Judith Iris Quate's Blog, page 5

This morning I turned on the television to watch a show I...

This morning I turned on the television to watch a show I saved on DVR. I enjoy watching TV while I am sipping my coffee.

I chose to click on The Voice from last night. In a previous post I explained I find inspiration in every form of media such as television, movies or books.

I laughed with the crazy monologues between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. They crack me up. Any way, last night there was a beautiful woman contestant who was inspired to build a career in singing when she found she was pregnant. She devoted the next fifteen years raising her son and wrote music for famous artists so she could provide for her family and create a good life. She gave up her dream of having her own career. I believe she is now in her mid thirties. Her son encouraged her to try out for the voice.

I watched this segment while tears were flowing down my face. I related to her. I realized I gave up many years myself caring for my boys who depended on me to find their way in life and advocate resourcefully for Jason to get the best care.

Because I was raised culturally in a generation guided by my parents’ values, my ambition at the age of 21 was to get married, work as a secretary and have children. God guided me in another direction and I dedicated my life caring and advocating for my physically challenged son.

This is why I find myself crying, listening to her story. I am now 66 years old and I am just finding my ambition as a woman. I am creative and ambitious and have a drive to expand my creativity. My tears are for the lost years. I don’t know how many years I have left to build a life for myself for my personal legacy as well as a mother of a special needs child.

Note: I do not regret the years I dedicated caring for my son. I regret not blocking out time for myself as a woman with desires and needs.

#SPEECHLESS

I would like to use my voice here on my blog as an open letter to the writers, directors and actors of the new sitcom on ABC, #Speechless.

TO THE POWERS TO BE AT #ABC NETWORK,

I was looking forward to watching your new sitcom #”Speechless” last week. You can only imagine how thrilled I was that a TV network was finally going to portray a family featuring a child with cerebral palsy. I was equally excited that Minnie Driver was chosen to be the mother. She has been my favorite actress for many years and I believed she was a good choice.

Let me begin my noting I wrote a memoir about my son Jason who was inflicted with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, Our Special Child-Jason’s Story. Although there were many parts in my book where I displayed some happiness, unfortunately, there were more difficult and frustrating years trying to get the best services for him. My life was real and I did not leave out my emotions of fear and frustrations.

I was disappointed that your network chose to make this show a comedy, very silly and unrealistic in so many ways. I do not appreciate you mocking a very serious family issue. You made Minnie Driver’s character quite unrealistic. I succeeded in getting the services for my son without acting crazy and making a fool of myself. If you respect people, you usually receive respect in return. If not, you find another route to get your needs understood. I did by getting help from politicians, nagging them with letters and phone calls, but always with calm determination.

My son managed to show his very funny and goofy personality without the ability to speak or use a computer. I love the boy in this show, in some ways he reminds me of my son.

Let me end by saying you may have created a silly sitcom that some people will enjoy and have a good laugh; however, I see it as just plain mocking a mother who has a child with a physical challenge and using the mother in a non conventional way to seek the best services for her son and going to all means to succeed, including ignoring the needs of the remainder of her family. This is not reality in my world.

Judith Iris Quate

Author, Our Special Child – Jason’s Story

scrapperjudedesigns@gmail.com

WOMEN OF DISTINCTION MAGAZINE

I had one very busy week which prompted me to write many posts. I apologize for filling your email in box but rest assured this will not happen often.

I consider all of you who follow me here on my blog my friends. With that being said, I want to share my life with you, good or bad; as well as to send inspiring and wise messages.

Today I checked my email and found the article I was interviewed for many months ago was published. I was beginning to believe is was a scam and I fell for it. Click on the site below and it truly isn’t a scam and it made my amazingly eventful week end with a flourish of surprise, like receiving a dozen roses. This is better because roses will make me sneeze (ha ha)

#ELITE COMMUNICATORS CONFERENCE

I was delighted to spend my day yesterday at a my friend’s conference, CAPTIVATE.  Her business has been building for a few years and yesterday was exactly one year since she launched her business, Elite Communicators.  I am a member and so delighted to have joined her community.  She is helping me mentally, emotionally, spiritually and professionally.  She is all about communicating with confidence, telling your story or pitching a new business as a public speaker.  In addition, she helps new writers to gain confidence to write a book or find the motivation and strength to continue writing.  Yes…friends, she is helping me with this as well.  I will tell you a secret…she provided a prompt at a writers groups I attended and I did my homework.  I was so inspired by the prompt, I believe it just may be a new book in my future.

http://www.etlitecommunicators.com

Please contact her if you are interested in her fabulous services.  She will make you shine.

