I love your brain

We had a rainy Sunday so Cole and I took advantage of a break in the rain and ran a couple of errands (only places with underground parking in case the rain returned), and then spent the afternoon nestled in our warm little house goofing around together. My husband is in Austin, TX for a conference so we’re on our own again. We had him home for a few days after his trip to Wales, but he left again Saturday before we woke up.

Cole and I did a little cooking, laundry, and started working on an art project. Then he, in true teen form, wanted to spend some time alone his room watching a movie on his own. I still marvel at this development, with him wanting to have time on his own, but I’ve come to enjoy it myself. It gave me a chance to do a little straightening up and to paint my toes (without the boys feigning poisoning from the smell!).

We had a few conversations about the upcoming surgery and he seems to be okay with it. He shared with me that he does feel twinges of pain in his left hop, the one that’s completely dislocated, and seemed relieved that it could be fixed. I don’t know how well he remembers the last surgery a few year ago. I think once the casts came off, we all put it behind us, quickly turning the focus to getting back into walking and standing.

Now, as we contemplate this next surgery, some of it is coming back to me and I’m working on trying to put things into place to make the summer go a smoothly as possible. Both my husband and I will try to work from home part of the time, and we’ll need support as well. We also want to line up some fun things for Cole so that he’s not just relegated to watching TV. It’s tough because he can’t ride in a car, sit in chairs, or be easily carried about when he’s casted from hip to toe with the dratted bar between the ankles. The situation calls for creative thinking!

We’ve got a few months…time that will fly…but this time we know what to expect and I fully intend to be prepared for anything, and to make it as easy on Cole as I possibly can.

His big focus is our upcoming ski trip. It’s the third year we’re converging on Mammoth Mountain for a family ski weekend. This year there are 24 of us going. Six families! Cole’s so excited to race down the mountain and to spend evenings with friends. He really loves the thrill of skiing and the Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra has a fantastic adaptive ski program with volunteers willing to take him to the top of the mountain so they can zoom back down. I’m glad he choses to focus on the positive things and now dwell on something that could be frightening or upsetting.
He’s a pretty reasonable, practical kid. Oh, and amazing!

I love having quiet days with the boy. The two of us seem to share the same sensibility about weekends and rainy days.