Early in the mornings, Lori takes me to catch the bus. On the rare occasion that William is awake at that dreadful hour, he goes with us, but he usually stays home with Jennifer, Tana, and Lucky.
Will has been told that he must go down to the car with one of us in the instances he wakes up. He cannot just walk down to the car on his own just in case we do not see or hear him and the worst occurs (just the thought tightens my chest and gives me shivers).
This morning Will woke up and starting coming down the hall as I was rushing down the stairs to the running car, where Lori was waiting for me. He was a good boy and did not go down to the car alone. He did go into the library where the bay windows hang over the driveway below. He banged on the windows, crying, tears streaming down his face, and yelled for us to let him go along as we were pulling away from the house. We neither heard nor saw him.
Lori arrived back home and found Will sitting in the family room chair with puffed red eyes and a quivering bottom lip. With a shakey voice, he told her what had happened. While typing this, it breaks my heart as I consider how he was feeling.
Will and Lori now have a plan, should this happen again. He is to flash the lights off an on in an effort to get our attention. In the mean time, I will tip-toe as light as possible in the mornings to allow him to sleep as much as we can. I love to have him with me, however, his evening moods are not so cheery when he rides along to catch those early busses.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Charmer
Lori has many talents I admire. There is one, though, at which I marvel. She is a master mood charmer.
When Will is crying, she has always had a way of saying just the right thing, making the perfect noise, or masterfully distorting her face in a way that instantly turns his tears into chortling laughter (tears still on cheeks). Now that he gets angry at us on occasion, she has been honing her skills to alter his deeper, more determined moods with increasing success. I have tried to emulate this skill, but no go. It simply does not work. Perhaps it is because I am not humorous; at least not on purpose.
I am not a charmer, but am ever grateful that she is.
When Will is crying, she has always had a way of saying just the right thing, making the perfect noise, or masterfully distorting her face in a way that instantly turns his tears into chortling laughter (tears still on cheeks). Now that he gets angry at us on occasion, she has been honing her skills to alter his deeper, more determined moods with increasing success. I have tried to emulate this skill, but no go. It simply does not work. Perhaps it is because I am not humorous; at least not on purpose.
I am not a charmer, but am ever grateful that she is.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Best Day Ever!
We spent this past Labor Day doing anything but labor. We began the day by eating breakfast together. This may seem minor, but for us it is a rare occurrence.
We then gathered our much-too-infrequently-used swim gear, loaded the trunk of the car, and headed off to the pool of Will's choice. It was actually his second choice; I was not about to spend the money for just a few hours at Seven Peaks. We were so anxious to hit the water that when we arrived, the pool was not even open yet. So, quick-as-a-flash (Will's term), we ran to grab something we could eat for lunch later in the day.
It was a great afternoon of swimming, sliding, running--wait, it says "no running" about every 3 feet at the pool. Will did not seem to care, so we spent the day yelling, "don't run," "no running," and "Will, what does that sign say?" Will brought his new (by new, I mean purchased LONG ago and finally used for the first time) blow-up sea turtle that is about 4' by 5'. It was the hit of the pool. Everyone wanted to either ride it, push it, or swim under it.
I spent part of our pool time tyring to help Will overcome his dislike of having a wet head or face. Lori does her water therapy when he is in the bathtub a few times a week and it seems to be working. I figured this was my day to contribute to the progress. The pool has metal buckets hanging from a pole about 20 feet above the pool. They continually fill up and one at a time, tip over, and dump on the heads of those swimming below. Pushing Will, the fearless turtle rider, I inched closer to the dumping buckets. Just as the water started pelting the turtle, Will cried out in protest. Too late. Spuu-laaa-sh! Um, he was not happy!
After Will forgave me, we enjoyed the rest of our time at the pool. The water therapy, however, may have actually worked. The next thing we knew, Will was running in and out (again and again) of the giant, towering water mushroom that continuously pours solid sheets of water from its top, down into the pool. Progress.
Our next phase of adventure was the annual Labor Day Luau at Thanksgiving Point. We sped home, showered, dressed in our best luau gear, and headed to the gardens. You see, Lori LOVES Hawaii and has been several times because she used to work for a Hawaii tour company (I consistently remind her that we have never been). Also, we all love Thanksgiving Point and go often. We go to the gardens, shops, dinosaur museum, movies, glass studio, and restaurants. Sometimes we go just to read books together in the gardens.
The Luau was very well attended. There were hundreds of people there. Initially, the pre-purchased ticket line was long, but the mood was festive, the food was plentiful and oh-so-good, and we loved the entertainment. Everyone was in a friendly mood (except for the major complainer behind us in line--we made sure not to sit by him). We all had a great time.
While driving home, I pondered our full day together as a family. We were all very quiet. As we pulled into the driveway, Will stretched and said, "This was the best day ever!"
We then gathered our much-too-infrequently-used swim gear, loaded the trunk of the car, and headed off to the pool of Will's choice. It was actually his second choice; I was not about to spend the money for just a few hours at Seven Peaks. We were so anxious to hit the water that when we arrived, the pool was not even open yet. So, quick-as-a-flash (Will's term), we ran to grab something we could eat for lunch later in the day.
It was a great afternoon of swimming, sliding, running--wait, it says "no running" about every 3 feet at the pool. Will did not seem to care, so we spent the day yelling, "don't run," "no running," and "Will, what does that sign say?" Will brought his new (by new, I mean purchased LONG ago and finally used for the first time) blow-up sea turtle that is about 4' by 5'. It was the hit of the pool. Everyone wanted to either ride it, push it, or swim under it.
I spent part of our pool time tyring to help Will overcome his dislike of having a wet head or face. Lori does her water therapy when he is in the bathtub a few times a week and it seems to be working. I figured this was my day to contribute to the progress. The pool has metal buckets hanging from a pole about 20 feet above the pool. They continually fill up and one at a time, tip over, and dump on the heads of those swimming below. Pushing Will, the fearless turtle rider, I inched closer to the dumping buckets. Just as the water started pelting the turtle, Will cried out in protest. Too late. Spuu-laaa-sh! Um, he was not happy!
After Will forgave me, we enjoyed the rest of our time at the pool. The water therapy, however, may have actually worked. The next thing we knew, Will was running in and out (again and again) of the giant, towering water mushroom that continuously pours solid sheets of water from its top, down into the pool. Progress.
Our next phase of adventure was the annual Labor Day Luau at Thanksgiving Point. We sped home, showered, dressed in our best luau gear, and headed to the gardens. You see, Lori LOVES Hawaii and has been several times because she used to work for a Hawaii tour company (I consistently remind her that we have never been). Also, we all love Thanksgiving Point and go often. We go to the gardens, shops, dinosaur museum, movies, glass studio, and restaurants. Sometimes we go just to read books together in the gardens.
The Luau was very well attended. There were hundreds of people there. Initially, the pre-purchased ticket line was long, but the mood was festive, the food was plentiful and oh-so-good, and we loved the entertainment. Everyone was in a friendly mood (except for the major complainer behind us in line--we made sure not to sit by him). We all had a great time.
While driving home, I pondered our full day together as a family. We were all very quiet. As we pulled into the driveway, Will stretched and said, "This was the best day ever!"
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