My recent sixteenth birthday party gave me a feeling of coming to my full hope and happiness as a human being.

My family and I went to a Melting Pot Restaurant in Ft. Collins, Colorado with our dear friends the Smith Family. I wanted to be with Kaegan Smith and his family because we RPM guys need to stick together and Kaegan taught me to stick with RPM.

I planned the birthday location after my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I had been to a Melting Pot with Josha and Kaegan Smith in Virginia this summer when we had all attended a conference for non-speaking people who use letterboards and typing to communicate. We had such a great time that I knew I wanted to do it again.

So, when my family and I took a trip to see where we might live if we move to Colorado, we planned a party at the Melting Pot in Ft. Collins.  It was so awesome to be able to ask for a birthday party and use RPM to communicate, for the first time, what I really wanted.

Can I RPM a pleasing family memory of that night?  I will try.  But words may not adequately convey the pure magic of that night.  Before I tell you about the magical four course Melting Pot meal, you dear friends, I am willing to wager that what I am about to reveal will make your mouth water.  Will calling our meal “absolutely epic” do it justice?  No, it doesn’t.

Beg to understand that this epicurean feast was full of wonderful tastes, aromas and motley willful textures.  It was also understandably fun to cook our delightful morsels of meat, bread and sweets in bubbling pots of broth, cheese sauce and gastronomically marvelous chocolate fondue.

We spent three hours feasting over our steaming pots of fondue. Pleasant talking accompanied our eating and we joked and laughed and played a word game around the table. I was feeling completely easy within the circle of loving people around me. I was using my letterboard during the meal, which can be challenging for me, but for this night I rocked it. Lovely service came from the attentive wait staff and when the dessert course arrived they had prepared a special birthday plate for me. I just sat there and marveled at this complete moment. You must realize this was, for me, the first time I could be socially involved in planning and participating in any of my birthday celebrations. We all basked in the glory of this magical world of my human creation and self-actualization.

Following dinner, we said our goodbyes to each other, Smith family to Aronow family. We parted with full bellies, full hearts and full of bright thoughts for the future of our two families sharing this RPM journey together.

All my best, dear friends,

Ian