So we're back and for all of you Notorious BIG fans, just like he says in one of his songs about Cali, we spent the day "Going, going, back, back, to Philly, Philly." We have a small, decorative chalk board on our wall in the kitchen and have had our Philly Countdown on it and the day finally arrived. We knew we would be making trips back to Philly for follow up appointments for KJ every six months or so for the first few years so that we could use go through their Spina Bifida Clinic (more to come on that soon) and to allow the medical team at CHOP to do some follow up and keep "stats" on her to use for their record keeping....remember, the surgery Shawna/KJ has is still a rather new medical procedure so tracking the patients and the results is something very important to the doctors. Shawna had originally planned to make this a girls weekend, with just her and KJ coming out on a quick 1-2 day trip but one-by-one, the boys joined in.
The timing of the trip was close to perfect as the medical team likes to see their patients at about the 6 month mark. Well, we're a little behind that, but we also saw that this Sunday was the fetal surgery reunion that CHOP hosts every year and this year was the 20th anniversary. They take a group picture every year and those pics hang in the hospital. We've seen them all and it's amazing how the group has grown from having the reunion in one small room to now, having a full out party/carnival/fair.....lets just say I think it will be like a Crazy Bounce on steroids!!! The Carlson Clan expanded from just KJ and Shawna coming out as I wanted to join the ladies to stay up to snuff with all of KJ's medical appointments/progress/updates. So, for about a month we were planning on heading out, the three of us, until Peyton, our nosy little child who is at the age where he listens to EVERYTHING we talk about and asks about EVERYTHING we're talking about, overheard Shawna talking on the phone about coming back out to Philadelphia and automatically assumed he was invited. We couldn't tell him no as he and Myles think Philadelphia is their second home and still talk about everything we did out here over the past year all the time! So, the group expanded to the four of us and when we sort of (pretty much did) give/push out our dog, Jade, to Shawna's parents (well, I think more or less John took her in when we mentioned we may put her up for adoption and I'm sure Janet is thrilled to have a dog, now, for good just as their about to break ground on a new house and have brand new carpet for a muddy dog to ruin....sorry Janet, plan on us paying for carpet cleanings for you a few times a year), there was then no one available to stay at home with Myles so we thought it best to bring him as well!!
The trip started out very well and right on-time as we planned for and made a 6:30am departure from Zeeland. Both boys were overly excited so getting them out of bed and into the car was no problem at all. A full tank of gas and a few cups of coffee along with donuts got us all started on the road....unfortunately as our van gas tank emptied as we drove, my gas tank filled up and we made our first pit stop all of 35 minutes into the trip.....at Lowell! Hey, a man's gotta go when a man's gotta go, right? Back me up, gents. It was either that or kill my family by fumigating the van with bodily odors.
From there we did make some pretty good headway, well into Ohio for lunch at one of their great rest areas along the turnpike. While discussing the turnpike, I think we should have a sign on the side of it or at one of the rest areas thanking Kierstyn Joy Carlson for all of the contributions made on the tolls from people traveling out to Philadelphia on her behalf. We really appreciated the smooth, well-kept highways today, though, as Peyton needed a potty badly and we weren't ready to stop so he made his initial "pee in a bottle in a moving vehicle"procedure. C'mon, we've all got a great story to tell about urinating in a vehicle, don't we (Mom and Dad, remember our trip out west...and the Coke can Dad thought I WOULDN'T overflow.....Aldrich, remember driving with Kopas to Salem, Virginia....and the stories could go on forever!!!). But Peyton pulled it off without spilling a drip! Flawless....such a proud father. We did finally get some lunch.
1) It's funny the little things we remember from the numerous trips this past year, back and forth from Zeeland to Philly and from previous trips to Pennsylvania to visit Chad and Kath when they lived in State College and Altoona. For example, the skyscraper Shawna swears she sees every time we cross the Cuyahoga River? Hmmmmmm......
2) I always thought it was just me being a dad and feeding my kids anything at any time of day to keep them happy while on our road trips together but even Shawna was opening up a bag of Skittles for the boys at about 9:30am....I do recall thinking those road trips were just "survive and advance."
3) Uneventful in the fact that the kiddos were road warriors, once again, up until we hopped back in the van after a pitstop and no naps had been taken. Peyton decided that the surprise from "Mom's Bag of Surprises" was one he didn't like and it, along with stuffed animals, empty Capri Suns, and anything else he could get his hands on came flying at the back of our heads, nearly decapitating us! Simoltaniously, Myles was losing it as he had just fallen asleep and was awoken from his slumber at the previous pit stop and wanted to watch a specific DVD that mean mommy and daddy weren't going to allow (we didn't think Animal House was appropriate as my dad did for Chad and I at about the same age....I think he slept on the couch for a few nights once Mom found out about that). Kierstyn also decided to then cry the last 2 hours or so, but as most of you parents know, after 1 kid, the crying and screaming of a second or third can sometimes just become white noise.....so we survived, and it really wasn't that bad. We also found out what is possible to do with a vehicle that has it's air-conditioning stop working....most people would sell it, but not so fast my friends.....
Well, the real reason for the trip is to get check-ups for Kierstyn and see some of the people and places that made our journey this past fall a truly positive experience when we were dealt a hand of cards that we weren't prepared to handle on our own. I hadn't even thought about the emotions that would come back to us as we approached Philly, but when we did get close, and the skyscrapers came into view, and familiar exits passed, the excitement in the boys voices brought on some feelings I was not expecting to have. I/we truly missed Philly and all that it did for us and made us feel at home in our greatest time of need as a family.
We're looking forward to the next few days in our favorite "big" city and revisiting many of the places that we thought we may never want to see again, dreading having to be away from home (at least for Shawna for 3 months), "stuck" in Philadelphia, but have more than missed since our departure December 6th.
I add this thought in here that, while I type out all of this about Philadelphia, so many of you know exactly what and where I'm talking about as so many of you made sacrifices for us and came out to see us while we were out here and got to experience this great city for yourselves....we can't thank you all enough (and to those of you who gave in some way, shape, or form to allow for others to make the trek out).
We'll keep you updated the next few days as we enjoy the city and anxiously await our appointments on Wednesday.
CHOOSING JOY with ease.....from Cherry Hill/Philadelphia
-Jeff
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