She said “Mommy!!!”
- At May 26, 2011
1
Stephanie Louise
May 25, 2011 Prom night at the Devereux Kanner Center
Who doesn’t relish that first word? That first time your child looks you in the eye and says “momma.”
Been waiting 19 years for the word to come from the lips of my daughter and it finally came. Last night. As I headed up the steps at Steph’s group home to get her and the three other young ladies ready for their prom. I heard her – kind of a squeal, but as plain as rain.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Followed by a huge squeeze around my neck. My 6 foot tall 19-year-old daughter, spewing her joy in every direction with the energy of TAZ.
All freshly scrubbed, the girls were ready for their gowns, lovingly chosen, fitted and tailored by the kindess of our dear new friend, Deborah VanCleve Phelps, owner of the beautiful VanCleve Collections in Paoli, PA. It isn’t every day that these girls get any kind of new dresses, let alone the kind of couture that one would expect to see at a high class event. Oh, AND matching handbags!! So, while the rest of the young gals at the event arrived in still lovely hand me downs and Goodwill finds, the girls of Roundhouse were the talk of the night! The light in the room.
This night meant so much to me and Andy! It was a chance to feel some sense of enjoying the typical things that most take for granted. The only differences – well, this prom is held in a rundown school cafeteria. The decorations were from Party City. The kids wore handmade paper flower and drinking straw necklaces strung on yarn. The food was a piece of overcooked fried chicken,green beans and cornbread. The DJ was loud and the music just way too hyper for these kids who bounced … and bounced … and swayed and bounced – off the walls – for two hours. Energizer bunnies on crack! The time of their lives. Boys in shirts and pants that did not match. Girls in dresses with t-shirts and sports bras underneath lest be too revealing. A mish mash of misfits and God bless every one!
It was nothing and everything I have ever wanted for Stephanie. Just pure joy!
Katharine Adan
I was thumbing through A Taste of Home when I saw the article about your lovely recipes. Thats when I saw your website for Stephanie’s House.
I have worked with autistic children for many years and know the heartache and more importantly, the JOYS these wonderful gifts from God bring to our lives.
I had to wipe away the tears many times reading the articles about Stephanie.
I am making a donation via check and plan on telling as many people as possible to do the same.
Many blessings to you and your family,
Katharine Adan