It's a Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day.  I woke up to my toddler having pee’d on the floor, not on accident.  I tried my hardest to keep him from sneaking food, from which he was to abstain, while I cleaned the carpet.  My 6-year-old’s on the toilet with a stomach ache, crying for my help…what am I supposed to do?  I smiled and assured him he’d be alright and the ache would be gone soon.  The toddler comes back for round two.  Thankfully, it was on the kitchen floor.  What is he thinking?  He’s not a dog.  He doesn’t need to mark any territory.  He’s made it clear in numerous ways that EVERYWHERE is his territory.  Meanwhile I clean up pee mess #2 like a good mom.  The toddler swipes a single rice chex from his baby brother.  “AHHH!!!  Spit that out child!  No food!”  

Today was a beautiful day.  It’s time to leave.  The young man in charge is our 15-year-old son.  I lay down the law for the kids who’ll be staying home so me and the peeing toddler can drive downtown for his appointment.  He’s fully prepared since his older brothers have been giving him their sage medically accurate description of the procedure for about three weeks now.  It goes kind of like this.  “Tristan, you’re going to get a tube shoved down your throat so you can get rid of your belly ache!…ha, ha, ha!”  To which Tristan calmly responds, “I don’t have a belly ache anymore.  I don’t have a Celiac disease anymore.”  I’d deny my ailment too if the diagnostic test fit that description.  Boys!  

It’s a peaceful ride downtown and I offer to pray for Tristan.  He proceeds to scream at me to stop it.  He doesn’t like my saying the rosary today.  I’m going to believe that it touches his heart.  He always gets crabby about things that touch his heart.  I don’t think he knows what to do with that emotion yet.  I pray quietly to myself for one decade.  We observe a number of trucks and the river as we approach the hospital.  

Children’s Hospital in St. Paul has really made some nice improvements since we’d been there three years ago.  Tristan has been to Children’s once before to have a couple minor surgeries.  Today, we’re confirming his Celiac diagnosis with an upper endoscopy for an intestinal biopsy.  A lot of prep goes into this five minute procedure.  Children’s staff is definitely up to the task.  Starting at the security desk, they check photo ID’s and take a snapshot to create a clear name visitor tag.  Then a welcome center worker escorts you to your proper location.  Patience is a must for this young man since Tristan is a little relaxed in his walking speed.  The nurse in the elevator up to the third floor was so friendly and complimented me on my scapular.  I love the opportunity to share my faith.  The Children’s waiting area in the pre/post-op area was filled with toys, books, push cars and buggies.  I felt completely safe allowing Tristan to make the noise he needed to enjoy himself.  The toys were nice, well kept and clean.  That one rice chex delayed the procedure by an hour!  Luckily, they have movies on demand and we were able to watch the LEGO movie for the hundredth time.  I really can’t complain about uninterrupted snuggle time with my buddy, even if it is at the hospital.  Take it when you can get it, right?  

Great things are happening at Children’s.  They reminded me how important, smart, precious, vulnerable and special children are.  As much as I know this, it can get lost in all the havoc that occurs in our everyday life with all the ages we’re experiencing currently.  Nurse Carol treated Tristan with such dignity and respect as did Nurse Tami and Dr. Sundeep.  They were truly joyful in their dealings with him, talking him through everything, and me too.  At Children’s, they understand the child, the parent, the close relationship between the two and honor that bond completely.  I felt truly cared for there.  They are more than medicine and staff there.  They are servants.  The Children’s medical staff cares for the whole person and raises the dignity of children’s medical care to a whole new level.  Keep up the good work!  Thank you, Children’s, for making my day beautiful!

We March On

Thinking of the recent election and the noise that's been created as a result, I am beginning to think it's time to refocus on what's most important.  It's so easy to get caught up in this kind of political world if you allow it.  As if I really know what it's all about, right.  My response to our president's reelection was quite depressing.  I never knew how much of my heart I had invested in the idea of us having a replacement that would put our country on a brighter path.  Apparently, my heart was set.  Now having recovered from a big setback, I feel it's time to get back to matters of faith and family; the things that are lasting.  This president will remain for another four years so we must endure and persevere in prayer and build on the tenets of faith, hope and charity.  First and foremost, charity.  It is a great challenge to apply this  throughout the days of our busy lives.  Small acts are just as good as big.  Offering a smile instead of snapping at the post office clerk is a great start!  Have a great day!

A House Full of Boys:)

Tonight I was so very blessed to have a 30-minute conversation with my 12-year-old!  It is very rare that I get that kind of block to sit one-on-one with any of my children.  It turned out to be a nice conversation about school, how he likes some classes better than others and is thinking of joining choir next year.  He even asked me a few questions about myself.  I was delighted to share some of my stories and insights with him.  As we enter the teen years, him being my first-born, I am trying to prepare for more serious issues than this.  I'm thankful that it was so light-hearted.  I worry myself, maybe for good reason, maybe out of fear, because I know boys don't always talk about personal things.  I'm glad that when he came up to chat, I took the time.

Like I said, I was delighted to share some of my own personal experience with my son.  The reason being, I am one woman in a house full of boys.  Often the desires of the lady of the house are overlooked and even ignored at times.  Not intentional of course but purely because they are young boys and are not that interested in long conversations with mom and my artsy interests.  My husband really does good, but he's a man too and surely cannot relate well to things of the female type.  I was raised an only child to a single mother.  All I knew was girl stuff.  I find it quite ironic that I now am surrounded by boys.  Talk about complete opposite ends of the spectrum.  Not to mention, my mother was a hair dresser so I spent much of my life in a beauty salon.  

Going from a quiet girly house to a wild crazy sports filled house is something that I still have to adjust to from time to time.  I just can't believe how much energy boys have.  I swear it's all different too, depending on the stage they're at in development.  They express it in many different ways.  I've found that around the third/fourth grade years it comes out in pointless noise and sounds from the mouth.  As a person who sings, I think there are many pleasant sounds that can come from the mouth but I can't help but be a little annoyed by all the random sounds these boys come up with as they're doing everything around the house.  It could always be worse and so I just try to tune it out.  Again, I'm hard wired for quiet.  I think of it as a growth experience for me in accepting the quirks and silly antics of others.  Growth is always good!  

In a couple weeks we will have the opportunity to find out the sex of our new baby and I have to be honest, I'm hoping for a girl.  I love my boys so much and will still be totally in love with another little boy if that's what we've been given.  While talking to a good friend today and listening to her talk about dance class and dresses, I do believe my desire for a little girl increased.  She would be such a little princess and we need another girl in the house so the boys can see that it's not just mom who talks a lot.