It's mid afternoon on Father's Day 2012 and I sit here in my kitchen at the computer typing this post. My two oldest children are enjoying a movie together in Zach's bedroom. My two youngest are playing a game of "soccer" in the back yard. My husband is once again working. My own parents are spending most of their free time at the nursing home, beside my grandmother who's final days are upon us. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies lingers in the air and the washing machine hums down the hall. Life is peaceful and here I type.
So what have we been up to since my last entry? Well, the boys' have recovered quite well from their surgeries and life as we know it has pretty much returned back to normal. Zach is able to walk flat footed for the first time in his life, but still fatigues quickly. It will take a long time and a lot of therapy for him to learn how to walk properly and he may never be without pain completely. Jacob seems to have made a full recovery. His gait is now better than ever (no tumbles down the stairs since his surgery) and his handwriting is better than ever. He has even stopped wetting the bed at night. He has his next MRI on July 9th, so fingers crossed that we only receive good news and his next surgery is years away instead of mere months!
The stress of the two back to back major surgeries, my full time job, and Marc's full time work and law school schedule did take it's toll on both of us though. To help relieve a little bit of that stress, Marc and I spent a long weekend in Florida with two couples that we are quite close to. It was the first time that we had been away without the kids since our honeymoon nearly 15 years ago! A very strange feeling, to only have to worry about myself for a change and we both found ourselves marveling at how simple a "kidless" life really is. Nothing that I would ever want to have on a full time basis again, but nice every once in a while. In addition to some much needed "grown up time" that the trip provided, it also allowed us to re-evaluate our priorities and promise to value each other more. The chaos necessitated by our children had begun to chisel away at our "coupleness" and we needed to admit that and then work to change it. So far, so good!
So life is now in full swing again. Abby is in her final days of sixth grade and has made the honor roll all year. She has had many firsts this year, such as acting in her first school play, marching in her first parade, playing on the volleyball team, and singing in her school's talent show. She is anxious to start theater camp in July and spend time with her friends throughout the summer. We couldn't be more proud of her!
Zachary celebrated is ninth birthday in May. I am always amazed at how far he has come. He's now talking (need based only), walking on flat feet, a whiz at math, reading, and spending more time integrated at school. I recently had his IEP / ESY meeting and the new goals for summer will surround expanding his food choices and getting him to do those damn bm's in the toilet (boy has THAT been a long time coming...ugh!). He will spend the month of July at school for ESY and two weeks in August at a special needs camp (which he LOVES!). He makes me smile every day!!!!
Hailey has been working very hard in school this year. She has straight A's, has breezed through math, reading and writing, is excelling at her piano lessons, and has been doing very well in soccer. She just had her Step Up Day and is very excited to be in second grade. This summer, she is eager to go to horseback riding camp at a local farm and vacation bible school at our parish. It should be a very busy summer for her!
Jacob graduated from Kindergarten this year which marks the first time in nine years that I will no longer have anyone in a private school...tuition free for a few years...HOORAY!!!! The way that he marched up on stage, knew all of his songs and dance moves, took the mike and recited his lines, and grabbed his diploma, you wouldn't know that he is a little boy who had major neurosurgery a mere four months before. He's a tough little guy who has been through more in his short six years than most of us have in a lifetime. He makes us so proud!!!!
As for me, I discovered this year that a longtime fellow counselor was leaving her position, making me the most senior counselor in our building. In this economy, that's a nice feeling. Joining us is a counselor who was RIFed at the high school and she seems like she'll be a nice addition to our program. With this change, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my job and what direction I want to see things go. One element that took a lot of time to consider was the high ropes course. In the end though, I think that my fellow counselors and I came to a smart decision to change up the program, without dismantling it. Thus, I'll be up in the trees quite a bit again next year!
So, now it's summer vacation (Well, for Jacob and I anyway. The other three have school until Wednesday). I am very thankful that my kids are at the point where I can take them pretty much anywhere on my own (All but amusement parks...not enough of me to go around on rides! Definitely a multiple adult job!). We will be spending much of our time at the beach, lakes, or just doing fun activities! I have staggered the camp schedules enough that I will get several one on one days with each of them to do those special things that only they like to do. We are all sad that Marc won't be able to join us on very many outings, but I'll be working extra hard to make sure that his absence doesn't impact the kids too much. They will still have a very special summer!
I will be sure to update this blog regularly with plenty of pictures and recaps on our adventures! Have a wonderful summer everyone!
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