Ambience is a French word after all

It's been a crazy few weeks getting ready for our move back to the US. The last week was filled with quick trips to visit friends and our kids squeezing in visits with their friends from Montreal. One day Louis had his two best Montreal buddies over for dinner, followed a few hours later by Danielle and a couple of her friends....girls like ambience...boys just care about the food. Even Duke.

Big day for the Pisani boys

The West Island Special Olympics organization held the end of the year celebration this weekend. Paul was awarded Coach of the Year and Louis received Outstanding Athlete of the Year for basketball. Louis's name will forever be on a trophy here in Quebec...and he received a small one for his collection. 

We are all extra excited because his name will appear on the trophy with fellow teammates, like his friend Curtis, who received the award two years prior.

They had a fantastic season, winning a medal  in the Provincial championships this past March. Louis loves basketball almost as much as Paul enjoys coaching it.

It was a bittersweet, as earlier in the day we said good bye (for now) to our great friends in the Eastern Townships at our Special Olympics ski team at Owl's Head. Our fellow skiers presented us with a cake and a priceless card with special notes we will treasure forever.

Danielle with her fellow instructors and peer volunteers....and good friends!

We will be forever grateful for Special Olympics Quebec...it's changed us all as a family and as individuals. We're taking everything we've learned from our Quebec friends and will jump into the programs in Illinois...minus the French of course. As our ski coach Art Zentner says..."one athlete, one coach." Paul and Louis will be recruiting a ski team for sure. 

The day reminded us of what we will miss about Quebec most of all...the people and friends we have made. We will be thinking of our fellow athletes, parents, volunteers and friends as we continue our journey back to the States.

The day also reminded us of how the "special" people in our lives bring new meaning to our own lives and provide us with experiences and friendships we might not have had otherwise. Without Louis and is (dis)abilities, we likely would not have been involved in Special Olympics and the wonderful programs we experienced in Quebec.

We're certain our paths will cross again.

So as we said to our friends recently....this is not a good-bye but....

à la prochain 

the Daily Duke 9.7.11

Duke watched by the door as Danielle and Louis each left for school at different times. As he gets older, he appreciates the peace and quiet in the house.

Our 8th grader

Something happened this summer. Louis must have grown a foot, his voice lowered by several octaves, he increased our food budget by hundreds of dollars, he craves his independence and he had a great summer. Today was his first day of school. Yes, he had new clothes to mark the occasion but opted instead to wear his old crap. I remember the days when I could set clothes out for the kids and they would just wear them.

So, what did Louis do this summer?

He had an amazing baseball season playing on a "typical" baseball team. (We don't like the word "normal"). He and his team went to the provincial championships, unfortunately losing two heartbreaking and very close games. But, we were fortunate to be with wonderful parents, the best kids and we looked forward to each and every game. It was lots of fun.

He got to go to a Toronto Blue Jays game and sit in the Blue Jays charity box with great friends from his baseball team. And mom got to go too. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we will never forget it.

While at the Blue Jays game Louis came face-to-face with a Frank Thomas photo

He also got to sit in the box for the Katy Perry concert with another great friend. I'm sure he's happy all of his dude friends know he went to Katy Perry. We had a great time and what a way to see a concert!

After Toronto, Louis and mom hit the road and went through Niagara Falls. He was not that impressed. But it was worth the stop. I made him smile in this photo.

We stayed the night in Cooperstown, N.Y. and went to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Absolutely AMAZING. Put it on your travel list, even if you're not a baseball fan. The town is quaint and a great place to visit. We took out a membership because we kept thinking that Paul and Danielle needed to experience it. We're hoping to head there this fall.

After Cooperstown we went on to Portland, Maine to meet up with Danielle who had been nannying there for a couple of weeks. Paul joined us too we had a great time. We love Maine and everything about it.

So, that's Louis' summer. In between this he had baseball camp, time with friends, fights with his sister and lead the life of a typical teenage boy. And for that we are grateful.

The perfect season

Louis has had a great summer of baseball. His team finished the regular season and the regional playoffs undefeated! So this spirited team is headed to the Provincial championships tomorrow. We've had so much fun this season with the players, the parents and the siblings. Paul didn't get thrown out of any games this year. He did have a lot of fun with the boys. One kid in particular is named Laurent and speaks mainly French and his name is very French. After saying it a few times and asking for the pronunciation Paul said, "okay......Larry." Nothing like bringing a little American influence to the Canadian baseball team. Go Blue Jays!

