Well, as you all can imagine it has been a busy few days since our family started out on our, what we plan on it being, our schedule for the next few months. Shawna has been spending the week at our new digs in Haverford with Janet and I have been back in Zeeland with the boys. There has not been much to report over the last few days but we hope to have a baby update tomorrow.
Part of the regiment for post-op scheduling is a weekly appointment at CHOP with ultrasounds and other checks on Shawna and the baby. If the docs seem to think their is a problem at all they would be likely to admit Shawna to the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy, which may not be the best situation but, as we found out, the care their is second to none and....drum roll please....gave me some great material to blog with!!!
So I'll do an update for all of you on the state of affairs of the Carlson's individually, starting from youngest to oldest:
Myles: He was pumped to get back to Miss Jen's house on Tuesday and see all of his friends. We're getting the itch to get his little booty on the toilet to potty train and as you could see earlier in the week with his "accident" on the blanket of which he told me about, he's darn ready to be trained but just doesn't want to. We've learned to become patient with him on these developmental things, though, as he didn't walk until he was 18 months. Our doctor even confirmed with us her thoughts on that matter well before that that he was very capable of walking, just lazy! We have worried a bit about the boys and their ability to handle this whole situation and understand it but today proved to me that Myles is right in his normal ways. I had to wake him up from his afternoon catnap at 5:30 so we could go to dinner at Stein's house and when I checked on he and Peyton around 10:00pm tonight he was definitely instigating the tractor pull in the dark on the floor between the boys bed. Great, little sleep for the boys tonight, I guess. Sorry Grandma Sue (she's watching them tomorrow). This is after I thought they'd go down easily after running about 30 laps around the house while putting on a show for a few buddies that stopped over (I think every time Myles ran around the circle they make from living room to living room he'd sort of smile at Colton and shout, "Hey Colty!!").
Peyton: Also loved going back to Ms. Jen's and seeing all of his friends. He was a bit disappointed he couldn't play in her new sandbox because of the rain on Tuesday, but just a head's up Jen, usually when the two boys come inside after playing in our sandbox, one or both has a head and shoes full of sand. He is overly excited to fly on an airplane this weekend to Philadelphia. He's heard about Mommy's new house and really wants to see it (plus I slipped up and told him there is a pool in the backyard) and is already showing signs of disappointed that "do we HAVE to come back to our old house?" I don't quite know how much he does understand the situation but about twice each day he is asking questions about Mommy and the baby and that he hopes they feel better soon. It's almost as if he's got a 6th sense about him with this whole scenario, like he knows that if he can be more helpful at home and playing with Myles in a positive way (well, most of the time) makes my life much easier and allows me to do stuff around that house that, I had an idea Shawna took care of but never have realized the full extent of, need to get done in terms of daily upkeep. He's my assistant coach in this whole thing and doing a heckuva job!!
Me: Getting back to school has been a breath of fresh air and produced a sense of normalcy. It has been a great reminder to me of how blessed I am to work at a place like Zeeland. I cannot start to tell you all about the true compassion and care my coworkers and students have shown me over the past few days. It has only affirmed my belief even more about the fact that life is so much better and more fun when you are surrounded by great people. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for the individuals that I am honored to called my colleagues, coworkers, and friends. I miss Shawna terribly, so don't get me wrong or misinterpret my joy of being back in Zeeland, as being a single Dad the past few days has shown me truly how much she does for our family. I am able to spend a few days each week in the summer with our boys while Shawna works but she always is home by 5:30pm. Not any more. This whole experience has given me a greater appreciation for so many things, one of which is now more for single, full-time working, parents. I'm absolutely loving the time I am getting to spend with our boys but holy smokes, there is NO downtime until they go down to bed at (Shawna, please don't read this part...) 9:30ishpm. That's not because I let them stay up and dink around but because with al there is to do, that's as early I've been able to get them in bed. By then, having a beer to settle down doesn't even sound good as I'm exhausted and just want to get some sleep myself. Keep in mind, I haven't yet cooked a meal this week as our generous friends and family have either dropped off meals or had us over and Sue has watched the boys the past two days. Single parents...kudos to you.
Shawna: The real trooper for sure. Her and Janet, as previously mentioned, moved into a house so generously vacated for us in Haverford, PA for most of the month of September. She is making process but that's exactly what this whole thing is...a process. For any of you that know her she is not one to sit around and take life at a snails pace. So, the thought of bed rest and then actually doing it have not been easy. All seems to be going well but considering the severity of the surgery, the healing process is a long one and at times, very painful. We'll have more information on the healing of her and the baby tomorrow after he visit to CHOP. She's quickly becoming new besties with Kelly and Michael at 9am (personally, that was one of the highlights of my stay with Shawna in the hospital for a week....they're pretty entertaining for any of you that don't work mornings...or do work and have access to a tv). Her and Janet are crocheting together and by the looks of some photos, making some great progress. Her facetime sessions via cell phone with the boys each evening are also very entertaining to witness as the boys love to see and chat with their Hot Momma. John and I are also getting a bit worried as it sounds like the ladies are getting plenty of new ideas for home renovations or updates from the beautiful home their staying at. Looks like my honey-do list just may have become a full-time second job for the next few months!!!! Although feeling better, Shawna is still quite sore from the surgery and gets worn out pretty quickly from getting up to shower and use the facilities. Admittedly, it has made life a bit dull not being able to do much and needing long naps just to recover from the little movement she is able to do. This has made it much more bearable for her, though, to be out there, a bit isolated, with just Janet or me as her ability to entertain guests is probably still a few weeks off as the process calls for so much sitting and trying to relax for the time being.
Thanks, again, to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, cards, letters, emails, texts, gifts, and kind words and encouragement. We know we're not the first family to go through difficult situations and sure won't be the last but we cannot imagine families doing it without the community around them that we are blessed to have. We wish that all people could see from our eyes the generosity that we've been given. It is truly amazing.
Lastly, crazy story. Today, in my 2nd hour AP Government and Politics class, we were going around the room while taking attendance and I asked each student to, when their name was called, tell us their lucky number and why it was their lucky number. Sort of another get to know each other activity. I hadn't done it with my 1st hour class as it is a different course and we did a different exercise. No joke, but the first student I called on said her lucky number was .......37. I almost filled my pants. It wasn't a week or so ago that we were so focused on 37 but about how obscure a number that was that no one would ever have it as their lucky number but that we were going to be hoping and praying that the baby stays put until 37 weeks, giving it it's best chances for a normal life and sure enough, 37 is the lucky number of the first student I ask. Hopefully that is a sign of great things to come.
From Zeeland but wishing for Philadelphia
CHOOSING JOY
-Jeff
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