I’m sitting at the dining room table (or “desk”) at the Washington DC home of my dear friend, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg. She is one of the driving forces behind inclusion of people with disabilities in sacred communities. As someone who sustained a devastating traumatic brain injury (TBI)12 years ago in a traffic accident, Lynne’s incredible and ongoing work to live her life fully is guided, I think, by her passion and respect for all people, and her belief that she must be strong enough to make the difference in society that is her destiny.

It’s March first and Jewish Disability Awareness Month 2011 is complete. This is really the first opportunity for me to blog about JDAM and I’ll do it in several posts. So from Caribou Coffee in Crystal MN here is your JDAM review!

OK, so the macaroni and cheese as vegetable story was in my last post, but I still think it’s funny and endearing and altogether unusual. I personally think the restaurant was so busy that they ran out of peas and carrots and maybe broccoli and had to substitute it with a side. Yep, that makes sense to me. Did I ever tell you that I was once in the restaurant business myself?

Literally in the last 2 weeks I’ve crossed the United States from mid to west to east to north to south. Besides earning Delta miles I met some amazing folks in my travels. While the miles may pay off someday in a free trip all of the faces and the conversations and richly human connections are enduring and give me so much inspiration to keep on my journey with Inclusion Innovations.

What an amazing conference. I don’t take lightly that I’m presenting on Inclusion of People with disabilities at the World Union for Progressive Judaism. The topic has been a bit of a buzz with people I’ve met from all over the world. And to happen during Jewish Disability Awareness Month-as my rabbi, Rabbi Cohen, says “there are no coincidences.”

Processing this gathering is exciting.