Chapter 30 – Final

As time wore on, I found that I was spending less and less time at Universal and more and more at my shop and running Forever a Toddler. After 2 years at Universal I quit to focus on my shop, and Forever a Toddler’s business ventures, which seemed to be growing.

In 2008 the sewing business outgrew the operations that we had going.  Also Jake’s Mom Sharon finally decided that enough snow was enough.  She had been wintering in Florida for longer and longer over the past couple of years.

Aunt Sharon had been looking for a place and spring of 2009 she found it, right next to mom and dad at the trailer park.  It was also around this time that mom and dad were looking to sell their old house in Ohio that had been pretty much empty except for being a store house for Forever a Toddler for the last 4 years.

Business had been very good.  Mom had even had to start contracting out work making diapers and baby clothes.  Aunt Sharon had been getting some extra help for about a year.  I guess we pay more than some of the other garment companies do.

Dad, Jake and Sharon timed it all right.  Just as the weather was getting hotter in Ohio, a large order dad was working on was done as well.  Aunt Sharon had went back to Ohio and was getting her house packed up, getting her projects finished up.  She had got all the stock in our old house boxed up along with getting the remaining furnishings sold from our old house.

The plan was to deliver the furniture to the client, then head to Aunt Sharon’s and load up her house and head back to Florida.  Both houses had been listed with a realtor and surprisingly sold quickly for the asking price.

In July of 2009 Finally Jake and Sandy got married.  The company had given Jake and Sandy a wonderful honeymoon present.  We sent them to Vermont to a B&B.  The surprise for Jake was that this B&B had bought 2 full nursery setups.  Jake would go on to say it was the best week ever.

Well there it is, my first 30 years.  At this point I still run the sign shop primarily, which itself is not that busy.  I spend most of my time answering emails about Forever a Toddler, handling schedules for the businesses.

Sammy is 13 now and growing like a weed, he is smart too, taking advance classes in math and science.  He never lets anything stop him, be it incontinence, using crutches or a wheelchair

We have about 10 employees outside the family.  Juan is an assistant manager in the furniture shop.  Helping dad build the furniture more than working in the sign shop.  To keep up with the demands we keep a stock of our ‘Basics’ line pretty much ready to ship worldwide.

Jake decided to quit ‘the mouse’ after a subordinate found that he was a little and then proceeded to cause drama.  Jake ended up having to complain to HR, which instantly fired the employee.

Now with his little side out, he decided to just devote the time to being his own boss.  He started an IT consulting firm and bills out three times what he made working for the park.

Sandy ended up opening a daycare center where she had a waitlist a mile long to get into.  She also is the voice of her own podcast for littles, where she reads children’s books, and hosts roundtables for other topics for the community, which Jake, myself and others join in on.

Sandy would fly up to the camp in the summer to help with the business side of the camp.

Sandy and Jake would decide that children were not something they wanted.  Sandy said she had ‘her kids’ at the daycare and ‘Baby Jakey’ at home and that was enough for them.

Mike our employee that handles the summer camp would email about once a week with photos of the work done. One of the goals for the camp was to make it fully accessible for all.  That meant paving many of the trails, walkways and more.  Installing ramps and lifts to make all the areas for activities accessible for all campers.  He also said he was working on his college degree, taking classes in childhood psychology .

By the 4^th year, the camp was down to running only 1 weekly session of ‘normal’ summer camp; all the other sessions were used for TBDL and ABDL camps.  We also started hosting groups in the winter for hunting retreats, using the large lodge and conference center instead of the campers cabins.

If it were not for my accident, I don’t think I would have all that I have, the wife, kid, family all around and the success either.  Heck who knows, maybe this all was my true destiny, maybe not.  We will never know, but what I do know is I would not trade it for anything.

Chapter 29 – More expansion and events

Around fall of 2006 I started to look into new ways to get our sales better, not that they were bad, they just were slow.

The one issue we’ve always had was that while we had a great online and printed marketing material, people spending large amounts of money kind of want to see the items and get a feel for them.

Dad’s shop was not really setup for customers just dropping by looking to try out a crib or high chair.  We always would ask customers to make an appointment to view the furniture.  Many customers would tell us that they found out about us from other ABDL’s by seeing them at their parties.

So we decided to hold our own party, or open house.  I started calling around to hotels and found one that we could book for right after spring break 2007.  I put up notice on the website and soon what started as an open house, turned into a full on ABDL party with over 300 registered guests.

We all worked hard that week getting everything ready. Starting with getting projects finished clear up to Wednesday night, I think I got home close to midnight.

Thursday we spent the entire day loading in all sorts of cribs, highchairs and tables upon tables of diapers, onsies, crib bumpers, plastic pants, shortalls, rompers, overalls, sleepers and other items.

Friday was an event open to all ages.  Believe it or not we had many actual parents shopping for their teenagers, some even brought them along.  All day we had customers trying out the furniture, buying new clothing items.

One customer had an order so large, that I was brought in.

“Howdy, my name is Rick Evans.  I run a summer camp up in western Ohio.  I had a group of adults ask me about hosting them for an Adult Baby summer camp next year.  I told them I would have to get back to them on what we could do for them.”

“Well, I’m sure we can work with you to find the best solution” My dad said as he motioned me over.

“Hey, what’s up”, I said

“Jay, this is Rick, he has a summer camp in Ohio looking to get some furniture quotes for an upcoming ABDL camp” Dad said

“Well what did you have in mind?  Do you have any limitations or floor plans that you need us to work with.” I asked.

I looked over the floorplans and what he currently had. He wanted to keep the cost down, as this was basically for just one week, and he wasn’t sure what the return on the investment would be.  I told him I would work up some quotes based on the photos he had, and requested that he provide accurate measurements as well when he got home.

We even met with some corporate clients who liked our basics line of changing tables, we had recently started using a material and coating that was mold resistant, bacteria resistant, easy to clean and sturdy; not to mention that we were able to design one with a hi-lo mechanism.

The clothing side of the business did not do too bad either.  Mom and Aunt Sharon sold through almost all of the stock that they brought, with orders for much more items, and even got some suggestions for new items.

Saturday we changed things around and did an adults only ABDL party.  Everybody arrived in their normal clothes and changed once inside the ballroom.  We had all sorts of child-like activities and play.  Coloring, Play-Doh, Legos, story time, crafts.  We even had a professional photographer come in and get photos of the guests one at a time.

Sunday was a trip to the Parks, which everybody loved.  We got feedback that many would love to have that Summer camp experience as well, which was not the first time we heard that idea.

I worked with Rick on and off for a few weeks to get ideas worked up.  He wanted to do a retrofit of the existing bunk beds they had.  By basically putting the crib bars on the outside with a swing open door.  To save money Rick had us fabricate and ship the stuff to him to install; he retrofitted an entire cabin to have 10 cribs.  He also ordered 5 highchairs and 2 changing tables which are easy to assemble, disassemble, ship and reassemble.

Rick had emailed me that fall that the ABDL camp worked out well, but the rest of the summer camps just weren’t that full.  I had suggested maybe doing a camp for teen babies as well.  He said he would think about it, and that was all I heard.

On one of our trips up to Ohio to drop off 2 cribs to two Teenage Little friends, we had the chance to check out a real estate venture.

After our successful open house and ABDL party we had floated the idea of having a place to host events. We had been looking for a place in Florida, but the prices were way too far out of our range, and the heat in the summer when most people were available, was just too hot and humid.

We had a hit on a summer camp that had closed suddenly; the realtor said that the seller was eager to sell.  The camp had a nice big dining hall, 8 camper cabins that held around 10 campers downstairs and a counselor in the upstairs loft.  There was also a small conference center and a lodge on the other side of the camp.