 

This was just one of the beautiful scenes out of a wall of windows in our conference room.  The conference was located at the Lambertville Station Inn in Lambertville, New Jersey.

 

Breathtaking !!!  If you are in driving distance and want a nice place to visit, especially in the Fall, you must come here.  This is the  bridge I drove to take me over the Delaware River from Bucks County to New Jersey.  On the Bucks County side there is a very quaint town – New Hope; with  many great restaurants and stores.  Take a walk across the river and you will find much more restaurants and stores in Lambertville, New Jersey.

 

This was my vendor table with all my knitted/crocheted purses I worked diligently over the winter to create.  Yes…I sold some, including two books.

Have a great weekend friends.  I have another craft show tomorrow at the Pennypacker Mills Craft Show in Schwenksville, Pa.  If you are nearby, stop by and say hello.

Hugs,

Jude

P.S.  GREAT NEWS!  THE VET JUST CALLED ME AND MY DOG ALI DOES NOT HAVE CANCER.  HER CYST WAS BENIGN.  WHooooo I can now breath again.  Thank you for all your prayers and kind words.

 

 

 

 

 

ASKING FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND COMFORT

You know I am always writing here to boost your confidence and share wise and inspirational advice. However, today I need your prayers and good vibes because I am worried about my dog Ali.

She is my love and always comforts me when I am down. Today she needed to see the vet because we found a cyst on her forehead the size of a pea. The vet took a biopsy and looked at it under the microscope. She returned suggested she have it removed because she found some brown specs and there was some blood.

Ali is ten years old and for the past six months we were taking her regularly to the vet to have her anal glands expressed. She has been having infections.

I am not ready to let her go and I am praying she is okay. God sent Ali to our home six months before our son Jason died. She was a wonderful comfort for us and still is.

Please help me pray that she is okay and we can enjoy her for several more years.

Hugs

Jude

WISDOM FROM A GRANDMA (BUBBIE)

I understand today has been designated as grandparents day. As a grandparent of two delightful grandchildren, I will cherish this day. It does remind me of some words of wisdom I would like to pass on to our younger generation of parents.

Last evening I enjoyed a few hours of fun, love and a little craziness watching my son and daughter-in-law attempting to juggle their busy lives while raising two very normal children, Dylan, seven years old and Lindsey four. They are typical children who try and see how far they can go to push their parents to total frustration. I’m sure you all can relate. I had the same behavior from my son many years ago.

Listen up, enjoy the chaos, take a breath and be grateful it is all normal child rearing. I understand in today’s generation, both parents are juggling careers and raising children; take it from a wise grand mom, you will survive.

Let me leave you with just one thought, be grateful your children are healthy, able to speak, walk and learn. Take this loving advice from one who knows.

Hugs

Jude

PHILADELPHIA IS IN THE SPOT LIGHT THIS WEEK

I am so proud of the city I grew up in and raised my children. It is the city of brotherly love and I hope we show a lot of love this week.

Enjoy the following pictures and videos I am sharing of my beloved city.

scrapperjudedesigns.files.wordpresshttps://youtu.be/4z2DtNW79sQ.com/2016...[image error]

WE LIVE IN A DANGEROUS WORLD

I hate to wake up each morning and turn on the TV.  One never knows what happened over night.  It appears, too often lately, we hear about another bomb, shooting spree and even a country attempting to be taken over by rebels.  However, how can I not turn on the television.  I need to be informed, no matter the consequences.

I often sit alone in my house crocheting another design.  I do not turn on the television because I enjoy the quietness and an opportunity to think about good times and fun memories of the past.  I grew up in the 1950-1960s as a child into young adulthood.  I lived in a large city – Philadelphia.  As you may know, Philadelphia is known for the city of neighborhoods and row homes.  I lived in Northeast Philadelphia in a row home on a small city street with one lane parking and very little traffic.

As a young child I would be out almost all day playing with my friends.  My mother didn’t need to fear for my safety.  We didn’t have electronic toys, computers or cell phones.  We used our imaginations.  How is that possible, you might ask?  Very easy, we were not distracted by all the garbage we have today.  We depended on ourselves to play.  A few games I remember are hopscotch, jax, throw a ball up against the side of the house with a friend for points, step ball, hide and seek and jump rope.

I really enjoyed sitting out at night on a warm summer evening and all children and parents were out as well.  Sometimes we played kick ball in the street, children against the parents.  Everyone got along and had fun.

