What a good time to reflect. Summer vacation has come to an end and the first REAL school year is beginning.
We've had a lovely summer. I do feel a bit guilty that we didn't spend more time outdoors, but with the baby, it was a little hard. We did plant a small garden, which brought us out every once in a while. Once the lettuce went to seed, I become less enthusiastic, but I am still harvesting cherry tomatoes galore and waiting patiently for red peppers and broccoli.
I had hoped that this would be the summer that Silas learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. When I asked Steve why he hadn't worked on that with him (we had decided it was his job), he said he is afraid to have Silas riding his bike because we live on a busy street. It's true. Thoughtless teenagers fly down our street, and our house is in a bit of a blind spot just on the other side of a slight curve - God forbid the disasters that could be imagined.
So what was so lovely about this summer? We kept to a regular schedule, mostly because we had to for Josiah's sake, but now that we are starting school, I realize that we really don't have to adjust that much. And Silas got to do lots of great activities. There were several weeks of Day Camp, Vacation Bible School, Gynastics (the theme was Super Hero Training!) and of course, there was that little surgery in the middle of it all (which Silas would proably NOT call lovely). We had a few lazy days, lots of playdates and afternoons with the sprinklers on. All and all, I'd say summer was pretty peachy.
And now, Silas is starting a new chapter: Kindergarten. He is going to have a great year. He is incredibly social and makes friends easily. He knows all of his letters and is even beginning to read - I LOVE this stage! Tonight, he was so excited that he said he wasn't going to be able to sleep, so we cuddled a bit and I told him stories about when I was in kindergarten. I can't wait for him to experience all this, but at the same time, I realize the preschool years are now over for him. The first day of kindergarten is a huge milestone, and I have a motto that all milestones must be bathed in tears. So I'm preparing to weep a bit tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be fine, but it's always good to pause when a chapter comes to an end, to be sure the lessons have been learned and that the horizon is clear for new adventures.
And new adventures await...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 08, 2009
We survived the Big Surgery...
Silas had to have his tonsils out in July. I was so nervous about telling him. He can get so worked up over the tiniest things and I was very anxious about how he would handle the news that he would have major surgery which would cause him great pain. I prayed for weeks about it.
Thankfully, this is not a new problem for parents to deal with, and so I was able to borrow a couple books from the library that were extremely helpful. I waited until the week before and sat with him one night and read "Goodbye Tonsils". When I finished, I explained that he would have to have his tonsils out too. His response absolutely surprised me. He hugged me and said, "Oh, thank you!" And when I told him that he would also have a procedure done on his nose to end the terrible nose bleeds he gets several times a week, he kicked his feet with joy! God is gracious!
I made sure that he knew it was going to cause him pain, just in case he missed that part, but I think he was so focused on the "goodbye tonsils" party we would have and the presents, ice cream and popsicles that were promised, and he decided it was worth it.
The night before the surgery he was playing with some neighbors and skinned his finger somehow. The way he cried and carried on you would think he had amputated the finger instead! Once again, I was so worried. I sent out a desperate email to friend asking them to pray for his surgery in the morning.
In the morning, he cheerfully put on his comfy-cozy clothes and skipped out to the car to go for his operation. He wasn't the least bit nervous or scared. God is merciful!
The surgery went according to plan and the surgeon reported that Silas' tonsils exploded with pus when he removed them. Yuck! As disgusting as that is to share, it is somewhat comforting to know as it's a terrible thing to make a decision for your child to have a major operation. I had doubted over and over that we were doing the right thing. Every time someone heard about it, they would ask if he was sick all the time. "No," I would reply. And then I would doubt. No, he was not sick all the time. He did have 2 documented cases of strep over a 12 month period, but he wasn't a sickly child. But then again, we keep pretty tight routines around here, especially when it comes to his quiet time and bed time. And we eat rather healthy, so it could be that his immune system was most of the time at it's best and so he wasn't "down" with a sickness as much as his body was just constantly fighting stuff off.
In recovery, he woke up asking to go home. He was offered slushies and soda pop, but he only wanted water. My fears of all the "bad food dyes" he would be ingesting during his recovery period quickly flew out the window as he kept to a pretty healthy diet, though I offered him so many forbidden treats that I thought for sure he would take them just because the were usually off limits. He said "no" to Jello, snowcones, koolaide, and all you can eat ice cream! He survived on homemade organic chicken-noodle soup and mashed potatoes. He decided hot things felt better and that ice cream was too "fick".
I would say he had a rather good time as a patient, getting lots of attention from mommy and daddy, all the TV he could watch, and plently of visitors bearing presents.
The worst part of recovering was getting him to take his medicine. On the first day he decided he didn't like it, and it become the biggest battle every 4 hours. We tried everything from bribery to spanking - it was terrible! We would have let him experience the pain of NOT taking his medicine, accept a friend of ours told us how they let their son sleep too long on the first day and then the pain was so great when he woke up that he wouldn't take his medicine, nor would he drink anything, and so he ended up becoming dehydrated and had to be re-admitted to the hospital. The threat of returning to the hospital or calling the surgeon usually helped get him to comply, but for the first few days, it was a constant struggle!
