6th Annual Disability Blog Carnival

I had originally planned this Blog Carnival to coincide with Joe's 60th birthday. But life and circumstances intervened and it had to be delayed. We were in a hotel with no Internet in the rooms and we were still adjusting to the new time zone. So I opted to wait a bit. My favourite joke about faith still is:  Want to know how to make God laugh? Tell him your plans. Well that's what happened here.

Penny Richards over at Disability Studies, Temple University, originated the Disability Blog Carnival and she tells me that this month it's having it's 6th anniversary. She also tells me that this is the last one for the year as there has been decreasing participation. "Six years is a good run," she says. So we have a birthday and we have an anniversary and we have an intriguing selection of blogs.

RickisMom was the first in with two blogs about her daughter's birthday. Ricki was well known to many of us disability blogger through her mom's blog. I have to tell you that when Ricki died earlier this year, it hit me hard. I'm not sure I ever expressed that clearly to RickisMom ... I didn't know how. I found the two post submitted about Ricki's birthday celebration to be quite moving. It seems only right that Ricki's life continues to be celebrated and the contribution she made to her family and the the 'blogosphere' acknowledged.

Rachel also submitted something about her son with Down Syndrome, a powerfully moving piece about celebrating moments, no matter how difficult the struggle is - looking through the pictures to see her son, in a hospital bed, with a Santa hat on is a powerful reminder of the human need to celebrate to participate in traditions. Rachel's post combines words and pictures into a moving document of the power of love and hope.

Belinda, writes of the celebration of the opening of the Maxwell and Ruth Leroy Holocaust Memorial Garden in Toronto. I had attempted to be on the committee planning this but missed every single meeting because I was away on the road so much. I was excited to hear about a memorial that would include people with disabilities and would give a place to visit, to remember and to reflect. Never again means never again. The opening ceremonies were held recently and Belinda writes about being there and about the importance of the garden and what it represents.

CapriUni presents an astonishingly powerful poem about the celebration of the 21 anniversary of the grief which followed her mother's death. A poem which documents a relationship between a woman with a disability and her mother. A poem which memorialises the passing of strength and courage and hope from one generation of women to another. Following the post are two stories which grow out of the poem and a video that must be seen. CapriUni creates for the Blog Carnival a post which approaches her content in a variety of ways. (CapriUni, I am so glad you stuck with me as I tried to figure out how to access this post.)

I also thank the anonymous commenter who wrote a note giving thanks for the fact that movies featuring disability themes and characters were being given a whole month on Turner Classics - I don't get that station but I'm glad it was done.

So the 6th annual Disability Blog Carnival has done what it was set up to do ... bring to the fore blogs that need to be read, blogs that need to be dis/covered.