Labor Day 2019
We spent a good portion of the day at the park with friends – frisbee, fun and food! This was the first loaded up grill – gotta feed the hungry frisbee players!
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Cake baker
Since discovering that cakes made with applesauce instead of oil are pretty tasty (and the opposite of dry,) Shecklet #2 asked if he could bake a cake today. He chose strawberry, made two rounds, put a layer of strawberry rhubarb jam between and frosted it with marshmallow vanilla frosting. Pretty tasty, I have to say! He made his godmother, Michelle, proud! 🍓🍰
Mono – not the opposite of stereo
Sung to the tune of “on the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”
🎶 On the 8th day of school, the PA said to me…your son has mono 😞
*sigh*
This kid is such a trooper. He powers through anything thrown at him. I’m just glad we have a reason behind his fatigue and increased need for sleep. 💤
The 2019-2020 school year
Here we go again!
We have two middle schoolers (7th and 6th grade) and two elementary kids (3rd and 1st grade.) So thankful they are all still at the same school with the same schedule.
Pottery projects
I was able to pick up the glazed pottery we painted two weeks ago. I think they all turned out great!
Last hurrah of summer
I took three of the Shecklets things Nissedalen today while Jake stayed home and worked on the truck with the help of Shecklet #2. Between spotting tubing kids and listening to giggles as they swung in hammocks, I did get to do a little reading – not much, but a little. This place is so relaxing. I’m grateful we got to spend so many Saturdays up here during our brief summer break from school and schedules.
Back to school night 2019
How can this be? The Shecklets are heading back to school in 5 days!
They got to meet their teachers, (the boys also got their schedules,) and we dropped off a lot of supplies.
It’s going to be a great year!
Color Me Mine
Time for a little art project as summer winds down. The Shecklets and I each picked out a pottery piece to paint. Shecklet #2 spent nearly 2 hours taping lines in his llama before he could even start painting! We are all looking forward to seeing the finished products – after being fired and glazed with a clear coat.
Summer vestibular therapy
I took the Shecklets on a bike ride (a.k.a. vestibular therapy) on this beautiful summer Saturday. (Next time we will take Jake with us. He went to his parents’ cabin to help with cleaning up from last week’s storm.)
Solitude…1.5 years later
One and a half years ago I was waking up “on the other side” of surgery with a new lease on life, but unable to see straight or walk without assistance. Tonight I’m walking a relatively straight line by myself and using this quiet time to reflect a little.
The doctors told me that I would see huge improvements in the first 6 months post-op with additional slower/smaller improvements possible over 1.5 – 2 years post-op. Most of the time, when people ask how I’m doing, my response is, “I’m doing really well. I’m grateful that I only have minimal side-effects to deal with.” And that’s the truth. I cannot be more happy with how well things have gone post-surgery.
There is a reality that I’m facing though. In reaching the 1.5 year post-op mark, I’m most likely now at what could be considered my “new normal.” I knew before surgery that I would come out of it SSD and there was the possibility of nerve damage. And let’s be honest here – I had BRAIN surgery. You don’t go through something like that and remain the same.
I have grieved losing my hearing in my right ear and feel like I have adjusted pretty well overall. But that doesn’t mean being SSD, having no sense of taste on half of my tongue, the constant ringing in my deaf ear (tinnitus,) and fighting fatigue aren’t frustrating. (They’re very frustrating in certain situations – I just try hard to hide that frustration.) There are days where I wish I didn’t have to tell my kids 137 times, “I can’t hear you,” or “Wrong side.” There are times when I wish I could thoroughly enjoy the flavor of a meal or dessert. I will likely always have to manage fatigue (due to physical exertion as well as sensory overload.) I have also found that my agitation threshold is much lower than it used to be – my brain can only take so much stimulation before it has had enough. The agitation and fatigue are the most challenging side-effects for me, but I’ve gotten much better at recognizing when they’re coming on and either remove myself to take a walk or a nap – depending on which one I’m dealing with. I’m extremely grateful for a supportive husband and kids who quickly learned that mom just needs breaks to recharge – like the opportunity I got tonight.
