Day 405
Two, Jennifer Lynn Fishers, that is. (Even though one is now named, Jennifer Lynn Slingwine.) Okay, so this post of, "52 people I love," is about two people, but it's my blog. I make the rules, right? Tonight, I am thankful for two women named Jennifer Lynn. And they both happen to be my cousins. To help ease confusion, I'll call one, Original Jen. And I'll call the other, Florida Jen.
Original Jen has been my friend for as long as I can remember. I loved hanging out with her as a young kid. We always had fun together. Jumping on beds. Putting on loads of makeup. Dancing. Singing. Fighting. Yes, even our fights were fun. They would be super intense until one of us would break a smile first. Then it was hysterical laughter at all the mayhem we had just caused. Original Jen is a big fan of the pop in. No phone call first. No text. No plans made to hang out. Just a knock at the door. I love that Jen does that. It's always such a wonderful surprise. I love her kind heart. She will drop anything to help anyone. She would give the coat off her back to help a complete stranger. She amazes me. I know I've written about this before, but she once chopped off all her beautiful blonde hair because one of her clients was going bald from cancer treatments. Just like that. I mean, that's seriously, news worthy. And that's just who she is. She has a huge heart for people.
Florida Jen married Original Jen's brother, Ryan. Florida Jen and I weren't especially close until recently. Not that we didn't like each other, it's just that we didn't hang out that often. I have loved hanging out with Florida Jen the past few months. Two things on my mind about Florida Jen tonight. One, I am so thankful for the help she gave me today. I am preparing for something big in my future, and her help was instrumental in me feeling prepared and ready for that something big. Two, she believes me. Let me explain. To make a long story short, Adelyn has sensory processing disorder. And while that's a very real thing, not everyone believes it's a real thing because it isn't listed in the DSM as a stand alone diagnosis. Great strides are being taken to see that one day, it will be. Matt and I know it's real. We live with it every day. But, we sometimes have trouble explaining it to other people. Some people just say, "oh, she's just a kid being a kid." After talking with Florida Jen about it one day, I learned that we have someone else on team Addy. She said something very simple to me, but very profound. And it has stuck with me ever since. She said, "never stop fighting...never stop fighting to do everything you can to help her." I loved hearing that. I loved all the advice she gave me about ways to help with sensory issues. Whenever Addy does the crab walk, we talk about how "Ryleigh's mom showed us how to walk like a crab."
Thankful for Jennifer Lynn Slingwine. And thankful for Jennifer Lynn Fisher. They are such strong, strong women. They have huge hearts for others. And they are both, amazingly hard workers. So thankful to have two such awesome women to call family. And friend.
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