I wrote this last week sometime, and didn't get around to posting it.
Well, in the 77 days of summer vacation so far, here’s the numbers:
23 chiropractic visits (my back is feeling GREAT)
8 - 3 hour family sessions at Daysprings (Brandon’s rehab program)
3 medical procedures for Roger: vien ablation, REDACTED and an MRI.
1 week of Scout camp for Roger. The amount of time he put into preparation? Tons!
6 Karate classes Ethan attended. It should have been 18. Either we forgot, or……… see the following.
1 doctor visit with xrays for Ethan after he fell off the basketball hoop and hurt his foot. (we have a new family rule. Don’t climb on the backboard.)
1 set of crutches, which ironically caused him to injure his OTHER foot a few weeks later as he goofed around on them and fell off the deck. (new rule, don’t try to go downstairs on your crutches)
2 weeks of limping and sadness over the 2nd hurt foot.
1 birthday party at Pirate Island, 1 cousin late-night birthday bash.
4 days and nights with the 4 Stone cousins as their parents went on vacation.
1 overnighter with the Butler cousins for the same thang.
1 Baptism of a lovely boy.
4 days and nights at the FABULOUS BUTLER REUNION in Park City
1 week total of lovely houseguests.
6 movies, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Green Lantern, Super 8 and Cars 2 (at the Mount Pleasant drive-in. No Ethan didn’t get to see all of these.
Books: The Lost Gate, by Orson Scott Card, a couple of #1 Ladies Detective Agency, The Mysterious Benedict Society, 1,2 and 3, by Trenton Lee Stewart, Pirates by Celia Rees, Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear and Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
2 family gatherings with food (at my house) - adjacent to and because of the baptism and reunion. ( I’m not counting Sunday nights with relatives or friends over for dinner; I’m sure there’s been a week or 2 that we haven’t done that, but mostly we do.)
3 swim days at Aunt Amy’s pool with the cousins.
2 Seven Peaks days, 1 Trafalga day. We barely got our $$’s worth out of the Mother of all Passes, but I don’t care. Those places suck my soul out of my nostrils.
1 ER visit with my brother in law, who separated his shoulder playing frisbee at the park with Roger and Ethan.
1 visit with the Stake Presidency, in the which our minds were blown when Roger was asked to be Bishop. The panic attacks followed by blessings and tangible feelings of comfort cannot be numbered. Sadly, since he has been set apart, he hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep. Happily, he is blessed to be able to carry on anyway. It's kind of funny, 25 years ago I became a mom, and promptly forgot how to sleep. Now the same thing has happened to Roger; I really feel for him, and then at the same time I secretly think "welcome to MY world!" (wish I was a nicer person) The difference is he's thinking about all the people in the ward, and I'm just aggravated at being awake. If you're ever up at 5 am, you can be pretty sure one or both of us is up twiddling our thumbs in the dark (or doing the laundry), right along with you.
Huh. I sure have a hard time writing about the big things. I just slide right over into nattering about all the little stuff. I have all these tender/wondering/thankful/nervous thoughts and feelings about Roger's calling, but.................... aaaack! I'll have to stick with writing about the stuff that is pretty.darn.prosaic. otherwise I can't seem to write at all. So!
A local parade, an evening of fireworks, a garage sale, the return of my parents from their mission, a primary activity, weeding, housework. Voila - one too-busy summer.
Look! pretty flowers!
