It's Been A While

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I last posted. Aside from the chaos that comes with work (and trying to finish a PhD for David), we've been enjoying summer. We're still mostly living in our COVID bubble until the boys can get vaccinated, but we're working our way toward some normalcy.

For example, AJ attended art in the park through the rec department. Although he was one of only 3 students who wore masks because it was outdoors, he had a great time creating some masterpieces. He's looking forward to beginner archery in a few weeks. We recognize that he's been so socially isolated that he needs some interactions to remember how to conduct himself appropriately in public. (Truth be told, don't we all?) He has a play date tomorrow morning with both his best friends, and he's over the moon about that. 

Our boys have managed a visit or two to their sitter's lake house. They're eagerly awaiting later this week when they get to spend the day there, boating on the pontoon, swimming and perhaps even trying the jet ski. Can you picture Teddy on one of those? The best part is that both sitters will actually be there - one on the clock and the other simply because it's her family's lake house - so there's an extra set of hands. (Have we mentioned how lucky we are with our adopted daughters, as we call them? They even signed Dave's Father's Day card.)

We spent the past week at our land. Although it's not our typical vacation of traveling to different national parks, it allows us to safely enjoy nature and still get some rest at night. Let's just say our vacation 3 years ago was the catalyst for us looking for land to enjoy nature in a way that didn't make us all cry. Don't get me wrong ... I cannot wait to try that type of vacation again next year, but our land offers us outdoors, memories and reasonable nights' sleep. 

In addition to many projects while Teddy rode on the Ranger, hung out with Grandma or took tractor rides with Grandpa, we made some family memories as well. One of our family traditions each June is something called a dairy breakfast, where you literally go eat breakfast at a farm and enjoy all things Wisconsin dairy (milk, cheese and ice cream) plus pancakes and sausage. Last year, we missed that opportunity because of COVID, but this year we found a drive-through dairy breakfast that allowed us to safely enjoy our tradition. AJ thought we scored the jackpot because we got 12 ice creams for the 6 people in the vehicle! 

This was at the start of our hike, when he was extremely excited.

We also headed to Effigy Mounds National Monument. We visited there last summer, but the visitor center was closed due to COVID. It's weird how incredibly excited I was to see actual park rangers again and go inside the visitor center. AJ completed the Junior Ranger program to earn his badge, and I assisted Teddy with his. 

We attempted a family hike, where Teddy started out strong. But then he flopped to the ground and was unwilling to move. So we loaded him on my back, where he protested that mode of transportation. Eventually Dave took him back to the parking lot while AJ and I continued on. AJ and I had just finished the loop part of our hike when we discovered Dave pushing Teddy up the 450-foot switchback incline at the start of the trail. So we all got to enjoy the mounds together before tackling the accessible trail. Teddy walked much of the accessible trail, pushing his chair. That's his favorite mode to travel actually as it provides him just a bit of balance and allows him to maintain his sprint speed.  

This is the ideal way for Teddy to hike, as long as the trail has railings to keep him focused.

Hiking with Teddy has definitely become more challenging as he's rather opinionated and not easy to move against his will. We're getting something in the upcoming weeks that should assist for moderately accessible trails. More to come on that in the near future.

All in all, it was a good week at the land with quality family time, plenty of outdoors and a few really memorable experiences. There's one more that I'll share in a future post to spread out the fun and not overwhelm with pictures. 

Sliding Their Way Into Summer

Our boys started their summer this week with so much fun this week. Their one sitter took them to visit their other sitter. They spent the day playing at a lake, splashing and swimming in the water to beat the incredible heat wave and even boating. 

I got texts of videos showing the fun they were having. My reply was, "I'm jealous. That looks way more fun than work, as long as you are in charge of Teddy and I'm just in charge of mojitos."

It's such a blessing to have not one, but two childcare providers who are an extension of our family, who choose to spend some of their downtime hanging out with our family. Extra hands are always helpful with Teddy, particularly around water. He got to hang out on a boat, which he loves, and he got to spend time with two of his favorite people. AJ is ecstatic any time he gets to go to the lake. 

We're blessed. Now I just need to find a day to take off and enjoy mojitos while I watch them wrangle the boys. 

Memories

Today we got a glimpse inside Teddy's mind, into his memories. Or at least, without him being able to vocalize his memories, we have a really good idea even if we can't confirm it.

He was at the park today with his sitter, and he was super excited to see an ambulance there as the paramedics enjoyed their lunch break. His excitement was noticeable enough that they kindly offered to let Teddy take a look inside. I always love when people go out of their way to brighten other peoples' days, doing little things that make all the difference in the moment. 

Teddy was excited about the opportunity to hop inside ... until he looked around and freaked out. He began vocalizing, backed out immediately, hopped into his chair, buckled himself in and scooted away backward. 

Teddy's taken two ambulance rides in his life. He was sedated and intubated for the first in 2017, as it was a transport from Oshkosh to Milwaukee. The second was in 2019 from a Disney resort to downtown Orlando. He became alert during that ride, after his rescue medication kicked in, when he realized he didn't want to be there. Dave was in the back with him, helping restrain him with the paramedics and trying to calm him. Me, I was in the front seat, staring at a lot of traffic in downtown Orlando and listening to the driver agitated with others on the road who wouldn't give us the space we needed. In fact, we missed the hospital exist because some dimwit wouldn't move over for us, so we couldn't get into the lane to exit. 

Needless to say it was traumatic for all of us. I've had moments that dragged me back to the past, like my first time in the ER with Teddy after that trip. But for the most part I'm able to leave the past in the past. Apparently, though, Teddy still has those memories in his little mind. What was supposed to be a fun little adventure to check out an ambulance instead was a trip down memory lane to a time that traumatized him as well. 

It made me want to hug him extra tight and whisk those memories away. However, since Teddy lives only in the moment, he was already well past that. I snuggled him anyways and chalked it up as a little insight into his mystery of a mind.

Crazy in Love

That's either a song title or a movie, isn't it? It's also how I feel about Teddy. Some days he drives me crazy, and other moments I'm crazy in love with him. Just tonight, he was riding with Dave to mow the lawn, and I was push mowing at the same time. He looked at me and grinned with his mega-watt smile, and I couldn't help but smile and appreciate the moment.

Now, I realize he was grinning at the lawn mower, not me. He loves lawn mowers. But I still got to see that gigantic smile and appreciate his joy for life. That boy lives life to the fullest and lives in the moment. The good things are oh so good and rewarded with giggles, laughter and smiles that make you smile. Someone recently commented that his dimples are so big that they're visible even when he's not smiling. If he makes it to old age, he will have the best smile lines because he does that so often.

Of course, when he's upset, you know it. He feels everything in the moment and lives in that moment. There's no reasoning about the fact that supper is almost ready if he's melted onto the floor miserable because he wants to eat now. In that circumstance, the best thing to do is lay right next to him on the floor and snuggle into him. When you make that effort to connect with him, he usually can peel himself off the floor and out of that moment. 

We've often said how much we wish we could know what goes on in his mind at any given moment. Teddy's great at communicating what he wants, but his actual thought processes are entirely a mystery. Just yesterday, I watched him place his notebook and pen high on a shelf that he normally doesn't set stuff on and then run into the other room. I have no idea what prompted those actions and often wonder about the little things like that.

No wondering here. He is mesmerized by the tractor.

This has been quite the rambling post, but it's been a long day and a long week (mostly at work, not so much at home). I'm grateful for the times Teddy takes away the stress of other things by helping me live in the moment. It's only fair that he does that since he so often is the source of stress for us.