School just ended for Garrett, and he is now home with us all summer! I somehow, for the first time since he has been in school, feel excited about this summer. Garrett has made some huge strides lately, and because of those strides, having him with me is more of a joy than in the past. He can stick with me now better than ever, even wants to, sometimes to a fault. He seems to have very heightened anxiety about my whereabouts lately. If we are irrigating fields (which he could not tolerate at all last year due to safety concerns about him wandering into water, horror), he wants to walk with me, holding my shirt, but staying just in FRONT of me. Mind you, about half the time I am irrigating, my arms are full of pipes, tubes and sheet metal dams, so I cannot see exactly where Garrett is!! SO that's new and odd. He also has horrible phobia of ants and beetles, flies, and just any insect of spider, except the giant spiders in one of the Harry Potter movies, and then it is LOVE the spiders!!! The short of it is that Garrett now WANTS to be RIGHT WITH ME, which is also a HUGE comfort when we are in public, as it means he stays close and safe. This has never been the case before!
On the other hand, we are all out of routine here. For Addie and Ainslee, summer means only one lesson of math during weekdays, and their friends are free from school so available to play more. But for Garrett, the lack of routine is a wreck. My parents arrive for the summer on Friday. Grouchy comes home from an overseas work trip on Thursday. RaeAnn, Garrett's PCS worker and developmental therapist, will return to work with him tomorrow. But the lack of the usual school day routine wears on Garrett. Sundays are usually rough, and so we force a nap. But now he is four days past the non-schedule and it is worse. I think that my parents being in the bunkhouse will give Garrett more options and more of a ritual. I pray so, anyway!!!
Looks like I may have a part time teaching job in our little town in the fall! I am elated, and this came out of left field, but it is perfect. More on that in a later episode as things become official.
Pray with me for my high school friend, Heather, as he six year old son, Thomas J., died as a result of brain cancer last night. I have witnessed so many Mito kiddos leave the earth too soon, several cancer kiddos, and now another one. It is most amazing, though, how this family has encouraged the rest of the world in the Christian journey of sending Thomas to God so young. They have used Thomas' sickness to offer the hope of spiritual healing to others. So let's pray for their sorrow to be put into active worship and ministry and life-long change they wish to see in the world as they are already stepping forward to look to a future of helping families walking their same path. Please, please take time to pray for them. They will be needing the prayers for the rest of their lives. Things will never be the same. And another medical-mom has realized how gaping the hole is where her medically complex, precious child once occupied. Heartbreaking.
I hope this finds you with summer plans and relaxing schedules, YEAH, RIGHT!!!! Prayers for each of you reading this, and special prayers for Thomas J's family and friends.
Godspeed,
CL