I had called up a buddy from High School who was into construction to go with us to look over the place to see what work would be needed.  Along with bringing in an old lawyer friend to look over all the books and legal issues.

Come to find out this was Rick’s camp.  I found the cribs setup with a changing table in the back.

“Hey isn’t this Rick Evans’ place?   Dad That’s your work right? I asked

Dad swung open the door on one of the cribs and saw the F-A-T logo burned into the inside of the door.  “Yep sure is, that’s our mark”

“Uh the owner passed away from a heart attack two months ago.  The family is just looking to get the camp sold to pay the bills” the realtor said

“Well before we can make an offer, I would like to see the business’s books and meet the seller” Dad said

“Yeah.  Do we know if they have any other camps booked for this year” I said

“If the camp sells, the new owner can choose to keep the existing schedule and registrations and there would be consideration in the sale price for that or cancel the camps.” The realtor said

We decided to buy the camp and keep the existing staff and run the camps that were scheduled for that season.  Upon looking at a few camps we decided to cancel two single week camps and make the offer to the campers to move to one of the other sessions or refund their money.  We had ideas for those two weeks.

That’s how Camp Littlefoot was born.  We did a small TBDL camp for 20 of our customers that year, with their parent’s help, which was full with a waiting list from around the country.  We planned the next summer to do more TBDL and ABDL camps, but ran the camp mostly as a normal summer camp otherwise.

We partnered with mental health experts to run a concurrent conference to help the Parents of our teen customers, and spouses of our adult customers.  It was our feeling that we owe it to our customers and to help those who mean the most to them; to help them understand why their loved one is the way they are, what they can do to help their ‘little’

The first year was kinda rough, but we had great staff that made it run smoothly.  We hired a on-site caretaker that was an ABDL who was looking at college, but still needed work.

By the second summer all staff had been made fully aware of the TBDL and ABDL camps and had the proper training.  We did loose some staff who could not get on board; which was bound to happen.

They had the choice to stay on for the normal camps and take the time off for the ABDL related camps.  Some chose that while I had a couple who just up and quit. Saying “They just could not do that”

Chapter 28 – School Days and Business expansion

In august of 2006, Sammy entered 5^th grade.  New school and hopefully making new friends; we hoped.

I was settling into my new routine of working.  I would work a day or two at Universal on projects, then one night go to Sanford to my sign shop and crank out the work for my clients and then work 2 days at my shop.  With having a laptop, you really can work from almost anywhere you happen to be.

Jake would work at his Disney job (lucky bastard) 3 or 4 days a week, come in sometimes in the morning or evening and help with the sign shop and on the weekends to get some larger projects done.  Soon we hired another person that I had worked with temporarily at Universal and they manned the shop when neither of us could be there.

Dad’s woodworking business was taking off pretty good too.  He did woodworking for vanilla clients under one name, and continued to build furniture under the Forever a Toddler brand.

The space next to the sign shop became available and he jumped on it and eventually would buy the whole building in partnership with me.  He would do the design for the furniture and I would do the graphics.

Our employee Juan once was driving by late at night and saw the lights on and was worried that he had left the lights on, and he walked in on us doing the very babyish graphics for several cribs, play pens and high chairs.

“Oh hello Jay, Jim. Sorry to have walked in on something.  I thought I had left the lights on.” Juan said hoping he was not going to get into trouble

“No, you closed up just fine.  We just re-open some nights after dinner for our special projects.” Dad said.  “I make furniture for a certain subset called Adult Babies.  Basically people who like living as a toddler.”

“Well and there are people younger than adults who do this too. We even have clients who are handicapped who order these things too” I said.  My dad looking at me and me looking back at him.

“Ok, so here’s the thing, when I first had my accident I was sent a bed that was a pretty much a crib, everybody who saw it thought it was one.  I had a lot of things that I had to go through after the accident.

An internet search found others who were into the ABDL thing, even if they too had to wear diapers liked to regress to deal with their situation.  Sure enough I found that regressing into a toddler did help.”  I went on to say, bearing my inner life.

“Surely you not the only one?” Juan asked

“Oh no, there are thousands upon thousands around the world.” My dad said

“Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee that Sammy will be one the older he gets, since dad already built him a crib.” I said

“Ahh little Sammy.  Hey…. Your cousin Jake……do he wear diaper” Juan said

“Yep both of them” my dad said

“I thought so, his girl she like mommy him all time” Juan said as we just busted out laughing.

“Mom, Jakes Mom and a whole host of ladies make all these items as well.” I said as I pulled up the Forever A Toddler website.

“Holy cow!” Juan said “You gots a business there”

After explaining what it is that my dad does and the private projects we work on, and about the ABDL side of life… He showed his skills at hand painting accents and designs on furniture.

“You know Juan, it is great that you walked in tonight… we were going to have to tell you soon, as that side of our enterprises were getting bigger than the vanilla front.  Plus damn you’re good at those details” I said

So Juan would help at the sign shop and when dad’s projects got to the point that they needed the graphics and painting he would go next door to help dad out.

He once said “I cannot believe that people pay that for this furniture, but if they buy it we make it.”

We figured in one year that we made close to 100 cribs, and about that many high chairs and many other items.  This was due to not needing to hide the work for just at night.

It was funny, Forever a Toddler had more data security than any other small business I knew; mainly because the clients were so secretive.

I know for a fact we shipped to celebrities and a few politicians.  I am not sure if it was for them or their kids.  I know that we started to get into the special needs market because we started getting requests for feeding tube access flaps, and sleepers with zippers in the back.

The profits of Forever a Toddler LLC allowed us to expand operations.  We were able to hire more people.  We established a network of “installers” who could receive the pallets containing items such as cribs, highchairs, changing tables, etc.

Dad would build the crib or whatever, do all the lettering and painting to them.  Then the item was disassembled, had a protective covering, and was loaded onto a pallet or crate and once a week a freight truck picked up what was produced.

The furniture would then be delivered directly to the customer, or to an installer who would deliver it and set up the item.

This increased our sales of furniture because we found many of our customers weren’t the most handy with tools to re-assemble a crib.  Highchairs aren’t that hard as they can ship with the top and bottom separated and the top flipped to stack on the bottom.  We even had customers who would drive to Florida to pickup their furniture from around the country.

Chapter 27 – It’s so hard to say goodbye

I awoke to my wonderful wife walking into my room and getting the supplies ready for the morning diaper change, we share pleasantries and in no time I was up and dressed for the day.  I wheeled out to the kitchen and sipped my morning cup of OJ as Jackie got Sammy up and started breakfast.

As Jackie started cooking and in-between Sammy’s chatter, I noticed that Sandy’s car was still in the side driveway.

“Well Jake’s little date must have went well, she’s still here” I remarked

“Jayson, behave, I’m just happy that he is socializing, he has been down in the dumps lately, a girlfriend will be a great thing for him” Jackie said with a worry growing on her face  “I just hope she don’t mind his little side.  The last thing he needs is for her to dump him and break his heart”

“Well if she stayed the night, I would be willing to guess that she was cool with the little side, cause you’ve been inside his place, there is no hiding that side of him” I said

“Oh SHIT! I forgot we have house guests too” Jackie said as she saw Justin and his mom round the corner into the kitchen “I’m sorry, I meant to give a knock at your door, but Jay and I got to talking”

“It’s OK, the extra sleeping time was well worth it” Justin’s mom said

“Sammy, we’re going to universal studios today!” Justin said with great excitement “it’s gonna be so fun”

Sammy had been to Universal several times, so the appeal wore off some, but he still mustered some excitement and told Justin about some of the fun things that he loved the most.

Justin and his mom ate breakfast and then I offered to take the boys for a walk around the development.

While we were gone Jake and Sandy made their way to the house, and got some food.

