I'll just preface this blog with the fact that our stay at Holiday Inn Cherry Hill has been great with all of its comforts and amenities but the internet here is slower than our boys willingness to go to bed. So, there will be no pictures as a result as it takes FOREVER for them to download off of emails and onto our computers.
Well, our first full day with the boys here was tremendous, although I was extra tired this morning and really sore. Myles chose to sleep in bed with me last night which I couldn't turn down and I can't imagine there is anyone else on the face of this earth that demands more bed space and kicks more than he does. I had to turn my back to him to get him to sleep as I was getting a facial exam from him and then in his sleep his knees were needling my back all night while his legs kicked and kicked. I was also allotted about one fifth of the bed. All things considered, I guess I got more sleep than should have been expected. Guess who is laying next to me right now....great!
We had quite the spread for breakfast after making a shopping trip across the street to Weighmans Grocery Store. Muffins, bagels, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, etc. Fortunately the hotel accommodated us with conjoining rooms so space isn't too much of an issue and that gives us access to two fridges...college dorm size. I knew that would be plenty of room as my friends and roommates were always able to fit PLENTY of goodies in those fridges!!
Janet did purchase a few, oh how do I put it....loosening products for Shawna to keep her on the path to bowel normalcy. Prune juice, pear juice, pears, etc. Besides that, she (Shawna) is feeling better and better each day. Still not too quick on her feet like her libero days at Hope, but she'll be diving around in no time or at least after this kiddo decides it wants to face the world and battle with it's two older siblings.
I think we've spent more time in the hotels two pools than we have out of them. Peyton is becoming a fish while Myles just follows suit. They were nice enough to get out for a lunch break and nap while my Northwestern Wildcats took down the heavily favored Stanford Cardinal. I'm just glad that I'm not the one who has to keep my body relaxed as much as possible because if I was pregnant today during that game, my anxiety level would have put me into labor. So, officially, our new baby is 1-0 for it's Wildcat career. Let's keep that going. I know it hasn't been born yet, but the nurses were telling us that many of the spina bifida families that opt for the surgery we had celebrate the child's "butt birthday" as it's butt or backside has been exposed and born, in a sense.
Another count your blessings moment came again tonight while spending our 3rd session in the pool. After taking the boys swimming in the afternoon and playing monkey in the middle for about two hours in the pool (rumor has it that John had to be the monkey the WHOLE time which left him laid up in bed for a good half an hour complaining of not feeling good and dizziness...remember this is with his daughter laying on bed rest in the room next door who just got her midsection ripped open and due to meds can hardly poop and felt like throwing up for about 3 days straight...not a whole lot of sympathy coming from her) John and Janet took a more than well-deserved evening out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory just across the street (not going to be good if we have to move back into this hotel for any extended period of time as I tried the Red Velvet Cheesecake they brought back to the hotel and it was unbelievable...for those of you that may not know, Red Velvet cake is a staple in the Carlson family since it's introduction from an old girlfriend of my dad's), the boys and I were splashing around when in came in a middle aged couple with their daughter, Brittany. Brittany, from my estimate, was of early high school age and was completely wheel chair bound. They wheeled her into the pool and carried her out and in to the pool. Brittany had some obvious cognitive impairments to go along with her severe physical impairments. The family is on a vacation from Syracuse, NY and took her to the ocean for the first time in her life today. She was almost shaking with excitement when she was telling me about it. We all stayed in the pool while I was able to watch my 4 year swim on his own with a few other kids and hold my 2 year old who will be swimming on his own VERY soon while Brittany's dad did the same thing with her and has no hopes for her ever to be swimming on her own. All things were, once again, put back into perspective for me. Her parents will never be able to enjoy watching her swim on her own or make the same "awesome job swimming, Peyton" comments that I was making.
I also ran into another CHOP family in the laundry room of the hotel. In conversation with a mom and her two daughters, I figured they were long term hotelers if they were in need of doing laundry. So, trying not to prod, I asked if they were here on vacation. The mother told me know and that they were here for a hospital visit and that they were with CHOP. So, we exchanged stories and it turns out her daughter has a very serious issue with something in her neck and she was admitted to CHOP for a surgery on it. Her daughter showed me where the surgery was done on her neck. They were awaiting results from the surgery to see if the medical issue had been taken care of. I could tell it was stressful time for the family. The fatigue and concern showed on the mothers face.
So we keep having our eyes opened on the trip, journey, odyssey, adventure...whatever this is. Another day here in Philly makes it feel like we are inching back to normalcy as the new normal is nothing normal at all. We've come to fly by the seat of our pants and roll with the punches and that is normal now. I think the boys have started to adjust to their 3 month vacation from normalcy. Each day and week will bring more of it.
The chaos that could be the road trip back home on Monday with John, the boys, and me will get the boys back to Ms. Jen's house for daycare, me back to school to begin the school year, and Shawna moved into our new digs for the month of September where she can call home with Janet the Bra or Jeff the Jcckstrap.
Did I mention that Northwestern beat Stanford today (as soon as the game was done I needed to quickly pop across the street to pick some essentials up and although it was about a 2 minutes walk, I definitely drove my car around for about 10 minutes with my purple Northwestern window flag flying proudly!!).
We're hoping for some good sleep tonight, although I'm a little pessimistic as Myles is in bed with me again tonight and there is a huge music festival going on in Philly today and tonight with eight stages of music playing which brought quite the crowd of Jersey Shore-like early twenty somethings to the hotel. As of about noon, they and their unique ways of living were walking the hotel hallways with adult beverages so I'm sure their noise levels will be very kid sleeping friendly when they all arrive back at the hotel tonight....I can't wait. Shoot, if they wake us up at the wee hours of the night, I've already planned track practice with the boys in the hallways of the hotel for 5am and it won't be quiet!!!
Signing off from Cherry Hill, New Jersey while still....
CHOOSING JOY
-Jeff
We are excited to see the boys again! Still sending lots of prayers.
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