1. My mom has had a bad week. A really bad week. She stumbled and broke her foot.The first set of x-rays showed a minor fracture in the side of her right foot. A follow-up x-ray indicated a fracture in her heel. The doctor then noticed redness in her left foot, i.e. the non-injured foot, i.e the foot that allows her to pivot as she moves from wheelchair to bed, from wheelchair to bathroom, etc. A third x-ray indicated two breaks below her middle toes on the "good" foot.
Please pray that we can sort out the logistics of getting Mom from South Florida to Detroit without outright purchasing American Airlines.
And pray for pain relief and protection from further breaks.
And pray for my dad, a stalwart caregiver if ever there was one.
2. And on the brighter topics . . . Ainsley comes to me and asks me to spell the name of a show so she can search for it on Amazon. Today is was Jack and the Bean Stalking which made me laugh and conjured up all manner of bizarre images. Love my girl!
3. John's Batman tennies went missing, so I texted my neighbor across the street.
Me: Can you keep a look out for John's Batman tennies in the yard?
Friend: You know I've never actually seen John wearing shoes.
True that.
4. So losing things seems to be a regular staple of life. John's glasses go missing, and I flat scour his room to no avail. I pat myself on the back that I have borrowed cowboy boots a full month before John appears in Pecos Bill, the third grade play . . . but the day the costume's supposed to head off to school, said boots are nowhere to be found. I spend the morning scouring the front door before painting it . . . but can't find the sander when I need it.
Ah, life.
Things have a way of turning up.That's what I keep telling myself.
5. While we're on the thrilling subject of my front door, I have to tell this tale. So the middle schoolers are in the big thick midst of Science Fair, and Kolbe and his buds are working at out house. A dad drops off his son and as he's leaving, he notices out front door is sticking, or more accurately, is entirely stuck. A talented carpenter, our friend David zips home and returns with saw horses, a sander, a drill, some sort of planer, and primer. While Dave and the boys talk data and bar charts, the other David completely fixes our door, sands down a rough area, primes the sanded bits, replaces the hardware, hangs the door.
6. And the above anecdote reminds me of the other day when I went in search of Ainsley. You know we moved a year ago. But we moved just around the corner. If I crane my neck, I can look out my new back door and see my old front door.
But the move has been huge for our kids.
We had the best neighbors ever for 18 years. The. best. ever. Almost no one had little kids. We moved around the corner and suddenly my kids have 23 friends to play with on a regular basis.
I don't think I'm exaggerating.
Four behind us. Two next door. Ten spread between the two houses across the street. And a whole bunch more in the adjoining houses.
My goal of having free range kids is (partially) being realized.
So I went in search of Ainsley the other day and found her with her two BFFs wearing shorts and playing with water on a chilly day. "What are you doing, girls" I wondered. "Playing Lavabo Bowl," they told me.
Playing Lavabo Bowl. I'll take that. Even on a chilly day, I'll take that.
7. And then there's John. The block across the street is shaped like the letter K and called -- no surprise here -- K Block.
We say that John doesn't play in K Block; he plays under K Block.
And if you were to go explore the underground bunker he and his friends have fashioned, you'd understand what I mean. No scrap of wood lying out by the street on trash day is too small to be incorporated into "The Safe House" as they have dubbed the bunker. Recycle! Repurpose! Pray there's no exposed nails!
Of late, the boys have abandoned Safe House in favor of epic Nerf wars that involve every last one of the aforementioned 23 kids plus a few others from surrounding streets. They're serious about these Nerf wars. Oh, yes they are. John returned home one night -- shoe-less, of course -- with all exposed skin camouflaged with -- brace yourselves, now -- soot. Yes, soot. Left over from a fire pit. Soot.
Thank the good Lord for running water and up-to-date Tetanus shots. And free-range kids. Does this tomboy's heart good.
My life in Seven Quick Takes. Head over to the other Kelly's to add your update.
3 comments:
We live on a small cul-de-sac, but when my bigger boys were growing up, we had tons of kids on the street and they all congregated down at our end at "the bottom". I used to laugh and say I would have to remind my kids not to play in the street when we went to other people's houses, because they grew up in the street. Now, all the little babies have grown into bigger kids, so there is a whole new passel out in the street. Prayers for you Mom, my friend!
That's awesome, Kris. We have to remind our kids that whole world isn't as kind and trustworthy as our little neighborhood. Kind of like the cul-de-sac! Thank you for your prayers. I hope to nail down some flight arrangements tomorrow.
That's awesome, Kris. We have to remind our kids that whole world isn't as kind and trustworthy as our little neighborhood. Kind of like the cul-de-sac! Thank you for your prayers. I hope to nail down some flight arrangements tomorrow.
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