“So what are you two planning to do today?” Jackie asked.  Neither knew for sure

“I dunno, maybe go to a park or down to the cape to the beach” Jake said  “I don’t have to work today and neither does Sandy”

As you read in the previous chapter Jake and Sandy ended up living together and getting married a few years down the road.

This chapter is narrated by Jake

I was not sure how she knew it, but I guess after working in the first aid / changing center like she does she knew what to look for.  I met Sandy a few weeks ago at work.  I had been called out to fix her PC, after looking over it for a bit, probably bending over too much, she made mention to something.

“You would be surprised at the people who come through here to use the changing rooms in the back” She said

“Oh yeah, probably lots of mothers changing diapers and handicapped kids and such” I said making small talk, wondering why she was bringing this stuff up

“naw, most parents can change their kids diapers in the bathrooms easily, it is the ones who have the older kids, or the adults who wear diapers, like you” She said, dropping the bomb

“uh…. What..” I said, getting caught off guard

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you, please don’t be upset, I really love my job here” she said getting nervous thinking that she offended me and I would go to HR about it and get her in trouble or fired.

“It, it, it’s just that I am surprised that anybody noticed” I stammered

“It is ok, I notice things that normal people will not notice, I knew as soon as you walked in here” she said

“Really! How?” I said

“Well for starters I can smell the baby powder or lotion that you have on; you are the only guy from IT that comes with a backpack; and I can hear the crinkle of your diaper under those cargo shorts” she said as she patted my butt  “see diapered!  Your secret is safe with me, and anytime you are in the area and need a private place to change, you can go back there”

“well this fix is going to take some time, did you want to get some lunch?” I asked

“sorry I can’t leave here till somebody comes to relieve me, usually I bring my lunch, but forgot it today” Sandy said

“Well I can go get food and bring it back if you are able to eat in here” I said.  I got her order and headed over to the closest eatery and came back and ate lunch with Sandy.

After lunch, I realized the one thing I needed to do that I do each day about this time.  “hey um Sandy, I need to um”

“You need to change your diaper” Sandy finished my thought  “go ahead and go back to room #2 back there, and be sure you wash your hands too and bag up your diaper too”

I later found out that I “left a mess”, using a bit too much powder and left a snow storm on the floor.  I had been told that by Sandy the next time I saw her.  We exchanged phone numbers too and chatted a few times.

After that day I would see Sandy around the park from time to time.  The day that Jackie and Sammy and his friend caught me there after getting a change and being scolded for the prior powder mess I left; Sandy and I were going to hang out and watch a movie.

That night after Jayson made his seafood pasta stuff, Sandy was susposed to come over by 8:30,  I had already cleaned up my place as best as I could.

Looking around my place it should be called the ‘Pooh house’ rather than pool house.  I glanced into my bedroom, seeing my crib, there was no way to hide that thing, as I shut the door.

Frankly it looked like a giant toddler lived here, and that was sorta correct too.  I changed into a onsie and a pair of sweats, since we would just be relaxing and watching a DVD or two

Just then I realized that even though Sandy knew I wore diapers, she never asked why, nor had I let on why either, OH SHIT!

Sandy would be arriving any moment, I told her she could pick the movie as long as it was not too much of a chick-flick.  She arrived right at 8:30 too, she brought several movies, most of them made for young teens.  She had Cars, Toy Story, Bridge to Terribithia, firehouse dog and a few others.  I was thinking “ok, why did she bring little kids movies”

The first movie we watched was Bridge to Teribithia, which I had never seen before, after the movie was done she got up to put another one in, and then went to the kitchen to get a refill on her drink.  “Do you want anything to drink?” she asked me

“Sure just bring me some Hawaiian punch, glasses are above the sink” I called to her.

Unbeknownst to me, she opened the cupboard above the sink, and found my bottles and sippy cups; she returned with her drink, but did not look like she brought me anything, she must have forgot.

She sat down beside me and started the movie, and then she reached for me and pulled me over so I was laying on her lap and that is when I saw the nipple coming towards my mouth “shhhh, just drink from it like a good little boy.  I knew you wore diapers often, but until now was not totally sure why.”

“When I came in I could see the pooh stuff,  I have noticed that while others at the park are content to just wear the Disney embroidered stuff, you wear pooh or tigger, and you also have pooh stuff in here too.” She went on talking to me softly, stroking my hair and telling me that I was a good boy.

I did admit to her that I enjoyed diapers, and how it all came to happen.  That night she saw my room with the crib all setup and my plushies.  It was well after 2 am before we got done talking, she had told me to get my diaper changed before bed and asked if she could stay the night.  I helped her make up the sofa bed, and she tucked me into my crib and bid me goodnight.

The next morning I stirred awake, wondering if last night was a dream or not.  I looked over and noticed that the side of my crib was up all the way.  I never put it up all the way, cause it is hard to get down.  I had added two slide bolts to the crib rail, so I could put it almost all the way up, but not catch the latch.  Just great, I’m gonna have to call somebody to get me out of here (this happened before, I have an intercom that connects to the main house).

Just then my bedroom door creaks open and I see Sandy looking in on me “I thought I heard you up, did you sleep good”  I had actually slept good and nodded my head so.

“OK, lets get you up, do you need a change?”

“no, not yet, probably after breakfast though”

“I looked in your kitchen, you don’t cook do you? Cause your cupboards are mostly empty except for snack food, and your fridge is basically punch and chocolate milk” Sandy said

Just then I heard the buzz of the intercom, “Jake, Sandy; I don’t want to bother you, but wondered if you would be joining us for breakfast?  Jayson and the boys went for a walk, and Janice and I are going out shopping soon”  We both looked at each other, and decided to go into the main house for breakfast.

I knew that I would be grilled on what all went on last night and stuff by Jackie, but that is fine.

“So, what all did you two do last night, just watch movies?” Jackie asked

“yep basically so, and Jake got some little time, and we talked” Sandy said, Jackie knowing just what ‘little time’ was too.

“my two boys need little time every now and then too” Jackie said, not realizing that sandy did not know about Jayson.

“I thought you just had one boy, and the other one was visiting” Sandy said confused

I guess Jayson’s secret was about to come out, so I might as well explain.  “My cousin Jayson, Jackie’s husband and Sammy’s dad, is also a little too.  They both have to wear due to need, Jayson was injured in a car accident, and Sammy was born with spina bifida, but they both get little sometimes.” I said

“Like yesterday when Sammy said I was like a big brother, he was right, and Jayson sees me as a little brother”

“And sometimes I feel like the mom to all 3 of them” Jackie said “Jake, why don’t you take her for a tour of the house”

I took Sandy for a tour of the house and showed her the hidden nursery’s.  She asked why I did not have a big boy room too.  I just said that I figured I did not need one; I felt that if I found somebody, they would have to accept me for who I was or not at all.

She said that she had always been interested in being the mothering type.  She had a former boyfriend who was into diapers too, but was more into the sexual side of it.  I just like being little cause I like to be little with no sexual connection to my little side.

“So Jake, how long have you been in diapers?” Sandy asked, which caused me to have to think

“maybe 7 or 8 years off and on.  There is a really long story, let’s just say I found out about Jayson wearing diapers, my other cousin made fun of it, and I kinda went along with it, not wanting to be found out.  I ended up getting grounded and put into diapers as a punishment.”

I went on telling her how I ended up telling my mom.  How my mom and late grandma made baby clothes, and Jayson’s dad makes cribs, mine included.

“well I like you and I would be glad being your mommy too Jakey” She said cooing at me, making me blush.  It does not take much for me to blush.  “would you like me to be your mommy?”  I nodded yes.

“I honestly have never been babied before.  Sure I have used my bottles, pacifier, and love being in my baby clothes and diapers.

