MDA Muscle Walk

Dewie Greeted me like this when I came home from my last trip! Her sign says, "Happy Retirement! Now you're all mine, Coconut! (its a long story) Love, Dewie.

So the next thing we will be doing is this Saturday's MDA Muscle Walk in Dallas. As we've talked about in this blog, MDA has been invaluable in our lives and our efforts to live with ALS and we really want to help them rasie the money it takes to do all the wonderful things they do for ALS patients and ALS research. If you would like to join Team Dewie Q, meet us at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington at 9:00 am Saturday. To donate to Team Dewie Q, click here. Our team goal is to raise $1,000. Thank you for helping us reach it.

Love,

Pete and Dewie

Merry Christmas

To all my friends and family I wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This year I am especially grateful for your love. I am blessed to be here with the ability to enjoy our relationship. May you also be blessed. Love, Dewie

Team Dewie Q

The Walk to Defeat ALS this year was a great one. Attendance was way up and I'm sure donations were, too. Our experience this year was special because even though we didn't actively fund raise like last year our team doubled in size and we still raised nearly $500 thanks to your big hearts. Our loyal walkers from last year included Bob, Mary Ann, Maria, Gabi and Rosa. New walkers this year were Sarah, Mabel and her son Joshua and my long-time California friend Deborah who stayed with us for a few days. We were especially uplifted to be joined by the family of ALS champion Dr. Paul Lanier, who wrote a very inspirational book about his journey with ALS - "A Change in the Flight Plan". A special thank you to Dee, Marilyn, Katie, Meagan and Brittney. And to all who walked and donated this year - Thank You. You warm my heart. Team Dewie Q will be walking again on February 11th at the MDA Muscle Walk. You can join our team or make a gift by clicking Here.

Finally, those questions. I still have several left to answer and I haven't forgotten them. I am taking my time though, huh?

Love, Dewie

Thank You Merilly and James Taylor!

I was blown away last week when in the mail I got a piece of sheet music for James Taylor's song "Carolina in My Mind" signed to me by James himself! My good friend Merilly read on the blog that James Taylor is my favorite musician and she lives not far from him on Martha's Vinyard. So she just took it on her wonderful self to see if James would like to send me something and lo and behold, he did!

Thank you both for such a kind thought and gesture. And thank you to all of my friends and family for all the love and support you give me. Your love and friendship are what make life such a beautiful experience. I love you. Dewie

More Answers

I have taken a break from the blog for a bit and I've been wanting to come back to it so here goes.

Barbara noticed one of my blog posts says 12:52am and she asks, "Are you a night owl?". Heavens, no! I go to bed early most nights. But Pete works on the blog sometimes when he is on a trip and posts from far away time zones, so that's why the blog is updated at odd hours.

And Mary Ann asks, "What is the Fall hair color palatte?" My answer is "Forever Blonde!" Until I change my mind...

Love to all,

Dewie

Nancy Asks: Recently I've seen obituaries that mention ALS. Did you know them from the support groups?

In the support groups, we have made friends with others who have died and its always sad. One of my close friends from the group died last year. She told me she was tired. For some, ALS symptoms can be painful. I think many worry about the burden their care places on loved ones. Some just don’t want to live with a trach.

I am so grateful that I have no pain, and for the love of my family and two wonderful caregivers, and for enough strength to enjoy living this way.

My Favorite Music

Deborah asks: What is your favorite music these days? Alex asks: Who is your favorite singer? And Clay asks: Who is your favorite musical group?

When I used to sing I sang Mexican folk songs like Malagueña. I still enjoy music in Spanish and I like Juanes' CD "Un Día Normal" and Los Lonely Boys' CD "Los Lonely Boys".

Lately I have also been enjoying Michael Buble's CD "Crazy Love". Michael's arrangements of familiar songs remind me of my Mom's style when she used to sing.

But my all-time favorite singer is someone whose songs Pete and I used to sing together and whose concerts we still go to: James Taylor. I love listening to his concert CD "One Man Band" and also his recent CD with Carole King.

Thanks again to all of you who are still asking questions. I am having fun answering them.

Love,

Dewie