Now that it's been a month, I haven't noticed a great change in his health, though we haven't had to deal with nose bleeds and that only makes the whole ordeal worthwhile! Oh, those were just awful! He does seem to be a more pleasant child than before - he responds quicker to redirection and has more stamina. We went to the fair today for 6 hours and he hardly complained at all of being tired! He didn't even fall asleep in the car on the ride home!
When Silas was two years old he fell and broke his arm, and I remembered feeling almost transcendent as I thought "this is what it feels like to have a child with a broken arm." It wasn't easy dealing with it, but it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be either. Just like the nosebleeds: sometimes he was super calm and held his own tissue and other times he was hysterical about how he couldn't do it. But either way, the episode would come to an end and we would move on. I am so glad that this chapter of Silas' young life is over. I can't wait for what's ahead!
Thankfully, this is not a new problem for parents to deal with, and so I was able to borrow a couple books from the library that were extremely helpful. I waited until the week before and sat with him one night and read "Goodbye Tonsils". When I finished, I explained that he would have to have his tonsils out too. His response absolutely surprised me. He hugged me and said, "Oh, thank you!" And when I told him that he would also have a procedure done on his nose to end the terrible nose bleeds he gets several times a week, he kicked his feet with joy! God is gracious!
I made sure that he knew it was going to cause him pain, just in case he missed that part, but I think he was so focused on the "goodbye tonsils" party we would have and the presents, ice cream and popsicles that were promised, and he decided it was worth it.
The night before the surgery he was playing with some neighbors and skinned his finger somehow. The way he cried and carried on you would think he had amputated the finger instead! Once again, I was so worried. I sent out a desperate email to friend asking them to pray for his surgery in the morning.
In the morning, he cheerfully put on his comfy-cozy clothes and skipped out to the car to go for his operation. He wasn't the least bit nervous or scared. God is merciful!
The surgery went according to plan and the surgeon reported that Silas' tonsils exploded with pus when he removed them. Yuck! As disgusting as that is to share, it is somewhat comforting to know as it's a terrible thing to make a decision for your child to have a major operation. I had doubted over and over that we were doing the right thing. Every time someone heard about it, they would ask if he was sick all the time. "No," I would reply. And then I would doubt. No, he was not sick all the time. He did have 2 documented cases of strep over a 12 month period, but he wasn't a sickly child. But then again, we keep pretty tight routines around here, especially when it comes to his quiet time and bed time. And we eat rather healthy, so it could be that his immune system was most of the time at it's best and so he wasn't "down" with a sickness as much as his body was just constantly fighting stuff off.
In recovery, he woke up asking to go home. He was offered slushies and soda pop, but he only wanted water. My fears of all the "bad food dyes" he would be ingesting during his recovery period quickly flew out the window as he kept to a pretty healthy diet, though I offered him so many forbidden treats that I thought for sure he would take them just because the were usually off limits. He said "no" to Jello, snowcones, koolaide, and all you can eat ice cream! He survived on homemade organic chicken-noodle soup and mashed potatoes. He decided hot things felt better and that ice cream was too "fick".
I would say he had a rather good time as a patient, getting lots of attention from mommy and daddy, all the TV he could watch, and plently of visitors bearing presents.
The worst part of recovering was getting him to take his medicine. On the first day he decided he didn't like it, and it become the biggest battle every 4 hours. We tried everything from bribery to spanking - it was terrible! We would have let him experience the pain of NOT taking his medicine, accept a friend of ours told us how they let their son sleep too long on the first day and then the pain was so great when he woke up that he wouldn't take his medicine, nor would he drink anything, and so he ended up becoming dehydrated and had to be re-admitted to the hospital. The threat of returning to the hospital or calling the surgeon usually helped get him to comply, but for the first few days, it was a constant struggle!
Now that it's been a month, I haven't noticed a great change in his health, though we haven't had to deal with nose bleeds and that only makes the whole ordeal worthwhile! Oh, those were just awful! He does seem to be a more pleasant child than before - he responds quicker to redirection and has more stamina. We went to the fair today for 6 hours and he hardly complained at all of being tired! He didn't even fall asleep in the car on the ride home!
When Silas was two years old he fell and broke his arm, and I remembered feeling almost transcendent as I thought "this is what it feels like to have a child with a broken arm." It wasn't easy dealing with it, but it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be either. Just like the nosebleeds: sometimes he was super calm and held his own tissue and other times he was hysterical about how he couldn't do it. But either way, the episode would come to an end and we would move on. I am so glad that this chapter of Silas' young life is over. I can't wait for what's ahead!
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Evermore...
Silas has a favorite CD he likes to listen to during his "quiet" time. It's Dogtrain by Sandra Boyton. The CD "disappeared" a while ago due to a few songs with lyrics that encouraged certain attitudes that don't fly in our house. But I was able to burn a CD with a revised playlist and I surprised him by playing it in the car this week.
Driving on our way to a play group at a friend's house, this song came on. I looked in the rearview mirror to see Silas quietly listening to the words.
"Evermore I will love you,
Evermore I will stay
Ever right here to hold you,
Never so far away.
And though I know some times you go to find your way alone,
Evermore I will love you,
You were never my own."
I looked back at him and said, "I love you."
He said, "I love you too, Mom. This song makes me think of you."
Sniff
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