My mom used to diaper me back when I was first in diapers, but it was more of a chore than the loving and nurturing way that a mommy would do.  I really loved it when you gave me the bottle last night.” I said sheepishly

“well, whenever I come over, I will be more than happy to baby you.” Sandy said

From that day on, Sandy and I were an item.  We spent about an equal amount of time at both people’s place.  She had a roommate, so we were never able to do the baby/mommy play at her place.

Most of my nights off were spent at my place with Sandy and I cuddling on the couch, me in a thick diaper being babied.

When Sandy’s roommate decided to move out, I decided to ask Sandy to move in with me.  I had a spare bedroom which she moved into, it was a tad cramped, but we made it work for us.

Jackie liked having an extra female around the homestead, no longer was she out numbered by the men.  Sandy fit right in with us; Sammy liked her too as well.

My mom liked her as well and even showed her how to sew cloth diapers and clothes some.  To say I was almost a fulltime baby was to say the least.

I pretty much was diapered 24/7 even to work.  When I was at work, I would always stop by and see Sandy and get a diaper change on my lunch.

When we returned home at night, I was changed again, often into a thick cloth diaper, onsie and shortalls or shorts.

We were not just in a mommy/baby relationship, we did have adult relations and not every night was spent in the crib.

Sandy could read me like a book though, she always knew when “Big Jake” needed to be taken care of, and when “Little Jakey” needed his special time.  It was like we were always meant to be together, which was awesome.

I worried so many nights when I was single about ever finding somebody who would accept me for who I was.  Sure my mom and family accepted me for who I am, but I needed companionship and a relationship, and now I found one.

Sandy was a godsend when much of the household got the flu too.  With Jackie sick as a dog, and messy diapers abounding she pitched in, helping Jayson take care of himself, and taking care of Sammy, me and Jackie when we all were sick.

Working at Disney was not what Sandy wanted to do for her career, Sandy had went to college and had a degree in early childhood education, and was just working at Disney to be able to save up for college some more, she wanted to get her teachers certificate and be able to teach in schools.

By living with me, she was able to save up money quicker than she had planned and went back to school in the fall when things slowed down at the park.

She had her certificate in less than a year cause she already had a Bachelors degree.

After living with me for almost 2 years, on Christmas Day in 2007 I asked for her hand in Marriage, she said yes naturally; I mean who could resist me.

We set the wedding date for Independence day in 2009, or as we like to call it “In Depends Day”

The next thing on the agenda was a bigger house.  While the pool house had served us well, we needed more.  With Sandy having her teaching certificate, she was able to get a job working as a special education teacher in the same district as Jackie worked, and Sammy attended.

This coupled with my getting a promotion to a shift leader in the IT department and the sign shop doing so well, allowed us to buy a plot of land and have a house built.

The lot next to Jayson and Jackie’s was big enough for a 3 bedroom house with an attached garage, but not big enough for the extra amenities that typical houses had in the development, like an in-ground pool.

The developer had sat on this lot for so many years, they just wanted it off the books, so I got the land for a steal.  We were able to watch our house go up in a matter of months and were moved quickly.  We did not have much stuff or far to move it.  Literally we moved with 2 hand carts and a wagon.

I got my own nursery room, and then we had the master bedroom attached with a door in between them.

After we moved out of the pool house, I helped Jayson convert the whole place into one big playroom, it still had the tiny kitchen and bathroom, but now had soft flooring panels.  This is where Sammy could play and be as little as he wanted, where Jayson and I could all play too.

In the summer, our play room was the place to be.  Trucks, legos, playdoh, kenex, trains, we had it all. Not to mention a 50” flat screen somehow appeared and an X-box 360 and wii found there way there too.

Before Jake hogged a whole chapter to himself, Sammy had Justin and his mom down for a visit.  I will be picking up where I left off in chapter 27

Chapter 25 – Back to School, but not just yet.

I could tell by the beginning of August that Sammy was getting bored with hanging with his mom, as he had not found any friends yet.  Our housing development did not have a whole lot of kids, and the ones that there were, were in daycare all day.  Seeing this and chatting with my wife, and Justin’s mom; we invited her and Justin to come down to Orlando and stay for the week.

So,  2 weeks before Sammy started school, on Sunday night we all went out to eat.  I had it all planned out too. We arrived at Ci Ci’s Pizza and sat down, then Justin and his mom just casually walked by.

“Oh Jayson, hello”  Sammy about had a stroke, he was so happy to see Justin.  I told him that Justin and his mom were here for the week and wanted to go to all the parks with him too.  They are going to be staying with us too.

We finished dinner with Justin and his mom and then they followed us back home.  I gave them both the grand tour including Sammy’s nursery.  About that time I noticed Justin squirming.

“Justin the bathroom is down the hall” I said

“ummm…” Justin started

“Oh, do you need a diaper change” I said, realizing that he was diapered up.  He nodded his head.

Jackie patted the changing table, “hop on up and I’ll get ya changed” Which made me happy, cause dirty diapers are not fun to change.

I finished up the grand tour, showing off the pool, hot tub and fitness room to Justin’s mom; Sammy had stayed with Jackie, as it was time for him to be getting ready for bed too, he had a big day tomorrow.  Justin,  his mom, Sammy and Jackie were going to Disney Magic kingdom first thing in the morning, the family VIP pass allowed them good parking (even better than the handicapped parking) and early entry to the park and a few other things.

With the park being so huge, Sammy used his wheelchair, which Justin had never seen him use before.  Jackie explained that all the walking around makes his legs tired and he would have a better time if he was able to use the chair.  It also allowed them to jump to the front of many lines too.

Around noon, both boys needed changed, and were getting hungry.  Jackie, after being at the park several times, knew just where to go to complete diaper changes and get food.  They made their way over towards the Crystal Palace and went into the private changing area,  Jackie changed Sammy and Justin’s mom changed him.  As they were leaving Justin noticed a much larger kid, almost adult who was walking out of the other changing room by himself.  He could tell he was diapered up good too.

“mom doesn’t he look like he has diapers on too” Justin whispered to his mom

“well it certainly does appear that way” she said as they waited on Sammy to get situated in his wheelchair and Jackie to make sure everything was packed away.

As they walked to the front desk they heard a that the attendant was talking with somebody, probably the  “kidult” who was in the other changing room.

“OK, so my computer is working again, and you better have not left that changing room a mess Jake.  Call me when you get off work, maybe we can hang out”.

“Hey Jake” Jackie said as he spun around to see Jackie, Sammy, Justin and Justin’s mom standing there.

“How, how are you guys doing.  I did not know that you all were going to be in the park today” Jake said kinda startled, hoping that they had not overheard Sandy the attendant talking to him.

“Oh, you know Jake?” Sandy said

“yep, he is like a big brother to me” Sammy said, “he lives at our house in the back yard.” Jackie corrected Sammy by saying that Jake lives in the pool house condo.

“Jake do you wear diapers too?” Justin blurted out.

Jake became very red faced and could only mutter out a “sometimes…. I better get back to work” and he picked up his backpack and took off.

“Justin, you should not go around asking people that kind of stuff, it’s very personal” Justin’s mother scolded him.  “he was really embarrassed by that”.  Justin started pouting

“I just thought that only kids our age wore diapers” Justin said

“people of all ages wear diapers sweetheart, they make them in all sizes” Sandy said

“OK, we really must go get some lunch, I can hear all our tummies rumbling” Jackie said, breaking up the situation.  “Jake will be just fine, you can’t actually die from embarrassment”

They dined at the Crystal Palace, the boys loved all the characters and best of all the sundae bar.  After lunch they decided to take in a show at one of the theaters.

By the end of the show Sammy was out cold napping and Justin was not far behind.  His mom decided to rent him a stroller for the rest of the day.  The boys slept for probably an hour, Jackie had brought a sun shade to go on the top of Sammy’s chair and draped a beach towel overtop of it so he could sleep.  Justin’s mom did the same.