Last day of school

It's hard to believe that Louis finished grade 7 yesterday....marking his third year of school in Canada. All in all we remain quite happy with his education on a daily basis. Is it perfect? No. We hear so much about budget cuts in the U.S. we ask ourselves often if we're in a better spot. We will say that there seems to be more special education resources in the U.S. Louis remains "included" in many of his classes with a modified curriculum. Finally, this year we were able to insist that he be pulled from the daily French class and use that time in the resource room instead. That seemed to make a big difference. We find it necessary to supplement school with twice a week tutoring and once a week speech therapy. Our team of outside help has been fantastic. Unfortunately, there's no summer school available for special education. Those resources remain limited, especially in the English schools.

Louis always looked forward to going to school to see his friends. Never once did we hear "I don't want to go to school." He left happy in the morning and came home happy. That's worth more to us than whether or not he can fully explain photosynthesis. It's all good.

the Daily Duke 6.2.11

I absolutely adore this photo. It was taken by Danielle's friend Chloe who is also our neighbor and an AMAZING photographer, eh? I'll be posting some of her rugby photos later this week. She's just great. She has quite an eye and is wonderful all around.

I love it because it so captures a boy and his dog -- a dog who does not normally sit still like this. It also captures the construction that has been going on outside of our house for the last two weeks. We're thankful for the sidewalks that are slowly, but surely being constructed.

the Daily Duke 5.11.11

Duke is ecstatic to discover that Louis has decided to try another ball sport this summer in addition to baseball....Lacrosse. I envision lots of practice in the park with Duke being his retriever. 

In case you wanted to know...the championship game of the National Lacrosse League takes place this Sunday, May 15 in Toronto at 2 pm eastern. This I know because in the last 24 hours I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about Lacrosse from Louis, thanks to Google. 

An inspirational weekend

Owl's Head Special Olympics 2011 from kish.pisani@gmail.com on Vimeo.

What can I say except it was a very cool weekend at the Quebec Special Olympics Winter Games. We are so proud of our TEAM....we had five athletes attend and six medals. The alpine ski competition was made up of the best Special Olympics skiers in he province!

Louis was amazing...almost too amazing. Something "clicked" with his technique in the last week and he improved tremendously. The first run on Friday was for divisioning and he nailed it! So much so that he jumped up in a division, which meant more competition. We were so proud that the came in 4th or 5th in all three of the races. But more importantly, he was there to cheer on his teammates, one of which won silver in their division -- twice! He lived the Special Olympics oath..."Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt." He was so happy for his teammates (as you can see from the video) and we are so happy that he is such a good sport.

We asked him on Sunday night what his favorite part of the weekend was...thinking he would say skiing. He said "my friends." That's what it's all about.

He had a great time sleeping in a school classroom with his team...eating meals, going to a dance and the most amazing opening and closing ceremonies. All the ceremonies were in French which made it difficult for some of us, but in a strange way, we could understand it all.

We can't say enough about the power, inspiration and pure joy that comes from watching these athletes...all of them.

Family Day in Canada

It's technically a holiday in much of Canada...except Quebec. The provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan celebrate Family Day on the third Monday in February. It's supposed to celebrate the importance of family life to people and their communities. Kind of nice.

It was just an ordinary day in Quebec. We've been spending a good bit of time at a small rental place near our ski hill. What better way to learn more about Canada than with Canadian Monopoly?

Although, when Danielle and Louis play this game together, it's not always that friendly. I suppose, that's normal...and very family-like. Even for Family Day...most everywhere but Quebec.

Repeat Gold

It's Valentine's Day and my heart is warm. Louis won Gold again over the weekend at this year's Provincial Special Olympics Alpine Ski Championships. It was a long and rewarding day for Louis and all of his fellow athletes. And for the parents, coaches and volunteers.

It was the oddest weather day...one minute we would have a white out and then the sun would come out and then another white out. The conditions were difficult for the athletes with many of them falling on the race course. It's always hard to watch a fall. But each and every one of them would get up, put their skis back on and finish the race. (they can't receive any help on the course, if they are even touched by anyone they get disqualified). They did great despite the weather, not being able to take a practice run and only being able to do one Giant Slalom in the morning and Slalom in the afternoon.

This race prepared the athletes for the upcoming Special Olympics Quebec Winter Games March 4-6. Louis will join his team and the other racers and winter sports athletes from around the Province for a weekend of competition. We are ready!

