Judith Iris Quate's Blog, page 4

DIVERSITY…What I am grateful

It was the other day when I was waiting behind a school bus parked outside a neighbor’s house in my housing development, I realized how diverse my development is. The young child, who appeared to be of Asian background, ran out of the house to get on her bus and her cat followed her out and ran under the car. Her mom waved to her child wishing her a good day at school and frantically began searching for her escaped cat. I was able to see the cat run under the car and then quickly scooted back into the open door of the house. I opened my window to tell her “don’t worry, your cat ran inside your house.” She smiled and waved to thank me and quickly ran in the house to close her door before the cat ran out again.

I was raised in Philadelphia in a predominant Jewish environment. My high school was approximately 80% Jewish, if not more. I am Jewish and loved the street I was raised in. It was a small street and I remember enjoying to be outside playing with my friends. We didn’t have computers or video games; we used our imagination to have fun playing ball, hop scotch, tag, Jax and other role-type playing. I had issues in high school because I am a free spirit. I enjoyed being who I was and did not like feeling I had to compete in order to be accepted.

Now it is fifty years later and I realize I have very strong feelings about discrimination. Because I grew up in a Jewish community, I wasn’t comfortable not learning other cultures, religions and diverse personalities. When I started working I needed to adjust myself to work with people of other ethnicities. I made many friends and enjoyed sharing our cultures. When I worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons I immediately involved myself in the Affirmative Action Program so I can share my thoughts of nondiscrimination, especially after my son was born. The program allowed me to share disability awareness as well.

I am grateful for what I stand for. I am grateful to live in a diverse community. I enjoy watching all children of different nationalities playing together outside. I watch them play and pray they represent the change our world desperately needs; love thy neighbor regardless of their color, disability, sexual orientation and ethnic beliefs.

With the Thanksgiving Holiday in a few days, please take time to think about what you are grateful for.

Hugs

Jude

DIVERSITY…What I am grateful for in our Future Generation

It was the other day when I was waiting behind a school bus parked outside a neighbor’s house in my housing development, I realized how diverse my development is. The young child, who appeared to be of Asian background, ran out of the house to get on her bus and her cat followed her out and ran under the car. Her mom waved to her child wishing her a good day at school and frantically began searching for her escaped cat. I was able to see the cat run under the car and then quickly scooted back into the open door of the house. I opened my window to tell her “don’t worry, your cat ran inside your house.” She smiled and waved to thank me and quickly ran in the house to close her door before the cat ran out again.

I was raised in Philadelphia in a predominant Jewish environment. My high school was approximately 80% Jewish, if not more. I am Jewish and loved the street I was raised in. It was a small street and I remember enjoying to be outside playing with my friends. We didn’t have computers or video games; we used our imagination to have fun playing ball, hop scotch, tag, Jax and other role-type playing. I had issues in high school because I am a free spirit. I enjoyed being who I was and did not like feeling I had to compete in order to be accepted.

Now it is fifty years later and I realize I have very strong feelings about discrimination. Because I grew up in a Jewish community, I wasn’t comfortable not learning other cultures, religions and diverse personalities. When I started working I needed to adjust myself to work with people of other ethnicities. I made many friends and enjoyed sharing our cultures. When I worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons I immediately involved myself in the Affirmative Action Program so I can share my thoughts of nondiscrimination, especially after my son was born. The program allowed me to share disability awareness as well.

I am grateful for what I stand for. I am grateful to live in a diverse community. I enjoy watching all children of different nationalities playing together outside. I watch them play and pray they represent the change our world desperately needs; love thy neighbor regardless of their color, disability, sexual orientation and ethnic beliefs.

With the Thanksgiving Holiday in a few days, please take time to think about what you are grateful for.

Hugs

Jude

MY THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE

I am thankful for friends like Garth Wheeler who has the talent to express his feelings with the most amazing gift of words. His poem is something that needs to be shared to remind us all intellectually mentally and physically challenged individuals need to be respected and not mimicked.

