Morey the Cheerleader

My oldest sister has taken up running and she signed up for a 5k race that was happening while I was home. I've never had a chance to do a race with her so I thought it would be fun to do together. I was planning on bringing my race chair but I lost a screw on it a few days before I left and didn't have time to replace it so I ended up doing it with my everyday chair and FreeWheel instead.

My mom and Morey came to be our cheerleaders. She stood along the course to cheer us on as we went by. When Morey saw me he started barking and whining (as you will hear in the video below!). I am sure he was wondering why I wasn't taking him with me!

The course was a little hilly so while I fell behind the able-bodied runners on the uphill I coasted by them on the downhill! My sister and I ended up racing to the finish but she beat me because the final stretch to the finish line was grass instead of concrete. Nothing like grass to kill your speed!









Usually my sports events are so far away that my family can't attend. It was fun to be able to participate in an event with my sister and have cheerleaders rooting me on from the sidelines!

                                                       

Visiting Grandma

Our last trip of the month was to go back home to Indiana. The weekend before I had gone to San Diego and had left Morey behind so when I started repacking my suitcase (I didn't even bother putting it away since I was only home for 4 days between trips) he started to get nervous. When it was time to go and he realized he got to come he became very excited!

On our first flight both of the women sitting next to me asked if they could take Morey's picture. I never mind if people take pictures of Morey so I said yes. One of the women then texted her husband "You'll never guess who I am sitting next to on my flight. I will send you a picture." I can only imagine what he must have been thinking as he waited for the picture to arrive!

It was quite nice to step out of the airport in Indiana and not immediately feel sweaty. Summer is a good time of year to come visit Indiana!

Independence Day!

My mom and sister drove to Illinois to join us for the weekend. We stayed in a hotel close to the Mississippi River and enjoyed taking walks near the river. Morey wished he could have gone swimming but had to be satisfied with gazing longingly at the water.

There was also a park close to the hotel with lots of green space and a splash pad. We spent a good amount of time in the park, playing ball and just hanging out. Morey couldn't figure out what to do with the splash pad. Although he wanted to play in the water he was also a little scared because it sprayed straight up from the ground at different times.

                                                                

My mom brought Morey a special bow tie to wear on July 4th. He looked quite dashing and got compliments from the housekeeeping staff at the hotel who thought he was pretty cute.

                                                             

Although the town had a fireworks show we decided not to go. Morey isn't terrified of fireworks but he isn't a huge fan of them either. As it turned out we could see some of the fireworks from our hotel so we still felt festive!

Play Ball!

My first trip in July was a road trip to Illinois. My friend wanted to go on a road trip to Illinois to visit his family but didn't want to make that trip alone. His family only lived 5 hours from my family so it worked out well: he could see his family and I could see mine.

The first day we drove to Kansas City which was about a 12 hour drive. It was a nice way to break up the trip and my friend wanted to see a Royals game while we were there. We stayed in a hotel that was right across from the Royals stadium so we could easily push to the game. With his blue vest on Morey looked like a proud Royals fan!

I could tell Morey was a little stressed in the loud and crowded environment. In anticipation of this I had packed some treats and occasionally gave them to Morey throughout the evening. It's amazing what random reinforcement will do to increase attentiveness!

I found this sign and thought it would be very appropriate to take Morey's picture there. Morey certainly is a dog just the way I like him! :)

While getting to the stadium was easy because it was downhill, getting back to the hotel was not as simple. Not only was it uphill it was also dark and crowded with cars who were also leaving. Rather than face all these obstacles we decided to take a cab back to the hotel.

The driver was happy to give us a ride (although technically they can't refuse you because of a service dog that doesn't mean it never happens). He did ask that Morey stay on the floor of his vehicle instead of the seat. Morey is accustomed to riding on car seats so I was a little worried when I asked him to jump. I tried to give him a straight path to jump onto the floor and I was very relieved when he settled right down. I very much appreciate Morey's ability to adapt to new environments!

Orientation

Part of my job during the summer involves tabling at New Student Orientation sessions. Our office participates in a variety of different events designed to introduce students and their families to the various services and resources that are available on campus.

Unfortunately, most of these events take place outside in the heat of the afternoon. Not a good mix with Texas heat. All our staff sign up to cover different shifts and it's not exactly an opportunity you look forward to doing. It usually involves a lot of sweating and trying to engage people in conversation. If you want to get an idea of how must stigma is still attached to disability, set up a table with a prominent sign that says "Services for Students with Disabilities" and see how many people come over to strike up a conversation. The answer will be not many and most of the people who do come over are only interested in our free pens. While attitudes are slowly changing, there is still a long way to go before students are comfortable publicly identifying as having a disability and view it as simply another aspect of diversity.

One advantage I have during my shifts is that I have Morey with me. While people might not come over to talk to me about what our office does they will come over to talk to or about Morey. Unfortunately, I don't think Morey really enjoys these events either because he spent most of his time hiding under the table cloth trying to stay cool. I kind of wished I could join him!

                                                    That's what you call a hot dog!

                                                  Can you find Morey in this picture?

Summer Fun!

July was a busy month! I went on three different trips and was only home in Austin for 14 days during the month. Morey joined me on two of the trips and seemed to enjoy his summer vacations! Although May and June were exceptionally rainy, July was exceptionally dry. I left for Indiana right before the 100 degree weather hit which is just fine with me!

Even though it wasn't 100 it was still plenty hot. I got out Morey's pool and let him "swim" (splash around). He was a little confused because he always hears that everything is bigger in Texas but that is definitely not true of his swimming pool! Maybe next year we can upgrade to a bigger version!

              Being in water is about the only way to enjoy being outside when it is hot!