The adults then found a shady place, got some cold drinks and relaxed in the shade till the boys started to stir.  After another diaper change, the boys were back with full energy and riding rides again.

About 5pm the two mom’s noticed that the boys were getting tired again and they headed back home.

The boys were asleep when the ladies got home about 7pm, just in time for dinner too.  I can cook, no matter what my wife says.  I made some wonderful seafood linguine with crab, shrimp and lobster in it, and everybody loved it.

Jake, was kind of giddy tonight, but refused to say much during dinner other than “I have a friend coming over after dinner”.  He bid us farewell for the night and headed out to his apartment.

Shortly there after I saw a little red sportscar pull up with the license SNDY BCH (Sandy beach- I hoped it was not the other word with those 3 letters in it).  The car was still out there when I went to bed around midnight.  Tomorrow being a day off for me, I was going to Universal with the family.

 

Chapter 24 – New jobs, new house, new life

I started at Universal in February, and Jake started a few weeks earlier at Disney.  One of the perks to being employees of the respective parks is that we get free passes for our family, as long as they live in the same address, plus 2 for “non-family”; this meant that we all could go to the parks any time we wanted.

I spent much of February working during the week, Monday to Friday, either in a training or working on getting the new equipment working at the sign shop.  I had brought some of my own gear down with me so at night I could finish any work that I still had to do for my old clients.  Jackie and Sammy would come down on the weekends, sometimes flying, sometimes by train. I so missed my little boy and my wife when they were not there.  I saw them both during spring break, which was fun.  While I worked they went to the parks, and I would join them after work, or if they were at Universal I would do lunch with them.

With the sign shop I bought, I was buying on land contract, the old owner wanted to retire, him and his wife had been doing it for over 20 years and wanted to relax.  They had no employees, so it was a perfect fit for Jake and I to just come in and take over.

Much of April was spent looking for houses, as Jackie and Sammy would be moving down to Florida with us.  We had decided to keep the house in Ohio, as it was technically still mom and dads, and it was paid off.

Finally when I thought that we could not look anymore, we found a house that was in a housing development that was gated, and the place was wonderful.

It had 5 bedrooms, a guest house, huge backyard, detached workshop/shed, and best of all an in-ground pool and hot tub.  I also had room for my home gym in the garage.  Our lot was wooded on one side, and an open lot on the other.

The open lot had been up for sale for sometime and the realtor said that it was really too small for what most people wanted.

We took possession the weekend before memorial day weekend.  I signed the papers Friday morning, and was on a plane back to ohio that afternoon to meet with the movers and start packing up.  The move was to happen on Memorial Day weekend.

Jackie had already given notice of her quitting at the end of the school year, when it was determined that we would infact be moving to Orlando, after my first 60 days there.

Sammy was sad to leave his friends and school, but I promised him that he could continue to talk to his friends online and if they came down to the parks, he could see them. He had one more weekend sleepover with Justin, and Jackie said that she babied both of them.

That Friday of memorial day weekend rolled around, the movers had shown up Wednesday morning to get what we were taking to florida.  We left things like some beds there, for when we would come up to stay.

Sammy took his bed with him to florida, though with the big crib he has here, I doubt it will get used. We also moved Jake’s stuff too, more importantly his crib.

Jake moved into the guest house, which was perfect for him.  He had a private place to be little when he wanted to be, and nobody would be wiser to the comings and goings that Jake had.

Sammy wanted 2 rooms, as he had to have his “big boy” room and a baby room. We did a little remodel and made the house 6 bedrooms.  We took 1 bedroom and split it.  This room was inbetween the master bedroom and Sammy’s big boy room.  We basically walled it off from the hallway, and the room was entered from inside Sammy’s room, and the other side through ours.  We put a pocket door in between both halves as well.

Basically this let Sammy have his big boy room for when friends came over, and have a baby room for his crib and stuff when he wanted to be little or had aware friends over.  I had pretty much the same arrangement as well.

Jake’s place, well in the bedroom it was all baby. He got his crib setup and had the room decorated within 48 hours.  He had a living room with a large TV and entertainment center, typical apartment sized appliances (for if he ever learns to cook).

Jackie had gotten her resume out to several hospitals, home health care agencies, and doctor’s offices as well as the school districts.

She really did not want to start work till she had gotten everything settled in, found childcare (even though mom said she would watch Sammy) and got used to the area.

Typical life around our homestead was that Jake would get up in the morning, get ready at his place, and then come into the house for breakfast.

Jackie or myself usually cooked breakfast for all of us, and then Jake and I left for work.  This is how Jake and I had done it when it was just the two of us at the trailer.

This left Jackie home all day with Sammy, able to run errands, do job interviews, etc.  Jackie also came to the sign shop for a few hours a day to check the mail, get the financial stuff done, and sometimes she would complete some orders too.

After Jake had completed his training in the spring, he went to Monday & Tuesday on days, and Friday & Saturday on second shift at Disney; so Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday morning Jake would work the sign shop.

I would do much of the design work at night on Monday and Tuesday, when I worked days at Universal.  Wednesday was a half day and Thursday was a day off for me.  Fridays were always up in the air, I could be at my shop or get called into Universal, or be working at my shop on something for Universal.

We agreed to make this maddening schedule work till Sammy went  back to school, when Jackie would get a job.  One day she called me at work

“I got a job offer, I think I am going to take it” She said excited “It will work for our schedule, and not make us need a babysitter or daycare”

She had my interest “OK, where?”

“Well when I went to Sammy’s school and was going over the requirements for his accommodations like where his diapers would be kept, who would assist him, and talking with the teachers and office staff. I mentioned that I was a nurse as well.

They said that the school just lost their nurse to a sudden illness, and they were planning on using a temp agency.  I talked to the district office and was offered the job.  I would have to be there maybe 15 minutes before the students arrive, and 15 to 30 minutes after they leave.  I would get all the holidays off, and be off all summer too” Jackie said excitedly

“Well that is great, I know that you did not want to have to go back to working the ever-changing hospital hours again, so this will be the best solution for ya.  But what does it pay?” I asked

“Well, it pays more than what the hospitals in the area would have paid per hour, but with the summers off it would about even out.  I could always get a summer job, or something.”  Jackie said, sensing my apprehension to her taking the job and the loss of income, she continued “but when you take into account that we would not have to have childcare, it would be better.

I have to go the week before school to get my office setup and go to new staff orientation,  go over 504 plans for the students besides Sammy that I will need to provide care for. If your mom could watch Sammy that week, that would be great”

I checked the calendar, and told her that we should be able to find a solution. I had a light week scheduled for that week and mom & dad are always willing to have Sammy over.

Chapter 23 – Over the river and through the woods

The winter of 2005 was by far the worst one ever, we took Sammy out of school the week before Christmas and were going to head down to Orlando for the holiday break like we did every year since they semi-moved there.

On Decemebr 16, we got a massive amount of snow.  We had to have the able bodied folk shovel the drive out just to get out of the house.  This threw a wrench in the plans.  Normally we will drive to Washington DC and then take the auto-train down to Orlando.  That way the van is there with us.  This year the drive was going to be horrible, but Amtrak assured us that we would be able get the auto train in DC and that there was no interruptions to service from DC to Orlando. We delayed our departure by 2 days, and left out of town on late Sunday night, the 18^th .  Instead of putting Sammy to bed, we just put him in the back of the van in a captain’s chair.  I took the large bench seat in the back so I could be comfortable.  The drive should have taken a little over eight and a half hours, and we had to be there by 2 pm at the latest the next afternoon, but I wanted to take no chances.  This year, since Jake was out of college, we had an extra driver.  So it was Me, Jackie, Jake, and Sammy in the van. No driving for me this year

We do pack kinda light, as we got in the habit of shipping what we needed down ahead of time. Stuff like diapers, shorts, short sleeved shirts, etc… We had a tight fit with all the luggage inside the van, but we made it work.

