All in a day's work

Yesterday was a full, fun summer day. My mom and I took the kids to the Rochester Museum of Play where they....played. A lot. My mom and I were pretty much exhausted after chasing them around for two hours, and two hours really isn't that long to be in a place like that.

Just upon leaving, little Ella's elbow lost it's socket a little bit and she (rightfully) freaked out. Now, this same exact thing happened to her last weekend on our way out to the lake. We had to turn around and take her right to the doctor. *sidenote: last week's dislocation happened at about 4:45pm and by 5:30pm, we had been the pediatrician, gotten her fixed, and were back on our way. I LOVE this country!* Anyway, while we were at the doctor, he said that this "nursmaid's elbow" was very common in kids between ages 1 1/2 and 4 and could possibly happen many more times, so he showed us how to fix it ourselves if it should happen again. So yesterday when my mom said she heard the thing pop out, we knelt down beside the carousel, I said a little prayer and did a little twisting and shoving and she was good as new! I was very excited about that.

Well we came home, had some lunch, and I put the kids down for a nap. I was feeling pretty productive so I did some cleaning and some packing (since we're moving in less than two weeks).

Joe got home early which happens often on Fridays but is never any less awesome. So when the kids woke up we took them outside to play. Well, Joe played with them and I sat and read a book/supervised. There is just something so good about sitting outside with sunshine on my face, a book in my hand, watching my husband and kids run through a sprinkler together holding hands and laughing. I don't care if you think that's cheesey, it's my life and I love it.

Then we had some lame summer dinner scrounged up from the contents of our fridge. After dinner we went out for ice cream and when Brett got up to the counter to order, he slammed his open hand on the counter in front of the nice girl's face and yelled "black and white and black and white!", with a slam designated to each word of that incoherent sentence. Which, in his language meant, "two twists please"...but a little more rude.

Ice cream + cones + 2 toddlers = total disaster ALWAYS. Why do we put ourselves through this? I guess because the kids love it and what is summer without a lot of sticky ice cream residue stretching from INSIDE one ear to the other. After that, it was back home for a quick baby-wipe bath (perfect for the filthy child and exhausted parent combo) and the children were off to bed. Whereupon we turned on the Yanks game and sat still for the first time in 24 hours.

Just a pretty typical day in our home (save for the fairly serious injury and me playing ER doctor). And what a wonderful life it is.

Processing

This weekend was completely exhausting. It started on Thursday when we lost my mom's fiance, Ron, to cancer. He had been battling cancer for upwards of 8 years and just this past April he went in to have surgery on his kidneys and at that point the doctors said he had 3-6 months to live. What a crime to put an expiration date on someone's life. And yet they were right.

He was such a loud and boisterous man...in a great way. Always ready with a joke and hug that left me smelling like his cologne for the rest of the day. He was a Nazi in the kitchen, needed everything his way and nobody got IN the way...even in MY kitchen :) He was a lover of poker, fishing, boating, vacationing, joking, margaritas, suspenders, cigars, Wegmans, Dean Martin, golfing, hunting, cologne, and my mom. I hated watching him become skinny and quiet, it was like I didn't know what to do with him or how to talk to him because it just wasn't the guy I was used to. So I was happy that he didn't have to suffer any more but sad for the loss of a man that I really adored and especially sad that my mother lost her life partner.

His funeral was held on Saturday morning with a reception afterward and it seemed like a little bit of a whirlwind. I know that everyone grieves in their own way but I hate when people don't talk about those they've lost. Luckily, Ron doesn't have that kind of family. I think they'll do a great job of keeping Ron alive through stories and laughs and drinks that he loved. It's so healthy to talk about the losses in our lives and to free ourselves to feel whatever it is we feel when we do that. So today I feel a little sad for maybe the first time since he passed....forgive me, I'm a slow processor. But I'm going to be grateful that he was so good to my mom, and a father-figure to my brother, and friend to my sister and I.

So I'll dedicate a few of my blessings today to him:

1) the loud, cackling laugh that was so infectious

2) the human ability to fight for what we think is worth it

3) living in a country with amazing medical care available

4) food, and the joy it brings :)

5) breathing in second hand smoke from a cigar...one of my favorite smells