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Gregory Blaise- Five!

By
Managing Real Estate Broker with Howard Hanna Rand Realty License # 49FA1074963

Today is the 5th birthday of Gregory, our 3rd Treasure. Gregory is on the spectrum for Autism, and attends a special school with an extensive ABA (applied behavioral analysis) program. It has help him enormously. He is great with eye contact, affection, and being "there." We are still working on boundaries, executive functions, and meaningful speech. 

Gregory Blaise Faranda

Gregory looks almost exactly the same as I did at his age. It is really uncanny. That is a hell of a trick to pull off when your mother is Korean. It will be "that" month in our house until January 14, when Catherine turns 6. They'll both be 5 until then. 2004 was quite a year. 

Gregory's special needs have posed quite a challenge to use. Managing expectations is difficult, because sometimes he amazes us and other times we unintentionally do things for him he ought to do himself. Patience.. you don't know patience until you have a child with special needs. Sleepless nights (children like Gregory have unreliable sleeping habits) are growing less common, but his knack for timing is amazing. He seems to know what mornings I need to wake up early so he can wake up at 3am and play, loudly. 

Through it all, his mother has been his greatest advocate. I work out there in the field while she mans command central for the business at home, often with all 4 home from school. You don't know multi tasking until you've seen double jointed, ambidextrous Renaissance Mom at work. 

So happy birthday to you Gregory. We love you very much, and you are 25% of the reasons that Dad and Mom work so hard. I hope you understand that someday. 

Comments (12)

David Hess
Bristol, VA

happy birthday gregory

 

great job keep up the awesome job

Dec 18, 2009 02:11 PM
Susan Mangigian
RE/MAX Preferred - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County Homes, Delaware and Ches

Phil, this is beautifully written.  You should talk with C Tann Starr, I think you two would have a lot to say to each other.  Happy Birthday to Gregory, a beautiful child!  xxoo

Dec 18, 2009 03:30 PM
Melina Tomson
Tomson Burnham, llc Licensed in the State of Oregon - Salem, OR
Principal Broker/Owner, M.S.

Happy 5th birthday Gregory.  Philip, my hubby designed an iPhone app for my daughter to help her with sentence construction. He is working on a question app right now for her. 

I'll send you the link. If you want to try it with Gregory, my hubby says he has 50 promo codes he can hand out.  

 

 

Dec 18, 2009 03:39 PM
Andrew J. Lenza
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Holmdel, NJ

Happy Birthday, Gregory.  

Phil, you and I are kindred spirits. I'm going to take the liberty and send you a short story about my inspiration, a lad who is a few years older than Gregory and diagnosed at 2 years, 9 months. They teach us more than we teach them I believe. 

Dec 18, 2009 04:41 PM
J. Philip Faranda
Howard Hanna Rand Realty - Yorktown Heights, NY
Associate Broker / Office Manager

Melina and Andrew, I got both of your emails. Ann and I thank you. 

Susan, Funny you should say that. I was invited to Club Chaos this morning!

David, Thank you. 

Dec 18, 2009 11:57 PM
Eileen Hsu
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Manhattan, NY
LICENSED REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON

LOVE IT. Give Gregory a big hug for me. You and Ann are amazing people to raise four adorable children and still keep your sanity... Or did you? :)

Dec 19, 2009 12:07 AM
J. Philip Faranda
Howard Hanna Rand Realty - Yorktown Heights, NY
Associate Broker / Office Manager

Hsu-It's pretty much gone. 

Dec 19, 2009 01:39 AM
Melina Tomson
Tomson Burnham, llc Licensed in the State of Oregon - Salem, OR
Principal Broker/Owner, M.S.

Philip, Andrew writes beautifully about E.  I think you and Andrew will get along really well. 

Dec 19, 2009 02:39 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

Philip- while I don't know exactly what you are going through.  I certainly can understand.  Our youngest not only has the physical limitations of FAHS (a type of MD), but also has schizophrinia, just diagnosised at the age of 18 earlier this year.  But I can tell you that those days when they amaze you are the best.  God Bless.

Dec 19, 2009 06:41 AM
Ann Faranda
J Philip Real Estate LLC - Briarcliff Manor, NY

I am going to take a page out of your book and compose a Haiku on an otherwise non-traditional Haiku subject. It's the question I pose to God about Gregory, and the answer revealed to me over time.

 

WHY GOD, Autism???

"...It is a form of Beauty..."

"Must change Heart to see."

 

Gregory has been changing my heart to grow, enough so that I could at last see beyond the challenges & difficulties of a kid on the autism spectrum, and to realize that he is a kid first & foremost, with a great laugh, smile, unbeatable hugs & snuggles, sense of humor, and not a nefarious bone in his body (can't say that about many people). Never mind that you'll find a lot of things lined up or grouped by color in our house -- I can't pass a crooked painting on the wall w/o getting it level -- we all have our quirks.  I have many deficits of my own that G-man has helped me realize and overcome. In order to help him, he has brought me out of myself and into a bigger purpose.

 

Love you, Gregory, happy 5-th journey 'round the big ball of gas in the sky.

-Mom 

Dec 19, 2009 09:17 PM
Melina Tomson
Tomson Burnham, llc Licensed in the State of Oregon - Salem, OR
Principal Broker/Owner, M.S.

"Must change Heart to see."

 

That says it all.

Dec 20, 2009 12:27 PM
Jenny Kotulak
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage - Oakville, ON
Broker - Oakville Ontario Real Estate

As a mother of four I must say happy birthday to Gregory.  Large families can be lots of fun but when you don't get your sleep.......

Dec 20, 2009 04:07 PM