Happy 4th of July to my Angel Buddies

I have an awesome job.I work for a place called Holy Angels located in Belmont N.C. where I act as Director of Creative Arts.There I work with children and adults with severe to profound mental and physical disabilities (many who are also medically fragile).Check out the website at www.holyangelsnc.org or if you are into Facebook, you can check out the Facebook page.Holy Angels strives to provide the highest quality of life for these folks ....looking beyond the disabilities,it is easy to see that these people are just like you and me.....they have likes and dislikes....opinions....certain tastes in music and art...some love digging in the soil while others don't like getting dirty...some have very calm dispositions while others have very strong personalities.
This weekend I had a conversation with someone who works with children with Autism and we came upon the fundamental,philosophical question," what is normal?"

When I reflect on the residents of Holy Angels,it's not that they are not normal,they are just different.They have different ways of participating in life simply because they are not able to participate in the same way I am. Now I am sure some of the folks I work with know they have physical or mental challenges....but alot of them don't....nor do they care.....they are happy to be who they are,living their lives and playing the hand of cards dealt to them.
Maybe it is because the groundwork of Holy Angles was laid by The Sisters of Mercy....maybe it is just the nature of the population at hand,but I find working with the residents at Holy Angels to be spiritual work.They have a very strong,a very real and a very simple faith.Sometimes I feel a little jealous.They have a direct pipeline to God....kind of like they are always plugged in......most of the time I am still trying to find the socket.
The residents are an inspiration in many ways.These days they are teaching me to be free and to let go...They do not worry about what others feel about them...They are more themselves than I will ever be and they are teaching me what NORMAL really is.