Arrivederci

Once again, it’s time to say goodbye to another year.

Twenty twenty-three was a good year!

My year started out with me turning fifty years old. I celebrated my milestone birthday in the city that never sleeps, Las Vegas, along with my favorite guy. To say I had a blast would be an understatement. And like they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Later we would travel to the sunshine state where we visited Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Magic Kingdom.

Next, I got a new caregiver. For those who don’t know, the whole caregiving system is something to be desired. The system is just messed-up. Either providers don’t have enough workers or at least 60% aren’t reliable. I have had my caregiver Teresa for almost a year and she’s great! She shows up on time in a good mood and is always willing and ready to assist me. I wanted to give her a shout out because we’re quick to complain about bad care. So, I think we should also be quick to give hoorays for good care. Thanks for taking great care of me We We!

This year, I tried my hand at podcasting. One for Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valleys Voices of Good, and the other for The Ohio Developmental Disabilities’ DD Talks where I became co-host with my friend, Marci Straughter. We are now known as Sizzle and Sassy! Both podcasts’ opportunities were wonderful.

I continued to lend my advocacy expertise to many boards, councils, and committee to better the lives of Ohioans with disabilities including the Gorman Hewitt Foundation, The Dayton Art Institute Facilities Committee, The APSI Community Leadership Council and The Disability Foundation.

Once again, my guest-bloggers stopped by to inform the blog nation on a array of topics including, Why Advocates Need Advocates https://gesmv.org/why-advocates-need-advocates-by-alicia-hopkins/, Why I Won’t Stop Talking About Suicide https://gesmv.org/why-i-wont-stop-talking-about-suicide-by-anonymous-blogger/, and Epilepsy What is it and How Can You Help https://gesmv.org/what-epilepsy-is-and-how-can-you-help-by-matthew-rizer/.

The Ohio State University Nisonger LEND’s Program and The Dayton Rotary were just two of the organizations I had the pleasure of giving my disability awareness presentation too. And I was honored to grace the stage in the State Capitol’s Rotunda as MC Shari for the ninth time Ohio’s Developmental Disability Awareness and Advocacy Day

The biggest take-away I learned in 2023 is my siblings, who I refer to as The Super Coopers, are even more amazing than I thought. We banded together with one goal in mind and that was to care for our mom in her golden years. Mom taught us how to be strong and to always keep our faith. Now, we’re strong for her and pouring the faith back into to her that she taught us. There’s no greater love than family and that is what we are.

Twenty twenty-three was a good year. Stay tuned for 2024 for I have some things lined up that are going to be epic! As always, thanks for supporting the blog.
Happy New Year