Aunt Debra....

Jillian and her Aunt Debra

These two have a lot of fun together.

As some of you know, Debra has cerebral palsey and is deaf. The part of her brain that interprets the hearing is damaged so a hearing aid does not help.  She has one leg a little shorter that the other.  One of her feet is size 5 1/2 and the other is a size 8 - so she drags her feet when she walks and shoes are often very expensive. 

When my Mom passed away, I essentially became a mother to my older sister.  Much of my time off is dedicated to taking her to the doctor, dentist and other various appointments.

I do my best to keep her healthy, happy and entertained.

Debra is smart as a whip, and Debra LOVES to go shopping - all kinds of shopping including:  food, clothes, cosmetics, crafts, dollar stores and malls.

Debra loves to eat, and absolutely loves Dunkin D0nuts coffee.  She loves all kinds of pens, pencils, and markers, and she also loves doing find-a-word puzzles.

So, Saturdays usually consist of marathon shopping excursions!!  We always manage to purchase a new pen or two, as well as, a new lip gloss, and naturally, when we're out a stop at Dunkin D0nuts is in order. 

Miss Jillian thinks that she is in charge of Debra and often tries to boss Debra around, and Debra follows her command!  In the same token, Debra sometimes returns the favor and gets on the same level as Jillian.
I'll ask Debra:  "How old are you??" Jillian will then stick her two cents in a reply: "Two!!"
I sometimes have to intervene and separate the two of them, and remind Jillian to be more gentle with Debra.

When Jillian came into our lives, I think that Debra's inner child appeared, and why not, the kid is infectious!  She just makes you want to be a kid again.  Coloring is fun.  Finger painting is a blast.  Blowing bubbles is awesome.  Making a snowman is exciting.  Play d0ugh is neato!

And Debra is enjoying every second of it!