Halloween was especially fun because my sister and I would go with our friends to different streets and stay out as late as 10 or 11 at night, depending if it was a school night. We had no fears and neither did our parents.  We use to gather at the corners of each street and share what house was giving out money or the best candy.

I am sharing and reminiscing with you because life is not like this anymore.  I miss it.  What I especially miss is the feeling of being safe.  I didn’t know I wasn’t safe.  I would also travel on the buses and trains all over the city by myself to go to the orthodontists or a volunteer job I had for the summer.

When I was eighteen I took the train to downtown Philly and walked several blocks to where we would meet the bus to take us to Fort Dix or McQuire Airforce base to attend a USO dance.  My friends and I would take the train home with no fear, other than watching the large rats scampering along the walls.

I fear for my children and grandchildren and what their life wlll be like twenty some years from now.  I may or may not still be here on earth, but I hope and pray we will have a safer world to live in.  I only wished they had the experiences I had as a child.

Raising my sons were not too bad.  We lived on a larger street but we were very lucky to always have wonderful neighbors who were supportive, loving and I will always be grateful for those years raising my sons, 1979-2000.

Yes…we do live in a dangerous world today.  Dear friends…please be diligent in what you do on the internet and the phone calls you receive that can be scams.  I learned the hard way, as you know, from a previous post.  They are looking for people who appear vulnerable on the internet.  The older generation who are not up to date with technology can easily be scammed, are their targets.  Be diligent and careful dear friends.  I pray for all your safetly.  At the same time…do not give in to this fear, be careful and have safe fun.

Hugs,

Jude

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WARNING ABOUT AN INTERNET SCAM

A few weeks ago I received an email offering me a position as a personal assistant. He told me he is an artist and also buys and sells artifacts to other brokers and museums throughout the world. I was scanning the internet for this type of position and my name is listed on some sites.

The job offer was intriguing and the salary was good. I responded but was careful not to give any personal information other than my name, address and phone number which is easily obtainable on the web anyway.

He responded with a questionnaire asking about my previous experience and questions related to the job I should know, to prove I was a reliable candidate. One week later he responded and offered me the job.

A few days after this I received an email giving me instructions for my first task. I was going to receive a check in the mail and he gave me precise instructions to deposit it in my account, keep some money for my salary bonus and get the rest in cash and deposit it in another bank. He gave me a name and account number. This money is to be used for a computer, software, cell phone and web assistance that I will receive to start my job.

This sounded fishy to me. Something told me to be careful. By the way, at the same time, I was being hassled by another company sending me checks to work as a secret shopper which I never agreed to do. My second clue came in an email from this artist asking me if I received the package and he signed it with a title of Human Resource Manager of a Secret Shopper Company.

Okay, now I knew I was being spammed. However, I received the package with the check and brought it over to my credit union who knows me well. They researched the name on the check and then was able to key in the routing number and account number. It was a check that had no money backing it, proving it was a spam. The teller told me they see this spam all the time. If I deposited the check, it would have been returned in two days showing insufficient funds and I would have been responsible for $4000.00.

It is unfortunate there are people on the internet looking for people like me. I am 65, vulnerable, based on their research about me, and figured I was a good candidate.

I am not the sucker they think I am. Having lived the tough life I did, only toughened me more to be aware of scandals and thieves. If you are out there dear scammer and reading this, I AM NOT AN OLD FART OR STUPID.

Please be careful dear friends. The world is not like it use to be when I was growing up. It is scary, dangerous, and untrustful and I fear for my children and grandchildren for their future safety in our continuously violent and scamming world we now live in.

Hugs

Jude

Independence Day – Discrimination??

Who are we who live in a land of freedom?

We are all human beings on the outside and in our souls.

We all wish for peace and freedom no matter of our heritage

or the color of our skin, sexual orientation and religious folds.

Some of our ancestors fled from their home because of their religion,

Hoping to arrive by ship to the shores of promising peace.

They arrived in a strange world so different in many ways;

their bravery trusting this strange land would give them many years of peaceful relief.

For many years we celebrated the day, July 4, 1776,

to acknowledge the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

It was a proud day in our history.

We became a land where all people were considered free.

Why am I confused? Doesn’t freedom include all people?

Apparently not, since some have been fighting the right of

discrimination since July 4,1776.

When we gather with our family and friends this weekend,

please remember we have more work to do.

We all have the right to freedom

regardless of our color, religion, body shape, sexual orientation, disabilities,culture and ethnicity.

Friends…I wish you a fun and peaceful weekend with your friends and family.

Jude