One Step At A Time

My girls have unique names.  I will probably never be able to buy them personalized barrettes, pencils, note pads or stickers without specially ordering them.  No big deal.   I knew what I was getting into.  Without a doubt, at some point this will be an issue for at least one of them. That's OK, I'm sure we will be able to handle it and one day when everyone is older "remember when." However, if I ever was in the store and there before me on a twirling rack was a package of stickers with any one of their three names on it, right there, already printed and ready to go..... guess what?  I'd definitely flip out with excitement, and you'd surely hear me wherever you are!!!  How amazing would that be?  Very.  Well, that's how I felt when I heard this Public Service Announcement.  Have you heard it?  I wish I was out and about one day and randomly heard it, that really would have been THE BEST!!!  Oh well, either way, how cool is it to hear that extra special, oh so smart and important sounding, celebrity voice talking about PKU?????  OUR PKU!!  "PKU"- it rolls off Scott Pelley's tongue just like warm butter slipping off a hot knife, like he says it every single day even though it's likely he has never even heard of it before!!!  But who cares!~ This is how it goes I'm afraid: who you know does matter and is important especially when you are trying raise awareness for a rare cause like ours.  Of course we all have to do everything we can but the truth is,  having a few recognizable celebrities on our side won't hurt one bit!  I'm so excited about the NPKUA!!  They are a relatively new umbrella organization connecting lots of local PKU support organizations.  They have hit the ground running and are already working on some incredible projects (like trying to increase food and formula coverage for PKU and planning a conference in 2010 for example).  They sponsored this PSA to reach out directly to people with PKU who may need to get back on track or who may need general support.  SO wonderful!!!  When I first came upon it while checking the NPKUA website one day, I couldn't stop playing it over and over!!!  I imagined Z and I driving in the car when she is a little older, hearing it on the radio.  How cool would it be for her to hear someone talking about PKU, someone other than her immediate family!!  Someone on the radio?  It's like indirect support and validation!!!  This PSA is a way of showing Z that PKU is important, and not just to us, but out in the world too.  And, I can't help but think that there are people out there who don't know a thing about PKU but may hear the announcement, listen a little closer because they recognize that voice, and perhaps connect it to the "heal prick" from the hospital birth experience of their own baby.  Maybe it will plant a seed, or give an existing seed a little sprinkle of water and with the momentum of the NPKUA and other local organizations working so hard to spread the word, the next time they hear those 3 little letters that mean the world to us, they may stop and listen even a little closer this time and who knows, maybe they will tell a friend.  This is how we're going to move this mountain my friends, one step at a time!!!  Yeah!  Thank you NPKUA!!!