All Is Well On The Homefront

We are all well here at the Ranch.

An update on those recovering from surgery ...

Our dog Rylie is up and moving around much better.  She sits at the bottom of the stairs whining because she can't go up. We have a gate that blocks her way  -  and trips me about every other time I go up and down the stairs.  If I'm not careful, I'll end up breaking something and need surgery myself.  For a non-animal lover, I really do think our dog is really sweet. So sweet in fact, I actually let her lick my hand today.  It was gross, but I sucked it up and indulged her  :-) (sorry, I just can't do dog slobber.)

Mary got the half-casts off her feet and she is now in those lovely black boots.  She can now get around by walking on her heels in the boots and has graduated from the wheelchair to crutches.  Her stitches are still in until Monday. Mary has some great friends and cousins who have hung out with her at the house and kept her entertained.  Now that she can get around better, they have been carting her around town and gotten her out of the house.  I'm not sure when she will be able to drive because she can't drive with the boots on.

Here is a picture of Mary being serenaded by one of her friends.  What a nice guy!

Eric started his science camp this week and he loves it.  At first he thought it was going to be like school and he really wasn't interested in going. But, he's been having a blast. Yesterday, he dissected owl pellets.  Do you know what one finds in owl pellets?  Small bones! Very cool (if you are into those kinds of things.)  Next week is robot week at camp.  I can't wait to see what kind of robot Eric creates.

Hilary is enjoying hanging out doing a whole lot of nothing.  I'm already starting to book flights for her return to school in the Fall, Thanksgiving break and Christmas break.  I'm hyperventilating at the amount of money it costs to get this kid from Phoenix, Arizona to Rochester, New York. It's insane.  I remember when my kids were little and I couldn't wait for them to get out of daycare because I was going to save so much money.  Silly me.  Kids aren't cheap no matter what the age.

As for Jack ... oh, how I love this kid.  He demands so little and is always so happy and content.  Just give him a few cans of food a day, keep his airway clear and make sure the TV or iPod is on and he's a happy camper.  The simplicity of his life (his dependence on sophisticated machines to keep him alive aside) is refreshing in the otherwise manic life I live. Jack forces me to stop, rest, listen and soak in the moment.  I need him as much as he needs me.

I'm in the middle of reading two books.  The first one is "Finding Your Own North Star: claiming the life you were meant to live".  I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  I just hope I can figure it out before it's too late to make a change.

The other book is "The Pursuit of Perfect" - the book I mentioned in a previous post.  This book discusses the difference between being a Perfectionist and being an Optimalist.  According to the author, the  differences between a Perfectionist and an Optimalist is that a Perfectionist rejects reality while the Optimalist accepts it.  The Perfectionist rejects failure, the Optimalist accepts it as a natural part of life and as an experience that is inextricably linked to success.  I am a born Perfectionist (as is Eric).  As the parent of two children with disabilities, it's difficult to ignore my reality.  Acceptance wasn't something that came easily or that happened immediately.  In fact, I rejected my reality for years.  However, with time, I've come to accept my reality because of my children and for the sake of my children.  As you may recall, I wrote about being a perfectionist in this post: "Perfection".

I really like this following quote about acceptance:

When we fully accept reality - the good and the bad, the pleasurable and the painful - we can create and spread affluence; when we accept rather than resist, we become a pipeline, a conduit, through which wisdom and goodness can flow.  


Thanks for checking in my wonderful friends!




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For those wanting to know how my mom is doing -- she ended up back in the hospital for a week with a severe UTI and other GI issues that needed to get resolved. She was discharged on Wednesday and she is now in a different rehab facility that we hope will actually do some rehab. The last place she was at didn't make any effort to get her out of bed or rehab her.  The hope is that she can get to a point in her rehab at the current facility where she will qualify for placement at an acute rehab facility where she will get the intense rehab she needs.  It's been a very tough recovery from a broken leg and she's got a long way to go yet.  But, she's one tough lady and if anyone can get through this, it's her.