This is Part I of a three-part installment from a talk given by Jack Morrone, Principal and Co-Founder of One Financial Services, promoting two of several non-profits prominent in his life.
I’m going to tell you a story in three parts…
First is, The Last Time.
Next, I’m going to share with you Someone I Don’t Know Yet.
And, finally The Airport.
In between, I’m going to tell you about the good work done by The Miracle League and LifePath, the importance of watching trains and The Breakfast Club.
The Last Time
I have three amazing children. Two of them; my oldest and my youngest have profound cognitive disabilities. Once there was a time when saying the words: mental retardation was considered a clinical diagnosis but people began using this term incorrectly and in a vulgar way. So, I use phrases like intellectual disability or cognitive disability because I don’t see it as a struggle. Instead, it may just be the difference between my life and yours.
Instead, it may just be the difference between my life and yours.
My wife Leslie and I had our first son, Anthony, when I was twenty-eight. At thirty we had our daughter, Gina. Our youngest, Dominic, was born when I was thirty-two. Gina is a gift. In some ways she’s very typical and in other ways extraordinary. She’s a graduate of Lafayette College and is beginning her career in Manhattan. She’s had all the milestones that you’d want for a young woman.
Those of you who know Gemini’s or happen to be one yourself are familiar with the twin activity associated with your astrological sign. In my twin life I have Gina, who is following all the signposts you’d expect for a twenty-three year old woman as she prepares to begin her life. And, at the same time I have Anthony and Dominic, at twenty-five and twenty that I won’t have the struggle of facing the last times.
With Anthony and Dominic I have the privilege of continuing to take them to play on the swings, driving them to the community pool in the summertime, and walking with them to the bus stop. And, those times when I get to sit with them and talk with them, I suppose from the outside may appear like a one-sided conversation, but, as their father, I know their non-verbal cues like when they’re feeling happy or sad or frustrated.
In Part II of this three-part installment, I’ll share what a FULL day looks like, someone I don’t know yet, and the beauty of trains.
LifePath and Miracle League are not affiliated with LPL Financial.