We stopped once to get breakfast and diaper changes, then back on the road. One more stop for the bathroom and a quick bite to eat.  It was at this point Sammy asked me something we had never talked about before.

“Daddy, does uncle Jake wear diapers too?” He asked “cause he carries a backpack with him into the potty”

Think think think “ummm, Sammy, that would be something that you would need to ask him yourself”  I quickly texted Jake that he had been busted by a 8 year old

U ve been busted by Sammy.. he asked y u take bag n2 bathroom  heads up he will ask u if u wear wasn’t going to out u

 

Jake came back to the table a little red faced, and since it was on the top of his mind, no matter how much I tried to get him to think about something else before Jake came back, he asked….

“Uncle Jake do you wear diapers too” Sammy asked, without using his indoor voice, which caused some other people to kinda stop and turn.

Thank God for my wife, “Sammy that is rude of you to ask, if Jake wants to answer he can, but you have no right to ask him stuff like that in a public place.”

Sammy sunk down in his seat, defeated by his own mother. “I’m sorry”

“Sammy, yes I do wear diapers sometimes” Jake whispered, “but we will talk about that when we get back on the road, I will come sit back there with you”

As promised, Jake laid it all out for Sammy, that sometimes people who don’t need diapers wear them as well. Sammy asked Jake if that was why some of his friends tried diapers when they came over to our house for a sleepover.  Jake confirmed, yes, that probably was the case as well.

Sammy even asked Jake if he had a baby room too.  Which jake again replied that yes he did.  Sammy guessed that it was the room at Aunt Sharon’s that was always locked.

We made it to the train station about noon on Monday the 19^th , so we got all our stuff situated.  Stuff we were taking on the train with us, stuff that could be left in the van.

We all got out while Jake took the honors of loading the van on the train, with the strict instructions that if he scratched my van, I would kill him.

Normally when it was just Jackie and I we would have to have Sammy sleep with one of us in the sleeper berth, but since we had Jake this time, he would stay with Jake in his roomette down the hall.

The Red Caps showed up to get our bags, and tickets and said that they would get our luggage to our cars, and we could board whenever.

Sammy made it clear that he wanted to board the train ASAP, as he needed changed.  Jake said he would take Sammy aboard and get him changed, and we would get settled in our room and meet in the lounge car.

Come to find out the reason Jake was so anxious to get aboard is that he needed to change too.  When they came out of their sleeper, the car steward was there to see if they had any trash.  Sure enough two dirty diapers.

The steward kinda looked at the diapers, for Sammy one might not think anything of a diaper, but Jake was kind of the exception.

“Hello my name is James, I will be your cabin steward, if there is anything else you need.  Would you like me to leave you a few small trash bags for your… umm…”

“diapers!” Sammy spoke up

“Uh yes, diapers” James spoke, kind of taken aback

“Sorry he is just used to calling them what they are around the house.  Do you also have the handicapped room at the end of the car as well” Jake asked

“why yes sir I do, do you know them?” James asked

“Yes, that is my cousin and his wife.  This is their son.  They likely will need a few spare tash bags as well” Jake said

“I will see to that sir.  The conductor is having pre-trip reception in the lounge car, I think that is where the couple from up front went.  Now young man, don’t eat too much candy, cause dinner is at 6 pm in the dining car” James said to Sammy

We all met at the lounge car, had some drinks and snacks, we watched as the train slowly crept forward and we were on our way.  Sammy sat next to the window, totally mesmerized at the sights he was seeing.  We then went to dinner, which is always good food and service.  We then went back to the lounge car for a bit as the sun set.

James had found us in the lounge car and asked if we wanted our rooms made up for the night, we told him we did, he left and came back 20 minutes later to let us know that they were ready.  We then headed back to our sleeper cars, which James had made up.  I found my berth had a waterproof cover on it; Jake and Sammy found theirs the same way.  Jake got Sammy changed and in hi PJ’s.  I heard the door open down the way and somebody running down the hallway crinkling all the way.  Daddy this train ride is so cool, Mr. James left me a coloring book and some crayons, and some juice boxes.

I read Sammy a bedtime story and then told him to head back to his room where jake would tuck him in.  As he opened the door, James our car attendant asked if there was anything we needed, and said he would make sure that Sammy made it back to his room.

The Tuesday morning we woke at 7am, got changed and made our 7:30 am breakfast reservation and then it was back to the sleeper cars which had been converted back to normal seats and all the dirty diapers and trash gone.  As we de-trained, I slipped James $40 for taking such good care of us and let him know when we would be back again.  He said that he would likely be our cabin attendant.

We got off the train and out to the van, where it was pulled off the train for us and in a handicapped spot.  We called my mom and dad to tell them that we made it fine and would be there within the hour.

Sammy was excited to see his Grandma and Grandpa very much.  He was also excited for the trip that we had planned to Disney World, and all the other parks; and the chance to sleep in the new crib that Grandpa built for him, and the new clothes that Grandma always had for him.

Jake would be going to the park as well, but he was going for a job interview, which he hoped to get.  It was not a well paying job, just a entry level computer repair tech.  Which likely meant repairing PC’s and POS terminals, network lines and parts on the vast amount of technology that the park had, but it was a foot in the door.

The deal was that if Jake got the job, he was going to stay in our trailer and keep it maintained, which would infact save me the money of having to have the grass mowed and other things that must be done, or else we would be fined by the homeowners association.

Little did my wife know, but I had sent some portfolios to designers as well, including Disney, Universal Studios, and some other places in Orlando.  While I had not heard anything back, I was ever hopeful. I also had a bead on a small sign shop that was looking to sell.

Sammy was very surprised to see his room at the trailer. It had a large wooden crib, a boarder of little toddler boy items (bats, balls, rubber duckies, toy boats and trains), and the crib had a bumper rail with my favorite, and Sammy’s too,  Pooh.

Mom had told me he would be more surprised come Christmas, as she had been busy spoiling her only grandson.

“daddy can I get changed and can we go to Disney” he whined.

“we are going tomorrow, we need to unpack everything and I’m sure that your grandparents would like to visit with you, your mom and I” I said

“Aww ok dad, but I do need changed, I think I’m messy” Sammy said

Around this time Jackie caught the look on Jake’s face as well; just to embarrass him Jackie said “I bet I know some other little boy or boys he need a change as well”

Jake got red faced, but Jackie assured him she was only playing with him “It’s ok Jakey, babies mess their diapers all the time.  Go in the master bathroom and get changed, there are diapers in the closet in the bathroom”

She then pointed to me and Sammy “OK, sammy I will meet you in your room, I’m gonna take care of daddy first.” As she pointed to our bedroom and proceeded to diaper me up in one of my cloth diapers like I use at home.  Sammy was next on her list.

I was waiting in the living room when Jake came out of the bathroom in nothing but a diaper, with his clothes wadded up.  I knew he was not that proficient at changing messy diapers, so I knew what he had done…….

“you better have washed that poop out of them clothes before you put them in my washer” I said just to embarrass him a little more.

He quickly threw the clothes in the washer and crinkled towards the guest bedroom just as Sammy came out of his room in a onsie and shortalls.  “Jakey has baby prints on his diapers” Sammy said smiling

“And so do you too” Jake said as he reached down and tickled Sammy merciously

“Stooooppppp, you gonna make me pee” Sammy giggled

“You’ll still gonna pee yourself no matter if I tickle you or not” Jake giggled as well.