Louis gets ready for his race

Danielle was his coach for the day- cheering him on as he skied and at the bottom

In training

We are in the thick of ski season -- in more ways than one. We actually enjoy the snow...mainly because the ski conditions are great and well, we like it. Ask us again in mid-March though. Ski season for us means Special Olympics training. Each and every weekend we are skiing in the Eastern Townships of Quebec getting ready for upcoming competitions. Louis will compete in the Quebec Provincial games in February...and...in March he will compete in the Quebec WINTER games. The Winter games is a gathering of all the winter sports. They will have an opening and closing ceremony, an athlete's village and more. The athletes all sleep in the "village" which is actually a school gymnasium with cots. What fun (for Louis). Paul, who is now an officially sanctioned Special Olympics coach will be in the village as well. Kish and Danielle will stay in the local motel.

We are wrapping up selling raffle tickets to benefit Quebec Special Olympics. The $5 tickets makes you eligible to win a bunch of great prizes...including a trip for two to Greece and a weekend in Quebec City. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, email us. We have a limited number left. Thanks so much to everyone who has purchased tickets. We sold a lot and the proceeds will benefit Quebec Special Olympics and our ski team.

Enjoy the snow or the sunshine wherever you are.

Ready for football...and skiing

We're enjoying some time in the Eastern Townships of Quebec skiing and hanging out. Louis was dressed appropriately for skiing and of couse tonight's Saints game.

How to dress for a Toronto Maple Leafs game

Louis and Paul are in Toronto this weekend to meet up with their buddies Liam (pictured) and Mark (from Chicago) for a weekend of sports. This is how to dress for a Toronto Maple Leafs game...and they're playing the Sabres.

the Daily Duke 10.7

Today is Louis' 13th birthday. I'm not sure who is more excited about the likelihood of cake and ice cream tonight -- Louis or his dog.

You say Three Rivers, I say Trois-Rivières

Three Rivers Stadium. Actually, it's a ball park Trois-Rivières, Quebec where we attended a Fall baseball tournament for Louis' team two weekends ago.

Trois-Rivière is not a busy town. When Paul and Louis needed to stay the night in order to make it to an early game the next morning, it was not wise to have not made reservations. Fortunately, they did not bring home any bed bugs.

Don't let the condition of the ball park fool you. These Quebecers are as serious about baseball as they are about hockey. The park, however, left a bit to be desired for this American family. It's safe to say that this would not happen in the US...a park where fall balls can easily fly directly into the Canadian crowd with little notice...sort of like in hockey. These parents are not standing where they are because they needed to stretch their legs or get a good view -- more like so they can duck. We like to call this stadium "Thank goodness we have Universal Health Care."

It was still a fun-filled weekend of good ball. And I mean, really good baseball. Although, it was hard for the Pisani family to see Louis in a Yankees uniform.

He doesn't forget his Chicago roots though, choosing the same number as his favorite White Sox player.

Louis (#14) for Konerko with his buddy Max Murphy from a nice Irish family in Montreal : )

Off to high school

Yes, technically it's high school. Or Grade 7 or Sec. 1 as it's called here in Quebec. High school starts in grade 7 and runs through grade 11 in Quebec in the public systems. This means Louis is starting at a new school, with new friends (many from his elementary school), a locker, a bit more freedom, a cafeteria and more sports opportunities. He's excited and so are we. We decided on the public school because there really are not many options for special education programs. There is one school in Montreal, however, they are still reviewing applications for 2008. Having Louis in the community is just as important for now.

Education in Quebec is different. Some things we like and some things we don't. Of course, every student needs to take French and a lot of it -- even if they attend an "English" school like our kids do. Another interesting class that all students take throughout their education is called "Ethics and Religious Culture" or ERC for short. It doesn't matter if it's a public or private school, Catholic or not, everyone takes this class. We were recalling when we toured this public school for Danielle back in August 2008 and they were preparing the classes for the first day of classes. We walked by one classroom and there was a box of Bibles outside the room ready to be loaded into the class. We were all "Huh? Not that we have a problem with this, but isn't this a public school?" We were told of course it's public, but the Bible is used in literature classes. We were fine with that.

I attended a Catholic high school in Tucson. My first real exposure to reading the Bible (remember, back in the 70s we didn't necessarily read the Bible) was Genesis in Humanities World Literature and the Book of Job in another Humanities class. It was not part of religion as I recall unless it was the history part. I thought it was interesting and frankly, since we didn't really study the Bible as Catholics, it was good to pick it apart, line by line.

So this ERC curriculum is interesting. Louis brought home his course outline....

