One Month Left....July 24, 2016

Okay, I know I just said that I am okay with my children going away to  college, but Anna is an exception to all those rules, and it doesn't mean I can't be really sad while I am being okay with it.

Our trip to Boston College--July 17-July 19, 2016

Anna and I left on Sunday, at 6:30 am to drive to Boston for Anna's college Orientation.   We arrived at noon, signed in, and then walked around the campus a little.   Here are some photos:

Nothing makes me tear up more than seeing my child standing next to a brick wall with her college name emblazoned on it.....

Until we noticed the dead bird at the emblazoned sign....was kind of hoping that someone would clean that up...

Back to being happy...here she is... The Class of 2020!

And, of course, I had to go see the Doug Flutie statue...

The program started on Sunday at 4 pm, at which time Anna and all the other kids left their parents, and re-joined us on Tuesday, at 4 pm.   We didn't see them again.  So, I was alone in Boston for 48 hours just waiting for her to be done with her Orientation.

I want to be clear---there were programs for the parents for parts of the day on Monday and Tuesday, which is why I assumed I would be attending those programs, and I would be fine being by myself in the hotel while she stayed in the dorm.  Initially, we were all supposed to go, and it was going to be a really great family vacation.  And then Chris had a stroke, and needs to get better, so that plan was changed, and I was on my own in Boston.

I really thought I would attend those parent sessions, because I usually don't mind that kind of thing.  In fact, I love those kind of things.   That is, until I saw the names of some of the sessions, including one that was called "Okay, I Raised you...and Now you are going to Leave Me??"   As much as I love every moment with my children,   I really am okay, kind of, with them going away...it is what kids are supposed to do.  I don't put any limits to where they can go to college, or how far they can go.   Really, for my kids, they can apply anywhere in the US.  I guess that is my only limit.    I accept (for the most part) that my children have to go away to college.  It is good for them.

So, I am not really into attending a program with that title....it just screams needy parent.

Instead, I stayed by myself in the Marriott, and made lots of friends.   For Anna, it was great.  For me, not so great.

40 Days...July 15, 2016

Anna leaves for college in 40 days.  It wasn't until I was teaching CCD that I realized the biblical significance of 40 days.   Lots of events in the Bible happen in 40 days.  The main one I remembered as a  child, was Noah was on his arc for 40 days.   But then I realized that Lent lasts 40 days, etc, etc.

So, Anna leaves for school in 40 days.   That is going to be a sad day.

Chick Fil A Day--July 2016

I haven't really bothered to post about this year's Chick Fil A day, because it wasn't all that much fun this year.   Chick Fil A changed the policy this year, so that now, no matter what you were wearing, you only got a free entree.    Before,  if you were dressed from "head to hoof" as a cow, you would get a free meal.

So, this year, it just was a lot less fun.  People were just putting on a set of cow ears (which my favorite  but   store was handing out), and getting a free entree.  Which is great for them, but for those of us who were dressing up in full cow costumes, it just seemed like a lot less fun.   In the past (see post here) we would get dressed up in a full costume, and it was really fun, and we shared our costumes with other costumers (just noticed the similarity between costume and costumers....),  but this year, it just wasn't as much fun.  It just was anti-climatic.  Oh well...we did get our free sandwiches, but I wouldn't knock myself to do this again.  

Happy 4th of July--Independence Day, 2016--July 4, 2016!

I think this is our 20th year of celebrating the 4th of July by going to the McKinley 4th of July Parade.   This year, we only had one person still biking the course, but it was really nice to be able to talk to people, and to not have to worry about if someone was getting run over by a car, or was about to get lost.  

After that, we started to prepare for our 4th of July barbecue.  To be honest, this is something I have wanted to do for years, but Chris is never all that interested, and I am usually willing to just go along.  But last year, I heard about all these people who really didn't have any plans for the 4th, so this year, I decided to have a little barbecue, with just a few families.

Our Trip to the Constitution Center--July 2, 2016

So, we were wondering what to do today, when I noticed that part of Wawa Welcome America's festivities included a free day at the Philadelphia Constitution Center, and so I organized the family, and we decided to go.   Here are some photos:

Ten Year's Ago Today, July 1, 2006--Timmy gets stitches--July 1, 2016

I was sitting with Timmy this morning, and I noticed the scar he has on his forearm.   I suddenly realized that it was 10 years ago today,  on July 1, 2006, that Timmy got that scar.   So, here is that story, so Timmy's children know why their father has a big scar.  

That morning, I had  only four children.  Jack was 10, Anna was 8, Timmy was 6, and Matthew was 4.   I was expecting Lily. It was about 8:45, and I was rushing to get people out the door.    Jack was going to golf camp, Anna, Timmy, and Matthew were going to a vacation bible camp at St. Mark's.  I think they were having fun.   Then,  I heard a pop--glass was broken.  I was in the kitchen, and I walked to the front, and Timmy had just popped out the glass in this piece of furniture we call the "ugly maroon thing."   His arm and hand went through the glass, and his arm was cut deep.

Instinctively, I threw a clean towel over it, not to apply pressure to it, like I should have, but because I didn't want him to see it.  If Timmy saw it, he would flip out.  I remember that this was the time, at least in our family, where we had big old cell phones, and mine was not charged--I really didn't use it all that much. I got it charged for about 3 minutes, as I rushed everyone out the door, and I had someone grab Timmy's shoes.   

Within 6 minutes, I had dropped all those children off at their camps, as we were on the way to the pediatrician/hospital (this became an issue later....I did not delay his arrival at the pediatrician by dropping off those three, and most importantly, I was 6 months enormously pregnant with Lily, and I really needed to get  rid of them before I could deal with Timmy.)

On the way up to the hospital, I decided I would stop by our pediatrician, which is located across the street, basically, from the hospital.  I wasn't sure if he needed the ER, or maybe just to be seen by the pediatrician.  But, I knew Timmy, so I kept him occupied, talking to him about other things.  He just kept on asking me "Am I going to die?", which I acted like I thought was absurd, but I also was wondering if he was losing blood...the cut looked really deep to me.  I kept on telling him to keep the towel on the cut, again,  not because I was applying pressure, but because I didn't want him to see the cut.

When we got to the pediatrician, I carried him into the office, and just basically told them I needed to be seen immediately.  I think it was a Friday morning, because it was pretty quiet.  As soon as we got into a room,  Dr. Higgins came in, looked at it, and said, yes, Timmy needed to go to the hospital, and that he would notify the hospital that he was on his way.   In doing so, Dr. Higgins took off the towel, Timmy looked at it, and as soon as Dr. Higgins left, Timmy went over, in a heap, passed out cold.

I tried to revive him, but I did start to panic "is there any chance he has such blood loss, that he is bleeding out?"  I think ER was popular at that point, and people were always bleeding out.

He was revived fairly quickly, and then I called Chris, told him to come meet us, because I simply couldn't carry Timmy anymore.  

Once we got to the ER, they took Timmy right back, and what I remember is that they told him he could scream loudly when they gave him the novacaine so that the stitches wouldn't hurt, and that while he told me he didn't need to scream loudly, that he was told he could scream loudly, so he did.    

Ten years later, that big scar is just a little scar....but it is still one of my favorite stories.  Mostly, because as I stand here remembering this story now, I am struck by how this is when Timmy was just one of the crowd, and I don't remember spending all that much time with him alone, like we did in the ER that day.