“OK you two, Jake go get some clothes on, Sammy, go take this to your grandma next door” Jackie raised her voice. After Sammy left, Jackie asked Jake “Are you planning on going to your job interview diapered”

“Do you think I should take it off?” Jake inquired

“That is up to you, just wear something that covers it, and be prepared to explain it if somebody notices” Jackie said.

Jake said that he understood, but if he was going to be moving down here, he wanted to be able to wear when he wants to. Jake got dressed in a short sleeve dress shirt, tie, and some dress pants. I could tell he was diapered, but that was because I knew he was. Soon he was off to his interview.

Jackie, Sammy and I hung out around the trailer park, Sammy went for a ride on the golf cart with grandpa as the rest of us sat on the patio drinking iced tea and talking about life in ohio, Sammy, Jake and how Mom and Aunt Sharon’s business was going.  Along with dad’s business.

An couple hours passed and Dad was not back yet.  Jackie was wondering where they were.  Mom assured her that they were fine and probably around the park somewhere visiting.

A few hours later I heard giggling and the golf cart horn…. Here they come!! Jake was soon to follow with news about his interview.

“I think it went good, they liked my resume and my eagerness.  They said that they don’t normally see people wanting to apply for work this close to college.

I took some tests on how to repair things and the physics stuff behind the robots and systems.  They said that they were impressed, and said they would probably call me back after Christmas with a decision.”

“That is awesome, I sure hope you get it.” I just finished saying it as my cell phone rang “Hello This Jayson Ross, uh huh, really, well I am down in the area for the holidays, sure I could find time for that.  Yep I got my portfolio and my files with me, ok, I will see you then”

As I hung up the phone all eyes were on me “Who was that?” Jackie asked

“It was Universal Studios, they are wanting to see some more of my work, and do an interview for a position for a freelance graphic designer.

They just bought a small waterpark in Sanford, and need to do all new signage. They also said that they would have more work for me at all their parks, and best of all I could be based out of here for 80% of the time” I said  “They want me to stop by tomorrow morning”

“Umm Honey, do they know about your limitations” Jackie asked, remembering the time when I had a client who got all awkward about me being in a wheelchair, they ultimately took my proofs and never called me back.

“Yes, when I sent my portfolio to them I included an About Me section.  I explained that I was a paraplegic, and that my limitations are physical, not creative or mental.

They also liked my experience with being able to do my own vinyl.  They have people who would be able to assist with the stuff I cannot do. I am mainly creating the artwork, and possibly installing it, but they have their own installers too”

That night I was a nervous wreck, I could not sleep.  I wanted to do good on my interview, and wanted to be a good dad and not drag my family across the country just on a whim.

Wednesday morning came way too early, an 8:00 am interview was a little too early for my taste, I got up, got myself changed on my own, got a few bottles of water and took my pills and loaded the van up with my stuff I needed for the interview.

The interview went great, I met the current shop that they had, much of the equipment needed to be updated, which I was promised would be done when they hire somebody.  I then showed them my work, and even showed them some technique on getting the best results when putting the vinyl onto sign material like painted wood.

We had to discuss what limitations I had and what accommodations I would need. They said that they had 2 more interviews, but would call before Christmas.

Two days later I got a call and great news; I had gotten the job.  I also had better news on the small sign shop that I was looking to buy out too, but I kept it quiet till Christmas.  Jake meanwhile got his news, he had been hired, but it was only 3 days a week, and the mood was less than cheerful.

Jake was worried, that with only working part-time, he would not be able to afford to live in Florida.  I had told him that it may be tough, but I bet he could get job doing design work down here, or work in a sign shop…. Little did he know.

Saturday night Aunt Sharon finally joined us, as she was not able to get away from her part time job till Christmas eve.

The whole family gathered in mom and dads lanai and dad read “The Night Before Christmas”, Jake and Sammy both were in their footed sleepers, almost like brothers, despite the age difference of Sammy being 8 and Jake being 23.

Next morning was great, Jake got some more clothes for his new job, which allowed his diapers to be concealed better, and were more suited for the climate of florida.  Sammy got some more diapers, onsies, and a few more plushies.

Then I dropped the bomb, and I don’t mean messing my diapers. “I got an announcement” I spoke up  “as you all know I want to get the heck out of Ohio in the winter….

Well I got a new job that starts the 1^st of February, I signed a deal to do freelance work for Universal Studios.  They bought the old WaterMania and are re-opening it up; they need all new signs, and I also bought out SignDesign in Sanford, and will be moving the business down here”

My wife about fell over, Jake was happy, and Sammy was estatic.

“When did you find out?” My wife asked me.

“Friday, I figured I would keep it hush hush.” I said sheepishly

“How are we going to do the housing situation.  With Jake living here, and us too, it is going to be cramped in this little trailer.  What are we going to do with the house in Ohio too?”  Jackie asked, kinda getting annoyed at me.

Now that I think about it, I might have made a rash choice and not thought this all out.

“I don’t know, but we have time to work it out.  February is when I start the job, but it will involve some traveling and training and such, and I don’t want to up-root Sammy till he is out of school for the year.” I said  “Also Jake, remember when I said that you could make it down here, and that a sign shop would probably need a designer, well I know a certain new business owner who needs some employees”

Chapter 22 – we’ve come a long way baby

I think it would be best to catch you up to what all had been happening in our lives besides tons of diaper changes. It is now summer 2005

I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design and IT in 2004.  It took me some time, cause I would take a quarter off here and there.

Shortly before we adopted Sammy, I built a home office to work freelance for clients who wanted design work done.  I was working for myself.  I would do the design work, show it to the clients, who would then have me get the items created like signs, printed material or whatever.  I then had a little out-building built to become my shop which I used to venture into the sign business, mainly just doing vinyl lettering and artwork.  I still had to farm anything that was an installation too big out to other shops, and in turn, they sent some small sized jobs my way.  I also ventured out into doing AB prints for nurseries.  I would have the client sent the measurements and what they wanted and I would send them the vinyl and instructions to install it.  The work kept me busy, but lots of times I was just Mr. Mom.  Doing the laundry, dishes, room parent at school, chaperone for field trips and stuff.

Jackie by now had gotten her RN, and was finishing up her Masters of Nursing, while working at the hospital, as well as being mom to Sammy, and aide to me when she had the time.

Sammy was getting ready to head into the 4^th grade, and quite popular in his class cause he was so outgoing, never one to let his problems slow him down, even though they did.

Mom and Dad still traveled in the RV much of the winter in the south, and usually by spring time so they could get out of the tourist areas in the south, and see family.  We would go down to see them in the winter when Sammy was on break, but when you have to coordinate 2 adults and a child’s schedule, it can be very much. Mom and dad found a nice price on a park model camper, and had it right next to their’s at the RV park.

Forever a Toddler is still keeping Dad busy doing the woodworking for clients of all ages.  He rents a little industrial space where he had most of his operation.  He has several models of cribs and two sizes of each.  Basically he makes them, crates them and ships them out.  In-fact he did make Sammy a crib for the trailer in Florida.

When we’re in Florida, that is the one time when Sammy wants to just go toddler, cause nobody from up in ohio knows him down there.

Mom is still sewing up diapers for babies big and little, along with all the other items that her and Aunt Sharon make.  The orders come in through email and if we have them in Ohio, I pick and ship them.  If not, I message down to mom in Florida and she will take the order and ship from there.

Sadly my grandmother passed in late 2004 suddenly, but I can tell you she loved doing all that she did right up to the end.  Most of all she loved her grandkids and great grandson too along with all the kids that they sewed diapers for that would send thank you cards.

Aunt Sharon still lives across the street as well, when mom and dad fly up they stay there for the weekend.  Jake went off to college in 2001, and graduates this summer.  He will join the league of techno-nerds.  He majored in IT and graphic design.  He says that he is going to move to Florida with mom and dad and try to get on at one of the theme parks down there.

