Katie on Christmas day at West Edmonton Mall.

  
Free to run instead of stuck in her wheelchair.

No idea what she's thinking.

We took Katie to Special Olympics bowling last Sunday.  She enjoyed herself for the most part.  There is a young man who volunteers with Special Olympics and she has quite a crush on him.  He's a nice young man.  His girlfriend has a disabled brother so they both volunteer.  This young man is good looking, kind and smart; working on his PhD in biochemistry I think.  So Katie has good taste. 

She quite shamelessly flirts with this young man.  She laughs and swings her hair around.  It's funny to watch and a little sad because it would be nice for her to have a boyfriend.  Anyway, last Sunday Katie saw the young man and stared at him as he got closer.  She was quite intent.  When he started walking towards her she got very excited, blowing raspberries and rocking her wheelchair, which apparently is how she flirts.

And then she lost it.  She started crying and screaming.  She was inconsolable.  We had to leave and allow her to calm down.  Then it dawned on me after all these years.  When Katie is overcome by strong emotions, any strong emotions, she starts crying.  Which is exactly what I do. 

Ask the big guy if I cry easily and he will tell you, yes.  Any strong emotion sweeping over me leaves me weeping and unable to speak.  I've always been like this but I never put the two together with regards to Katie.  It puts a whole new spin on her negative behaviors, her crying, screaming, head slapping and wrist banging.  I wonder if it frightens her to be so overwhelmed with emotion that you can't stop crying.  I know it scares me sometimes.  It also embarrasses me and makes it very difficult to communicate sometimes.  We're not so different, her and I.

Now how to deal with it.