I remember watching some reality TV show a few years ago
where the family had like 7 kids. At the
time I thought that it looked like so much fun to have a big family like
that. All those different personalities
and chaos and laughter. Now I think
about that and my response is “Oh hell no!”
I am barely keeping my head above water with the three we have and
before that I could barely manage the one we had. But one thing we do have is chaos and lovely
laughter. Oh the laughter.
One day shortly after school
started this year I dropped the kids off and as they ran to the school I just
honked once and waved. Daniel waved back
smiling. Sylvia gave me a goofy
look. I didn’t think much about it and
did the same thing the next day. By the
third day Daniel said “Honk at us!” as he got out of the car. Sylvia said “No don’t!” Then she took off running for the
playground. Which was weird. Sylvia hates running. Last year she walked in the timed run she was
supposed to do for P.E. So I quickly
realized she hated the honking. Which
made me laugh. So I didn’t honk. But the next day she was going on and on
about the honking and how she hated it and I just couldn’t resist. So I honked again. (Disclaimer: I am incredibly ornery. My maiden name is Rutledge which I am pretty
sure means “ornery one” in some foreign language.) The next day I told her I wouldn’t honk. And I didn’t.
Instead I rolled my window down and at the top of my voice yelled “Bye
Sylvia! Have a great day at
school!” She stopped, turned and looked
at me with a horrified look on her face and yelled “NOOOOOO!!!” As I drove away I had tears in my eyes, from
laughing so hard. The next day as I
dropped them off I asked “Honk or yell?”
Sylvia, totally defeated, said in her most annoyed voice “honk”. Ah the joy of raising children. So much laughter, on my part anyway. I have decided to only torture Sylvia a
couple of days a week now by honking.
Which she is grateful for.
Daniel, on the other hand, loves the honking. He’ll stand there with a giant smile on his
face waving as I drive by. I just can’t
resist that smile.
A few weekends ago it was a rainy
Fall day here in Spokane so I decided to surprise the kids and take them to a
local McDonald’s that had just renovated their indoor playground. I figured they could burn off some energy and
I wouldn’t have to make lunch, a win-win for everyone. Once we get there I decide to splurge and let
them get Happy Meals. We don’t go to
McDonald’s very often and when we do we rarely get the Happy Meals. So they were pretty excited all around. I took the kids into the playground area and
got them set up at a table. Then I headed
back to wait for the food. There is a
glass wall between us so I could see them.
As I was standing there waiting for the food I looked over to check on
them. I could hardly believe what I was
seeing. Daniel and Sylvia were hugging
each other with big smiles on their faces!
Now this might not seem relevant to you but in the 6 months we have had
them, they have never hugged, NEVER.
They hug us, but not each other.
Once they got in a fight and I told them to apologize and give each
other a hug. They refused! They patted each other on the arm and walked
away. So to see them hugging was like
Congress agreeing on something. I
started laughing because I just couldn’t believe my eyes. When I got back to the table with the food I
asked “Why were you guys hugging?” They
looked at each other and Sylvia said “Because we are so happy!” Lunch at McDonald’s - $20. Seeing that hug – Priceless.
For the last few weeks Jackson has
been desperately trying to move. His
current mode of transportation is just to roll everywhere. But lately he has been getting into the
crawling position. He has been standing
up on his knees, then when he starts to fall he falls forward onto his
hands. This is fairly amazing in itself
because for so many years he never used that left arm/hand. Since the damage to Jackson’s brain is on the
right side his left side has always been weaker and non-functioning. So to see him responsively put his arm out
and bear weight on his hand is an amazing sight. The other day we were on the floor and
Jackson got in the crawling position. I
got in front of him a few feet and said “Come see Mommy.” Before I knew it he scooted his right leg
forward, moved his hands forward and had moved a foot or so! I started crying. I kept coaching him on to get closer and boy
did he try. He was huffing and puffing
like he just ran a mile. He was trying
so hard but he just couldn’t figure out how to move that left leg. He finally collapsed to the floor,
exhausted. It was amazing! So amazing!
As I write this I am crying just thinking about it. I try not to think about Jackson doing
certain things because then if he isn’t able to do something then I won’t be
crushed. When he does do something then
it is a miraculous, joyous occasion. I
never thought Jackson would crawl. Once
again I think that kid is going to prove me wrong. Ever since having Jackson, I really love being
wrong.
I leave with this quote, it seems
fitting to my children right now. “All
children, whatever the impairment, are propelled by the need to make themselves
whole. They may not get there, and they
may need massive guidance, but they must forever try.” - Oliver Sacks