With the internet and all, business started booming, and soon enough I was getting jobs from all over the place.  Some wanted us to move to places like seattle, LA, Texas, New York City; all of which I turned down, I did not want to up-root my family, nor move to those places.

One night after we had put Sammy to bed,  Jackie asked me why I was turning down all those great offers?  “I Just don’t want to uproot you from your job, and Sammy from a school that he has friends at, plus those cities just don’t appeal to me.  I figure that if I am such demand, that I should be able to pick where I would like to be”

“And just where would that be baby Jay” She said.  Knowing that she called me baby Jay, she was trying to say I was being a big baby about not wanting to move. I think she also knew the answer too.

“Well I would love to be able to go south with mom and dad, ya know Orlando area” I said sheepishly.

“Well when the right offer comes along, we will talk, but keep in mind, that the longer you wait, the more chance you take of not getting a better offer.” She was right, I knew it.

I hoped that perfect offer would have came before the cold season of 2005, but it didn’t.

My original lift van took a crap in late October, so we had to buy a new one, and I made sure it had all the amenities that I needed, along with what the wife wanted as well.

With Christmas a few months away I had to get planning on our trip to mom and dad’s.

When you have to travel with your own vehicle, and on trains and planes, you have to plan ahead when you are handicapped.  I had already made sure that the new van was not too tall to take through the drive-thru, or on the Auto Train, we just made it too, good thing I am short and can use the stock roof, plus I got the van lowered a few inches as well.

Chapter 21 –  Making friends

Summer of 2004

Don’t get me wrong, I like having fun and playing with my son, but he needed to get some friends of his own too; he was also bored with hanging with dad all day while I worked.

Luckily one of his classmates in 3^rd grade, Justin became good friends with Sam, which none of the other kids in his class ever bothered to be-friend Sam.  They would play in the backyard, where I would look out the window in my office and be able to keep an eye on them.  Justin’s mom would come pick him up after a few hours.

One day Sam came running into my office “dad can I have a sleepover, I want Justin to spend the night, can he dad, huh can he, oh please daddy please”

“Ok son, just calm down, we will discuss it with your mother first, then we can discuss it with Justin’s mom and Dad.” I said, thinking of all the reasons why a sleepover could go bad.  Would Justin be comfortable with Sam being in diapers, did Samuel say something about the baby room, did he even ask Justin.

I called Jackie at lunch “Hey hun, Sam wants to have Justin over for a sleepover, what are your thoughts?”  Like any other good mother, she said that she would be fine with a sleepover, and told me to talk to Justin’s mom about it when she came by to pick him up.

That day when Justin’s mom came over to pick him up we talked and she seemed kinda off about the idea of a sleepover.  “Is there a problem with Justin sleeping over,  he is one of Sam’s only friends, and it would mean a lot for him to have friends”

“Well honestly Justin has never really stayed away from home before…. He kinda has a little problem at night….” She trailed off.

“So he is a bedwetter?” I asked

She blushed and nodded her head, “Yes, he is”

“If that’s the case, that is not a problem, we can handle that” I said

“He’s just so embarrassed about it, and I don’t know what to do about it, he refuses to wear anything, we bought him those goodnites things, but they are too big, and he refuses to wear pull-ups or diapers.  So he has a plastic sheet on the bed, and I am washing sheets daily.” She continued  “So, I wouldn’t want to make anybody else have to deal with that”

“It is not a problem, I do laundry daily, we use cloth diapers around here, and all the beds are protected, even mine” I gave a chuckle.  “If he has an accident, or wants to come home, I will be more than happy to take him home”

“Hey,  would you mind telling me where you get the diapers that Sammy uses, I’d like to see if Justin would try to wear something when he comes over” She asked sheepishly

“Sure, well the disposables we get from a place out west, we get them by the case.  The cloth diapers are made by my mom, aunt and grandma, they are great at making them.  I would be more than happy to give you some of the disposables and loan you some of the cloth diapers.” I said as the boys kept playing on the swingset.  “Come inside and I’ll fix ya up with some supplies”

I took Justin’s mom inside to the laundry room and got her some diapers and showed her how the cloth diapers work, and then they were off.  The sleepover was set for that Friday night, Sammy was so excited that he barely slept Thursday night.

Friday came and around noon Justin’s mom dropped him off “OK, boys, go play in the backyard while I talk to Justin’s mom.” As the boys ran off I asked “So how did the diapers work I sent home?”

“Well the first night was a little rough, I had to tell him that he had to either try them, or he would not be able to sleep over, that worked!  He tried the disposables the first night, and the cloth ones the next night.  I need to get with your aunt to get some more made.  He honestly said that he was happy that the bed was not wet in the morning, so I think we have a solution”

Justin’s mom left shortly after our conversation and I ventured to the backyard to see what they boys were up to, just pure fun.

That night I sent the boys off to get showers and then back to Sammy’s room.  Justin walked in right as I got Sammy diapered up and was grabbing a onsie for him.  “give me just a moment Justin, and I will get you ready for bed too”

“Mr. Ross, are you going to diaper me too?” he asked, just now realizing that his mom was not there to get him ready.

“Yes, just hop up here” I patted the changing table, and quickly diapered him up for the night.

“mr ross what kind of shirt is Sammy wearing?” Justin asked inquisitively

“well Justin, that is a onsie, it is a shirt that does not come untucked, and it holds the diaper close to you.  Would you like to wear one too?”  He nodded yes, so I put one on him.  “OK, if you two want to come out to the living room, we can watch the Cars movie”

The boys got comfortable on the sofa and I started the movie and then went to the kitchen to pop some popcorn and get some drinks for the boys, me and the wife. Juice for me and the boys, and a glass of wine for my wife.  She can drink, I cannot.

“Here you go boys”, as I passed them bowls of popcorn, and then came around the couch and passed out the drinks.

As I transferred over to the couch. Sammy crawled up in my lap and raised his drink, I looked over at Justin and realized what I did.  I am so used to giving Sammy a sippy cup, and had given one to Justin as well.

“umm Mr Ross, what is this?” Justin asked as he looked at the sippy cup.

“It’s just juice, it tastes good, jut put it in your mouth like this and suck on it like a straw” Sammy said as he snuggled close to me and drank his juice.

“you can sit next to me on the other side if you want to Justin” I said and Justin climbed over towards me on the sofa and lay against me like Sammy.  There I sat with two little good boys on either side of me.  Neither made it to the end of the movie.  Jackie and I took the boys to bed and changed diapers.  Then it was off to bed for me too.

The next morning, I got up with Jackie and went to the kitchen and fixed breakfast for everyone.  Waffles, eggs, bacon and sausage, yummy.  Right about when everything was done, Jackie slipped off to Sammy’s bedroom and came back with two very sleepy and wet little boys, and we had breakfast.

About halfway through I saw Justin start squirming, knowing what this meant I told him “Justin, it is ok if you use the diaper when you are awake, that’s what they are for” A minute later I saw a distant look on Justin’s face and then smelled that somebody made a load in their diaper, with 3 of us in diapers it could have been any of us.  We just carried on like this was normal, which it was. Usually diapers are not changed till after breakfast.

After we all were done eating, Jackie and I ushered the boys into the bedroom for diaper changes.  We had two wet and messy boys.

Halfway through changing Justin, I went to grab him some clothes, he asked “can I wear another diaper” to which I replied “sure, it is no problem” and left it at that.

Justin would not be the first boy at our house that wore diapers.  After that weekend, Sammy had many other friends including Justin who spent the night. Suprizing enough, there were a good number of bedwetters in the group, some that were not bedwetters, and one kid that was incontinent like Sammy.  Many of the boys who were not incontinent also ended up in diapers “just to try them”