was well, we used to talk about doing joint projects together, as our work was so very different. We thought it might have been fascinating. Now it seems like that may actually happen. On Saturday, I had brought Sam's camera and put it around her neck. Sam's smile lit up the room. She automatically held onto the camera as if it were another limb. It really has always been a part of Sam and so it was nice to see that that has not changed. Sam also had a handmade joke book on her table, and at first she told me that she had made the booklet. I was very impressed, but latter realized that the booklet had been made by her roommate's niece and they had left it there for Sam because she was so enjoying the jokes. Here is one that both of us got a good laugh from:
Q. What happens when you throw a green rock into the red sea? A. It gets wet!

Group Show

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged and in the interim, Sam has had her ups and downs, with medication adjustments a wonderful visit from her close friend Lisa and one-on-one painting classes with Dahalia in Inner Art. Over the last few weeks Sam has overall been very tired, upset and rather depressed. However with some slight medication adjustments, she seems back on the right track. Sam and I recently got checked off on doing transfer training. This means that I can now take Sam off the premises, take her for drives or even for an overnight at home. I've decided to start out slowly with Sam and so this weekend, which was sunny and beautiful was the first weekend we were able to go out the front door and we went all about the grounds of the facility. It was lovely. Also, over the last couple of weeks, Dahalia has decided that Sam works better without any distractions and so she has special one-on-one sessions with Sam 45 minutes before "Inner Art" class starts. Sam loves the privacy and is doing some nice abstract paintings. Dahalia wanted me to participate this weekend and so with Sam's approval, I painted alongside. Sam really enjoyed having me participate. Dahalia is planning a group show of all the student's work and Sam is excited about it. I think it will be great to see Sam's progression over the last few months and all her work up on the walls. If I keep participating, I too might be in the show.