Because Team Chrestman spent the first day of 2014 glued to the couch doing absolutely nothing productive, we relay our Happy New Year’s to our blog followers one day late.
For those of you who have followed this blog for some time, you may recall the concept of the “cool shit jar.” For our new readers, you can read about it here. For the lazy among you, the cool shit jar was essentially our way of willing 2013 to be a better year for us than 2012. The idea was to chronicle all of the “cool shit” that happened during the year and go through it at year’s end.
To be honest, we were not the most consistent about it. And perhaps not surprisingly (given the maturity level of many of those we associate with), there were several entries into our jar that were far from appropriate. Therefore, here are a few highlights of our cool shit:
January 12: Kohl celebrated his first birthday and several friends and family members came over. Kohl tasted cake and had a great time.
January 13: The fact that one day can be positively awful one year and 1,000 times better the following year. (Friday, January 13, 2012 was the day that “the shit hit the fan”. While 1/13/12 was full of heartbreak, 1/13/13 was filled with happiness.)
January 27: Kohl and his dad got to go to the Barkus parade for the first time
January 30: We came across a study that uses cord blood stem cells to treat brain damage. A newspaper article profiled a little boy who had brain damage similar to Kohl’s. He was significantly delayed up until he had this stem cell therapy at around the age of three after which he began rapidly improving and hitting all of his milestones. There is hope.
March: CeCe came and stayed with Kohl and his parents for over a week. Her vampirish sleep habits allowed Mom and Dad to get some much-needed rest
May: Kohl showed he is truly his mother’s son by becoming more vocal. He also began speech therapy sessions with an outstanding speech therapist.
May 11: Kohl’s mom got to be a part of one of the more creative marriage proposals in recent memory, which involved friends, giraffes, glittery posters, and of course beer. No pressure on a fun wedding, Chris and Melissa. Just saying…
June 14: Kohl graduated from the treadmill to the pacer.
Jan – June: Because Kohl’s mom had a seizure in December 2012, she was not allowed to drive for six months. Gentleman/scholar/semi-professional LSU football commentator Chris sacrificed his Friday mornings to take Kohl and Mom to physical therapy for 830a. Did we mention he did this for 6 months? We truly believe we have some of the best friends on the planet.
June 29: Team Chrestman did a private tour with the brewmaster of Covington Brewery. This was a Christmas present for Kohl’s dad. Good friends + cold beer + learning cool shit about the brewing process = damned good time.
July (approximately): Someone anonymously drew this picture:
August 1 – 3: Team Chrestman stayed at The Turquoise in Orange Beach, Alabama. They had an incredible time. Nana seriously asked Kohl’s dad if he was on steroids and Kohl imposed his will on both the Gulf of Mexico and the lazy river.
Fall 2013: Kohl “Badass” Chrestman walked a full lap around the PT department in his pacer for the first time.
September 2013: Our good friend Clare graced us with her presence and she came bearing the best cookies known to man that we are pretty sure are sprinkled with crack cocaine.
September 2013: Good friends Colleen, Alex, Owen, and Tamanna came to play!
November: Kohl got a new “stander” that helps stretch out his legs and accustoms him to being upright. He seems to genuinely enjoy these standing meetings.
Thanksgiving 2013: Team Chrestman had a delicious Turkey Day in Lake Chuck and were able to visit close friends. Baby Anderson was so excited that he came a few days early in order to meet Team Chrestman!
December 13: Kohl rolled over almost completely by himself. Quite a feat considering his brain damage and how well-endowed he is.
One of the best lessons from 2013 is that no matter what the previous year held, the next year can always (and in some cases will hopefully) be better. Appreciate the past, live in the present, and look forward to the future.
Here’s to 2014.