Hugs and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday

Jude

I AM THE DISABLED ADULT

I AM THE DISABLED ADULT

Author: Garth Wheeler

I am the ADULT who cannot talk.You often pity me, I see it in your eyes.You wonder how much I am aware of — I see that as well…. I am aware of much, whether you are happy or sad or fearful, patient or impatient, full of love and desire, or if you are just doing your duty by me.I see it in your eyes, I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater, … for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times.I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated.I do not give you answers to your everyday questions, responses over my well-being, sharing my needs, or comments about the world about me.I do not give you rewards as defined by the world’s standards — great strides in development that you can credit yourself; I do not give you understanding as you know it.What I give you is so much more valuable — I give you instead opportunities.Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine; the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities; the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible.I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder, seeking answers to your many questions with no answers.I am the ADULT who cannot talk.I am the ADULT who cannot walk.The world seems to pass me by so quickly it is scary.You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children.There is much you take for granted.I want the thinks on the shelf, I cant go to the bathroom, oh I need to be changed, Oh I’ve dropped my fork again.I am dependent on you in these ways.My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune, your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself.Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them.I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright, to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent.I give you awareness.I am the ADULT who cannot walk.I am the ADULT who is mentally Challenged.I don’t learn easily, if you judge me by the world’s measuring stick, what I do know is infinite joy in simple things.I am not burdened as you are with the strife’s and conflicts of a more complicated life.My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child, to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love.I give you the gift of simplicity.I am the ADULT who is mentally Challenged.I am the disabled ADULT.I am your teacher. If you allow me, I will teach you what is really important in life.I will give you and teach you unconditional love.I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you.I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted.I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams.I teach you giving.I teach you Loving And Caring Most of all I teach you hope and faith.I am the disabled ADULT………i Am the disabled ADULT who could not talk, I Am the disabled ADULT who could not walk, I Am the disabled ADULT that could not see. I am the disabled Adult who is fiscally and mentally Challenged….I AM THE DISABLED ADULT.

garth wheeler

UNITED STATES ???

Just a short post today. I woke up with the news stating our new president is Donald Trump. I am shocked. I am scared of the uncertainty of our future. How will this effect the lives of the disadvantage, disabled and the middle class?

We will have to wait and hope for the best. We have to try and keep an open mind. Please do not let your anger escalate where it gets out of control.

Let’s try and find peace with this in some way. We have to find a way to accept the uncertainty.

IN GOD WE TRUST!

Hugs

Judy

POLITICAL ANARCHY ENDS ON TUESDAY???

Let me begin, my friends, by extending my sincere apology for my recent posts regarding the craziness of this political season. You all know I dedicate my blog to supporting human rights for all people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation. We are all human beings first. I share my inspiration to all.

With that being said, I hope this will be my last political post. However, depending on the outcome Tuesday, I cannot promise.

I previously stated I will not promote either candidate but I cannot keep quiet when a candidate running for the most powerful office in our free world, mock disabled people and degrade woman. I will not accept this behavior.

I am aware we had past presidents whose behaviors’ were unacceptable, but they didn’t display their indecencies in the public eye. I know the internet’s social networking exacerbates the news in today’s world.

Let’s remove all the indecencies and go to the core of the issues. Who is more experienced, capable, intelligent and who do you trust to be responsible to make the powerful decisions that affect our freedom and safety. Who will continue to respect all people regardless of their differences.

Please go out to vote.

Hugs

Jude

Great Article

We have less than a week to make the most important and difficult decision that will impact our country for the next four years.  

We are voting to choose the candidate who will have the power at their disposal directly  reflecting all of us.

Unfortunate, as I had written in my previous post, we are forced to vote for a candidate based on who is better than the worst.

Please read this article.

So what do you think?   Did it clearly help you make a better choice? 

I feel it clarified the political predicament we are forced to make and the differences in our candidates,. placed things in perspective.

Hugs

Jude

WHAT I AM NOT GRATEFUL FOR…..

In advance to next month’s Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, I decided I need to clear my mind of what I am not grateful for. I need to relieve the craziness of the state of my mind so I can concentrate on the positive.

Without hesitation, I am not grateful for the state of our government. In fact, I am embarrassed by the behavior of our candidates, none of whom deserve the office of the most powerful country in the world. I will be grateful when this ends so I will not have to continue watching the outrageous commercials we need to put up with, no matter the outcome, OY VEY (a Yiddish term describing OMG, crazy and outrageous circumstance.) I would like to add the overexposure of our candidates on the TV networks contributes to my ungrateful feelings.

I am ungrateful for the lack of funding and total ignorance of our legislators who choose to ignore the minority of our country, the intellectually mental and physically impaired community. Excuse me, do you all know they are human beings and deserve to be recognized as voting members of our country. They have rights and they should not have to be waiting on long waiting lists for funding or should their parents have to beg for every service their child so desperately need. Come on now Mr. Trump, your behavior is outrageous toward this community. Your behavior in the past several months, only make their plight worse.

Please understand I am not happy with either candidate. I believe in the right to vote and I will exercise my right, however; the choice leaves me to choose the best of the worse. OH VEY!!!

RADIO INTERVIEW PART II

Wow–I had fun this morning. The best part relaxed sitting on my sofa, feet up and my dog cuddled against my side. She was sleeping through the entire interview and I am thankful for that.

I was slightly nervous waiting through the commercial but as soon as I was introduced, I was energetic, at 7 am in the morning

RADIO INTERVIEW

http://www.1180wfyl.com

I will be interviewed on this radio station, Tuesday October 25th at 7 am. We will be talking about my book, Our Special Child-Jason’s Story; focusing on how God guided me through the challenging years.

You can hear the audio on their website.

Hugs,

Jude

Fall Season Craft Shows

LENAPE  VALLEY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

St. Paul’s Church Boutique Row 

My calendar is full through the first two weeks in December.   I love sharing who I am and listening to people who need to share with me.

Hugs

Jude