We’ve recently graduated from simple fruits and vegetables to meats like ham and turkey. Today we tried mac & cheese with veggies. Connor’s enthusiasm has been less than expected for all of these considering how much Korean BBQ and macaroni he consumed as a fetus. Bad grades, rebellious clothing, refusal to do chores, heck, even automobile theft may be par for the parenting course, but if he thinks he’s gonna be some sort of vegan/vegetarian…Not on my watch, sir. Mommy and Daddy love meat far too much.

And now to go back in time to something that really touched me. Connor was born at the end of March, which was the beginning of our journey to figure out this tuberous sclerosis mystery. Imagine going from never having heard of something to learning that a fundraising walk is held annually at a park barely a couple miles from the house you grew up in. We didn’t even have two months from the time he was born until the Atlanta area walk to organize and raise money, but my friend Kate set up the team registration for me since it didn’t take much to trigger my anxiety at that point. The mere logo for the TS Alliance could trigger a tightening in  my chest and lightheaded feeling that would force me off my feet. We have an adorable little TSC bear clad in a TS Alliance shirt. Connor loves it, but I had to turn the shirt inside out at the time. I didn’t think we had much time to raise any money, so we set the team goal at $1,000. Chris’s sister Donna and brother Carey got in touch with friends who owned a t-shirt company and designed a team shirt. As you’ll see below, they chose a color that guaranteed we wouldn’t be missed. Carey provided them for everyone who walked. I was amazed when we had about 30 friends and family walk for him and the team raised over $6,000. Some of my co-workers that walked even wore their team shirts to school to help raise awareness.

Here are some pics from the walk (and if you’re wondering why you don’t see me much, two words. Baby weight.):