Team Ellie

I woke up today to a shower of fluffy, melt-on-your-nose snow flakes. It was magnificent, sure, but it made me want to scream. I am so very sick of winter. Ellie's birthday notwithstanding, March is the worst month of the year in this barren Canadian land. Your internal clock realizes that spring is just around the corner, but Sylvia Kuzak, the trusted weather-woman, tells you otherwise. Some of the nastiest blizzards take place in March. And it wears me down. Every March day I ask myself, "Self, WHY, oh WHY did we move back here from Texas?"

Of course, today is Tuesday, which means that Ellie has therapy at the Movement Centre, a 50-minute drive away. The snow is pretty, but it sure makes for crappy road conditions. Not only that, but this was a special morning, as Richard was planning on taking Ellie to therapy, and I was going to spend 4 hours of quiet bliss at home, working, cleaning, blogging and drinking coffee. I don't get those kind of mornings very often, so I was pretty pumped.

But, then there's the snow. And the roads. And the question of driving 60 miles...

THANKFULLY, I married a superstar who, despite his Southern American background, is growing a Manitoba-driver spine. Good ole Richie braved the elements and whisked Ellie away in the Malibu at 8:00 this morning! I've already talked to him on the phone, and know he's okay, so here I sit, happily blogging in the quiet of the snowy morning, while my daughter learns how to walk, and my husband peruses the aisles of "Party Mania", in search of Elmo decorations for Ellie's birthday party next week.

When I was thinking of blog topics, my first instinct was to spew out my disdain for the lingering winter and how much I hate that part of living here. I wanted to reveal how often I question our decision to move back to Canada based solely on weather, and to gripe about how long it takes for the plows to clear the Trans-Canada highway.

But, then I got to thinking about Richard and Ellie zooming along the snow-packed highway, on a mission. A mission to get our amazing daughter to therapy. And I thought about how Ellie's therapists and helpers would be waiting for her, and how the three other kids with CP in her therapy class would be watching the door for her. All of a sudden the snowflakes seemed prettier, and my heart felt warmer.

Ellie has an incredible team, rooting for her every STEP of the way. There are lots of reasons to detest living in the tundra, especially in March, after 6 months of winter, but there are also SO MANY reasons to be unbelievably thankful for the warm people who make up Ellie's cheering squad.

*Agnes, Ellie's physical therapist at Children's Hospital
*Susan, Ellie's occupational therapist at Children's Hospital
*Anna, Ellie's conductive therapist at Movement Centre
*Gemma, Ellie's other conductive therapist at Movement Centre
*Laura, Ellie's private physical therapist who comes over once a month
*Daniel, Ellie's private speech therapist
*Tyler, Jaxon and Cameron, Ellie's buddies at the Movement Centre, who know exactly what she's going through, cuz they have CP (or spina bifida) too

And these are just the people associated with therapy! I can't even list all of Ellie's doctors, who have always treated us with the utmost respect. We have been so blessed by the doctors we've seen, as I've never questioned their intentions to make life better for our sweet kid.

The amazing thing is that all of these incredible people have also chosen to stick out the brutal Canadian winters. Thank the good Lord they have persevering spirits! They are rays of sunshine, and make this life so much more bearable. They believe in Ellie, and want to see her reach her highest potential. They are SO worth the drive!