Grammy is getting better

Kenzie did not enjoy her Grammy being in the hospital! Well, the rest of us didn’t really like it either, but I’m happy to report that she is back home and regaining strength quickly.

I spent a couple of overnights at Harborview with Grammy, and Kenzie really, really wanted to stay with us. She might have been more help, as she is a lighter sleeper and might have actually woke up when the phone rang, for example. She had a hard time leaving Grammy in her hospital room. Yesterday, though, when we all got to visit Grammy in her natural habitat (home) she was ecstatic.

I think this picture she drew of herself is priceless: the worry on the face, the shrugged shoulders, and the depressing blue outfit. So sad!

The other picture is Grampy. He’s nice and comfortable in the hospital chair.

A Christmas like no other…thankfully

Christmas is always a time to look back, be thankful for what we have, take stock of what has changed since last year, and look forward to the next. Somehow, that’s all a little harder at the moment. This week has been pretty rough. My mom went into the hospital on the 22nd for a 5-way vertebra fusion. The surgery was a success and she believes that most of the intolerable pain has gone away. Still, she has had a rough time coming out of the surgery and isn’t rebounding quite as quickly as we optimists had expected. Even though the doctor told her she wouldn’t be feeling like doing much for at least three months, somehow three days seems long enough for her to be in a compromised state. So, we’re praying for patience all around. This morning we realized that she need some help from the rest of us to rest, and that meant that we had to stay away. So, it’s the first Christmas I’ve spent without seeing both of my parents. Thankfully Dad came over and we carried the tradition of Eggs Benedict, but it wasn’t the same without Mom here.

Kenzie is particularly sensitive to her Grammy’s condition. She doesn’t like seeing her in the hospital and is worried about her. Mason is concerned too, but doesn’t understand the gravity of it. He needs to be reminded to be gentle and calm. (Over and over.)

I do have to update on the Santa conspiracy. Last year I reported in good conscience that the conspiracy was exposed: Kenzie was no longer a believer. However, I think the last 11 months have given her some time away to rethink the situation and she has, once again, bought the red velvet suit theory hook, line and sinker. Not just playing, but seriously…even in her hyper-logical, pragmatic little overachieving brain, she has carved out space to keep alive a dream of Santa, the reindeer, elves, the whole bit. She even told Grampy that Santa will bring her things that her moms will not (perhaps the collar for the cat…sorry Izzy). I don’t quite understand it, but she has asked no questions this year, other than a couple of innocent “do you believe in Santa” probes to a trusted few. She doesn’t seem open to dismissing the dream, more that she is looking for fellow believers to help her justify it. It’s actually very sweet.

We don’t even have our Christmas cards out yet. Nor have we made the calendars that Mom usually starts reminding me to make in October. Things just aren’t the same. Heck, we didn’t even get through opening all the presents. There’s always tomorrow…

Also, June and Bob have been so anxious to move into their house. I’m so happy to report that it’s completely ready for them. Tomorrow is move-in day. Tonight is the last night that they have to live in their 10x12 box that we refer to as our guest room.

Christmas Eve we went out to dinner with Carol, Clyde, Mike, Mary and my Dad in downtown Seattle. Then we went to visit  Mom at Harborview. Tonight we had some dear friends over for a prime rib dinner, Christmas carols, and presents. It was a lovely night, and gave us a chance to look ahead. For me, I look forward to my mom’s full recovery (as speedy as possible) and happiness for June and Bob in their new home.

I hope this finds all of you well, and I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Lego

Mason confessed to me tonight that he swallowed a Lego piece this afternoon. I asked him how big it was, so he got me a similar piece. It’s a cute little face of a Lego person. Kenzie said that he went into the bathroom gagging, but took some water. It’s small, but I called the nurse anyway, mostly as a lesson to him.

I asked him, “why in the world did you--at FIVE years old--decide to swallow a Lego?”

He said, “because I wanted him to have a wet head.”

We now have to sift through his poop for the next three days until it is discovered. Maybe he’ll have to do that part, just to reinforce the lesson.

Poetry with Dorothy

Kenzie and Cindy spent time with our friend Dorothy today. Here is Kenzie’s account:

Dorothy taught me how to write poems today. And she said that it was good for me to write poems because I am able to illustrate them. She made me a deal. She said that if I wrote a poem (because I drew her two pictures) then she would draw a cat because i was trying to teach her how to draw a cat. She said I had written a fabulous poem. And I was like, “Dorothy, now you have to draw a cat.” And she was like, “oh my! I forgot that I did promise you.”

The air is so fresh The fairy likes fresh air So she is fair She likes the fresh air To run through her hair The fairy is so pretty Though she looks so wealthy And wise What a nice surprise

 

Dorothy’s cat and Kenzie’s cat

Izzy is a silly kitten She always wants to play She always goes ‘meow, meow’ She always wants to play all day

Christmas pageant

Our church Christmas pageant was today. Kenzie was Shepard 2 (of 3) and Mason was, once again, the talking cow. Last year Kenzie was Shepard 3, so she feels that she got a promotion this year. (Cindy is the director, but I can assure you that no favors were granted.) Kenzie has everybody's lines memorized anyway.

