Summer goes by so quickly. I have little time I can sit to put my thoughts down. Even now, it is the middle of the night and that is why I have a moment to myself. It's hard to remember already what has happened with our summer.
In the beginning of June, my little boy (my baby still just barely) got a cold bug and ended up struggling to breathe. He'd had some wheezing and coughing before then, but this was up with him all night, worried about him kind of breathing. I'm always worried that I'm being too worried about my children. Another even worse cold he had had back in January, I was really worried about him, and I took him in and the doctor said he was just fine, that it was just a hard cold or RSV, that I'd just need to stay up with him. This time, however, (in June) I took him to the doctor and she wanted him transferred to the hospital. He got oral steroids and nebulizer treatments and a little oxygen and was out in 24 hours. This happened again less than a month later. This time I had taken him to the ER. They kept him for observation in the hospital for 24 hours. And, really, about once a month, since January he has gotten a cold and every one has been characterized by coughing and increased breathing difficulty. That second visit to the ER was right around the end of June.
Then on the 3rd of July, my third and littlest girl (3 years old), climbed on a ball and fell off and whacked her hand. She ended up having a broken arm, which we got treated on the 4th and casted about a week later.
With my step-daughter coming on the 5th, and also because of the increased pressure on our household from medical visits, we postponed our 4th of July celebration until a few days later.
Recently, my son got into see the Allergist and now he is on two Nebulizer treatments a day of nebulized steroids. This is to calm down his lungs so when he has a cold, it doesn't spiral quickly out of control. Also, now we have the actual treatment in nebulizer too for when he gets a cold. Allergies are unusual in a child so small, but all the same he will get allergy tested in August, after his system calms down.
Since mid-June, but especially since a little after the 5th, I've also been affected a lot by my asthma. It's frustrating because when I went to the doctor, I was better that day. Plus, any time I go to the doctor, I get revved up (adrenalin) and I go in an almost perfectly filtered environment and my asthma symptoms clear up. Plus, sometimes I think I'm having trouble breathing and am totally tight in my upper airways, but without hardly a wheeze. The doctor said he believed me and put me on Prednisone, but I think I'm actually doing worse since then. I don't think I'm doing worse because of the medication plan, but just because of the crazy grass pollen. We are going on vacation soon and I'm hoping the pollen counts are lower where we are going. So, the last week or two I've been avoiding too much outdoor exposure and have been needing to medicate myself a lot. I also seemed to have an allergic reaction to some food I ate that made things a little worse. I think I'm more sensitive when I've had so much exposure to grass this year. Our year has been one of constant rain with sun in between and the grass is just growing crazy.
I also took my older two girls to an Allergist. It turns out my oldest girl (10) has now developed an allergy to grass. She was already allergic to dust mites, but that's more of a winter thing. Her allergies aren't a big deal, just a little sneezing mostly right now. My middle daughter (7) is allergic to quite a few things. Dust mites, grass, weeds, late trees, wheat, and oranges. It's horrible for her when she goes out in the grass...sneezing, red nose, red eyes, blotchy skin. But, thankfully no asthma.
Last week my older two girls (but not my step-daughter, she was too old), got to participate in Vacation Bible School. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and seemed to only have positive memories.
This week I've been doing errands getting ready for vacation and have also gotten together with some friends. One friend gave me some pointers on sewing while our kids played. Another I met at a park. It was so nice. I have a couple of other friends, I've been trying to get together with that hopefully I will be able to do so as the summer progresses.
An old friend from the Seattle area, had her daughter graduate from Highschool and she is getting married shortly. She is one of those girls that is mature beyond her years and I have confidence that she will do fine being married so young. Her mom and I were roommates and very good friends and I knew her little, but not as much since I moved to marry my husband. She isn't having a public wedding because her fiance is in the military and it was too much pressure because the military couldn't finalize his military leave with any predictability. I am sad but happy.
This summer has been typical in it's pattern, but eye opening when it comes to my step-daughter. She has been in Middle School one year now. Also, her Mom has given her internet access in her room, e-mail, and a cell phone with texting. Her Mom wanted her to use her cell phone a lot when she was with us. There is some difficulty having her settle in to being with us with her checking back in with her other house and with her other siblings regularly. On vacation we are going to have her leave her cell phone back. But, because she is more able bodied and more responsible than the past, I thought this summer would be more emotionally easy. Yet, it is really typical. When she is with us for a weekend or even a week, she is able to hide what she really thinks. Not so in the summer. So, it has been a constant comparison about how things are done differently between the two houses, and also how she is now used to doing such and such at school. Even the friends she has at school that she thinks are Christians (which she calls her best friends and says she tells all her secrets to), aren't necessarily all in when it comes to following Christ. Not that they have been horrible influences so far, but it seems some are dating (in 6th grade) and some are trying to get her to listen to more secular music. So, it's nothing horrible, but it's just draining.
The concept of authority is really being stretched. At 12 going on 13, she wants to be in charge of herself. There are a 100 other examples, but one is that I do the packing of the children's clothes for camping, and she says, "at my other house, we do our own packing." No big deal of a statement, but I probably here something like that 20 times a day. "At my other house, I walk to the store." "At my other house, I don't do any chores." "At my other house, my brother listens to me and says I'm in charge." "They only do this (unfair thing) at my other house." "They won't do that with me at my other house." "At my other house, I think they are going on a special trip."
Oh, to just live in the moment and have her appreciate what I do with her (like sewing, knitting, gardening, walking, etc.) and NOT to compare herself to her siblings here and want everything I do with her, plus everything I do with her siblings here, plus everything she "gets" to do over at her other house, plus not the responsibility we give her here. Oh, that she would get thankfulness, and God working on the story of her life, and using every circumstance for her benefit, as she serves Him.
