sick update and some rambling thoughts

 

diggin his mismatch jammies

I hope I'm not typing to soon. But. Maybe. We're on the mend. I think. I hope. I pray. Cooper went back to the doctor on Saturday morning and his lungs are clear-ish. There is still some fluid, so I'm still hooking him up to the "breathing machine" every four hours. Coop goes back to the doctor on Wednesday. Hopefully we can retire the dreading machine.

Then we have Max. Max is almost finished with his antibiotics and seems to be on the mend. He'll go back to the doctor on Wednesday, so they will check and make sure his upper respiratory infection and double ear infections have cleared up. Oh! Did I happen to mention he also cut 3 teeth? That was the cherry on top of the sundae! He was a terribly crabby little baby. And because I was so sick, my dear husband tended to his needs every night. Thanks Danny!

Finally, my dear Reilly. We thought she escaped the plague unscathed. We couldn't have been more wrong. In the mist of all this mess, she managed to get the stomach flu. I never kept track, but she may have thrown-up a million times over the weekend. Maybe two million. Thank goodness we recently splurged on a nice carpet cleaner, cuz we broke that baby in. Well my dear husband did. Thanks Danny!

Reilly's on the mend and is back at school today. Fingers crossed I don't get the dreaded call from the school nurse. That scolding, how dare you bring this child to school, call!

If that didn't bore you to death... here are some thoughts. Just thoughts. No answers.

Change.

The word "change" was thrown around quite a lot the last few years. Quite frankly, I'm a little sick of it. I admit, I got caught up in the whole "Obama for Change" thing, but now I just wonder if change is always better?

I'm thinking, maybe it's not.

Could we take a u-turn and return back to the way it used to be? I don't mean when "W" was in office. I mean a little further back... when things weren't as scary. When we trusted our neighbors and community. When summertime meant, riding bikes, chasing fireflies, drippy ice cream cones, wearing your swimsuit all day long, little league games, windows open/air conditioning off and the smell of bug repellent. I used to stay outside well after dark, playing kick-the-can with neighbor friends and watching bats chase through our wooded backyard. Everything was so delightful. Maybe it was because I was in my parents home and being taken care of or maybe it's more than that.

 

Top Row: Chris (brother) & Steve (family friend)

Bottom Row: Me, Brad (brother), Ryan (brother) & Lori (family friend)

During my childhood, I was outside for as long as my parents and mother nature would allow. My bike was my transportation and I felt free. During weekends and school breaks, I would be out the door, Poptart in hand, at the crack of dawn... Freedom. Nature. Exercise. Fun. My brothers and I watched a little to no television, we didn't have video games, instead we played boardgames, read books or just made stuff up. Our imagination was better than any toy or television program.

Is it the 24/7 news? The Amber Alerts? The internet? Technology? Probably a little bit of everything. It all seems to mix up in one big pot and it's instilled fear. I admit, I play right into it. I want to wrap my babies up in my arms and push the world away. I think about moving to the middle of Montana. Creating a utopia. I know. That's not realistic.

So I wonder. How can I give my children the freedom I felt as a kid, and keep them safe? I really don't know, but it's my goal to give it a try. I want them to look back on their childhood and have wonderful memories.

Side note: We're currently planning to move. No far, probably a few miles. But one of our goals, my husband's and mine, is to move to a new home that will create some freedom for our children. Maybe a family-friendly neighborhood with lots of children their age or maybe a home with a little more space inside and out where they can play and explore. I don't know. I think when we come across it, we will know.