Lauren, who was the angel Gabriel, has many, many lines, and feared a repeat of last year when Kenzie corrected her in the middle of the play when she took some verbal liberties. So, yesterday Lauren mentioned that I might want to let Kenzie know that she was "making some changes to the words," and Kenzie should expect it to not be verbatem. Kenzie replied, "that's okay, just let me know her changes so I can be prepared." Lauren was well on point, but Shepard Three needed just a bit of prompting. This time, though, Kenzie was quite subtle and helpful. In this video, Kenzie is the middle shepard.




Mason, AKA the Talking Cow, had just one line, but it was long. But, he knew it inside and out. So well, perhaps, that he was able to do some impromptu adapation. Like when his "we were quite moooooved" line got a laugh, he repeated it to see if he could get two. His buddy Luke was trying to share the microphone with him, but the cow was rather focused and, best of all, he did it!

In this scene Lauren (Gabriel) starts to sing, then is interrupted by the Talking Cow, who speaks on behalf of all the animals that are usually left out of the story.

Christmas festivities

It’s six days before Christmas and we are almost done with the family gatherings. We always do the Bolam family early, but this year we moved up the Averill gathering too. The Bolams were here last weekend for a Saturday morning brunch. Mason showed off his new truck to Carter.

Then, yesterday, the Averills gathered. Grammy is going in for a 5-way vertebra fusion on Tuesday, so she will be in the hospital over Christmas, and we all wanted to celebrate. The “cousins” had fun playing upstairs and otherwise tearing up the house.

The kids gave special performances. Kenzie sang Silent Night, then she and Devan sang Rudolf. David and Daniel showed off their Pledge of Allegiance. Finally, Kenzie and Mason both gave previews of their pageant performances...but you'll have to wait for tomorrow for that one. :)

Kings and Queens

Mason's school held the annual Winter Celebration today. Each age group--the 3's, 4's and 5's--danced. The teachers said they were just happy that the 3's left their parents to come to the middle. The 4's danced in a circle with the teachers. The 5's took it to a new level with independent partner dances.

Mason's dance partner was Maddie (who he frequently refers to as his "girlfriend"). She was wearing an off-white dress. He's in a blue argyle vest with a white shirt underneath. He was being such a stinker to the girl next to him, Emily, who was in the red shirt to his left. You can see that he did not want to hold her hand. It probably as a good draw that Maddie was his partner, as he was very cooperative with her. The first half of the dance went well (the first clip below). (I can look past the flaunting of his muscles at 1:41.)




In the second half of the dance, the devious side became stronger with each sashay, shimmy and spin. Looking at it positively, he only showed her his muscles one more time, but the tongue was displayed a few times.



Luckily, we ended on a positive note. For the final dance the teachers wisely paired him with two older girls (not in his class...I don't know where they came from). They whipped him around and he could think about nothing other than what his feet and arms needed to do.

Brrr

It is unreasonably cold around here. My car said 14 degrees yesterday morning. We’re bundling up.

June and Bob’s new house is completely frozen because it has everything except heat! That’s a necessity at the moment, otherwise they’re ready to move in.

Christmas tree

Last weekend we went with Liz and Casey to get our Christmas tree. Primo photo opportunity.

 

 

Batman

This is how Mason emerged this morning from his room. At least the undies match.

Carol and Clyde’s wedding

Carol and Clyde got married today. We all went to the reception in Newport Hills.

I hope to get some family shots to post here – we only had Cindy’s phone. I thought this was a cute one of Mason, Daniel and Sarah.

Still babying him…

Sarah and Mason, 2005 and today. Think he weighs about the same, just taller.

Fall has fully arrived

Until two years ago, I had never bought Cindy a present that she truly liked. I tried jewelry, gadgets, kitchen appliances, clothes, car accessories, music…you name it. They’re all “just fine” but not great. That was until the Gas Leaf Blower of 2007. Immediately her face lit up, as if she had just received the winning lottery ticket. She studied it as if it was a fine watch handed down from four generations past.

She looks for opportunities to blow in the off-season. I’ve seen her blow water off our deck, grass clippings off the lawn, and debris out of the garage…but in reality, it is a tool for Fall. So she waits. First the leaves turn color, then the ritual begins. The winds begin to blow, the leaves reach critical mass. She dons the silencing headphones and rubber boots and becomes completely immune to the world around her as she blows. No kid can find her (too dangerous to be near that machine that is both powerful and noisy). She can’t carry the phone because she might lose it in the grass. She is on her own remote island of silence. Starting in one corner of the three-acre yard, she pushes the fallen leaves in consecutive invisible lines, restoring order to the grass below. Hours and hours of leaf blowing. Alas, it’s clean. But she can only enjoy the pristine green for a short while, until the inevitable disturbing winds start the process all over again. About every two weeks she feels the call.

That is until this year. The full-time job  is seriously disturbing the holy blowing ritual. I come home every day, noticing the piling leaves, but dare not say anything. I know she sees it too and the abstinence will only last so long.

Today was the day: Day 3 of a 4-day weekend. At first opportunity, she bolted. Hours and hours. Eventually she had to run out of leaves. Finally, I heard the front door open. Wait, wait…where is she?

Seriously…on the roof blowing pine needles? Oh well, like skiers and snow, you gotta enjoy the season.