A slippery slope to normal

Sometimes you come home from vacation and *WHAM* reality hits you in the head like a snowball.  Other times, not so much.  When we came home from our winter vacation last week we fully expected to return to our previously scheduled programming, including work for Jon, work for me, and classes for Calvin, but a few colds here and there, a few falls, and one ER visit later and we are still trying to get our feet under us.  I think it's mostly me, but the whole stitches under anesthesia bit really threw me for a loop; now every time Calvin goes running through the house I feel the urge to reach out and slow him down.  Of course, he's two and a half and if I expect him to nap in the afternoon that will never work, but I can't seem to stop that niggling fear of injury.  And thanks to the aforementioned stitches we had to skip Calvin's first swim class of the semester (thankfully toddlers heal quickly and we are back in business this week), plus Jon missed nearly a full day of work for that lovely afternoon at the hospital, so we've both been trying to get caught up on some of his projects, which has made for some late nights.  But a whole new week is now underway and things are healing up nicely (by the plural I mean both Calvin's nose and my nerves), we've completed our weekly projects and chores on time, and Calvin's semester of classes is now successfully underway.  Okay, normal, I'm ready.

The blink of an eye

That's all it takes to turn your day topsy turvy–the quiet afternoon you had planned, the dinner waiting to be cooked, the chores slated for finishing.  To be fair, for us it was longer than a blink, since I was reading my book during our usual afternoon quiet time when that moment occurred which sent us on a journey we knew awaited us one day but always hoped to avoid–that trip to the emergency room.  Thankfully our trip ended in nothing worse than 5 stitches (which you can't even see since they are in the fold of his nose) and that surrealistic feel brought on by spending eight hours in small rooms and long hallways with fluorescent lights only to emerge after darkness has fallen.  I'm sure all parents house in their minds flashbulb memories they regret, and it will take years, if not a lifetime, to erase this afternoon from my mind.  Individually it's not the copious amount of blood that bothered me, or the drawn out hours in the hospital room; It's not the heart wrenching time he spent doped up on Ketamine, and it's not as if our lives will be different beyond the week of wound care; what stays with me is that moment–that blink of an eye–when you hear the immediate cry of pain and know, in your gut, that this time it's not all right.  Although there is nothing I could have done, short of holding his hand as he walked to the bookcase to keep him from tripping and slamming his face into the nearby chest, I will always wish I could will it away.

We're back

Back from our internet hiatus and back from a fantastic vacation north to visit my Godmother, both of which we really enjoyed.  In years past our vacations have given us great blog fodder thanks to an abundance of youthful energy, but for some reason (could it be we are getting older, or is it just the toddler sapping all of our strength?) this year we relished an entire week of just lounging.  Really just lounging.  We spent a little time out on the town (we really love Petoskey), a little time cooking dinners (trying out our favorite recipes on family is always fun), and a little time playing in the snow, and all of it was fantastically relaxing and the perfect way to start the new year off right.

More pictures from the trip can be found in the Merry Christmas (2008) album.  Happy new year!

Hiatus for the holidays

We are taking an internet hiatus for the remainder of this festive season, but here are a few highlights from our Christmas celebrations and the pictures are up in the Merry Christmas 2008 album.  We hope you have safe and enjoyable celebrations, and we'll see you in the new year!

0 days, Merry Christmas