The two main objectives of the Ethics and Religious Culture Course are:

• the recognition of others
• the pursuit of a harmonious society

Under the heading of Ethics education, the students will be able to:

• reflect on values and social prescriptions
• appreciate different views of the world and humanity
• have a well-thought out perspective on moral and ethical issues

Under the heading of Religious Culture education, the students will be able to:

• familiarize themselves with Quebec Religious heritage
• be open to religious diversity
• have a well-thought out perspective with respect to religions and new religious movements

The course competencies are:

• Reflects on ethical question
• Demonstrates an understanding of the phenomenon of religion

We're fine with the class. It's a good thing to have open and honest discussion of ethics and religion -- all religions. When we went to Danielle's curriculum night last year and the ERC teacher was going over details of the class, even we were shocked at first. There were getting into some very controversial subjects. In fact, Danielle had to do a debate last year DEFENDING the use of child labor. Of course, it was debate and someone had to be on the "other side" and unfortunately for Danielle it was her. It was difficult for her (because she did a good job). She hated defending something she did not agree with, but at the same time, it was a very valuable experience.

Would this type of curriculum fly in the the US in a public school? Would it make Glenn Beck cry tears of joy (without Vick's VapoRub)? Well, the word Religious is in the title. But, the phenomenon of religion verbiage might throw him off -- although he seems to think everything related to him is a phenomenon, including a bunch of Canada geese flying over his lawn concert. We had Canada geese every October and November flying over our house in Naperville and we called the flyover an alarm clock. Whatever.

Not everyone in Quebec is happy about the ERC curriculum by the way. And when Canadians are upset about an issue -- they can make some noise.  We're okay with it. It's what makes the our kid's education in Quebec unique. It gets us talking at the dinner table. It exposes the kids to dialogue about religious thinking outside of Christianity. What matters most is the dialogue at home anyway. That's where you start to restore honor...or honour.

The boys are back in town

Paul and Louis spent a whirlwind weekend in Chicago visiting family and friends and happily attending two White Sox games. Frank Thomas -- Paul's all-time favorite Sox player -- was being honored on Sunday at the game. They went for that celebration and so Louis could spend some time with his best buddy Liam and see his other "old" friends. One of the hardest parts of moving from Naperville was leaving a secure friend situation for Louis. We have to admit though that the kids here in Montreal have been fantastic to Louis.

Liam is someone special for all of us. It's been "Liam and Louis" for over ten years -- Liam and Louis have known each other since they were two. In fact, when they were younger, they were often mistaken for one another. Our families have become good friends over the years and we've been fortunate to spend vacations and holidays together.  We don't have to be on guard when we are together -- in other words -- we can yell at our kids, roll our eyes at meltdowns and generally not feel self-conscious if we lose our shit. Not that we ever do, of course.

At Bears training camp in 2005 when the moms decided to take a day trip -- this photo was taken just before all hell broke loose between the four kids...just like siblings. There was a lot of yelling going on.

I was talking with Jackie (Liam's mom) yesterday on the phone after the tornado of two boys and two dads left her house with luggage, tailgating necessities (no sunscreen of course, we are talking about dads) and White Sox gear to head to the 1 pm game. We were talking about what their relationship would be like if we still lived there. We both agreed they would still be close. We also agreed that as the boys in the neighborhood get older, kids tend to go in dozens of directions. However, at the same time as kids with special needs get older (Liam is autistic) these kids with special needs tend to spend more time together at school as the gap between "typical" kids gets bigger. In elementary school Liam and Louis were always separated by classrooms. They never had classes together because as one teacher said "they are a bit physically intimidating." Ya think?  Plus, they are so comfortable together it would be like having siblings in the same class, something that is not often practiced.

What could possibly be "intimidating" about these boys in the classroom? It was fun going through old photos...they've played many sports together. This Colts photos was their first football game on the same team and they were appointed captains for the opening game. circa 2005.

The Louis/Liam relationship is something special. It's important that we get the boys together a few times a year and  both families have made it a priority. The Kirstein family came to visit in 2009 and it meant the world to us.

Later that year we met up in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It's always been interesting to watch the two of them communicate. Louis' speech has improved a lot over the last couple of years. Of course, it's not at all "typical" and likely won't be. But Liam has always been able to understand Louis, to know what he's thinking, and often to communicate for Louis (teachers really love this) when he couldn't communicate well himself. We could often overhear the two of them "chatting" or more often yelling cheering at a game on TV or in person. But sometimes they would just be silent, yet still communicating.

Siblings of special needs kids share an important bond. Danielle and Gen have become good friends too during the year. They have the same energy and look out for their brothers. It's really cool. 

Seeing the boys together is priceless...

At the recent White Sox game