This is the post I was originally going to write yesterday, a post that betrays my inner Pollyanna and attempts to alleviate the recent somber mood of this blog. It’s important to take stock and count our blessings when everything seems to be going wrong. But the opportunity to put Jade on the ketogenic diet a month early was a better restorative than any pondering of good fortune. I was practically myself today, able to work and not bursting into tears any time someone asked me how I was doing.
Anyway, here are some of the things that I am GLAD for these days (in no particular order):
On our date last Saturday. Yeah, we needed a break.
1. My hubby. We’ve been together for over 10 years now, and we’ve had our ups and downs, but when push comes to shove, he is an absolute rock. He’s been the one spending uncomfortable nights in the hospital with Jade and travelling with her for her appointments. He always manages to find new games to play with Jade when I’m out of ideas, and she absolutely adores him. The last time he was out of town for a week, she asked for him every single day.
2. My family. My parents live in Germany, Michael’s parents and sister are in Ottawa, and my sister is in Vancouver, but everyone manages to support us emotionally through phone calls, Skype video calls, IMs, Facebook, and e-mails. It may seem like a small thing, but hearing Michael’s mom say, “You guys are amazing,” or my mom say, “You are so special,” is amazingly uplifting.
Having Tim living with us has been a huge blessing. Particularly because all the rest of our family is so far away, it’s been wonderful to have Jade’s uncle and godfather right here. Jade calls him “my Kim” and she wants him to pick her up whenever he comes in the door; I can’t think of a better way to illustrate how much she loves him.
3. Friends. We have friends who are willing to listen to us unload our troubles without ever reproaching us for talking too much about ourselves. Some friends have offered us food, offered to look after our animals when we go away, even offered to come watch Jade to allow us some time to get away.
Last Saturday, our friend Linda, who is an angel on earth, phoned up and insisted on coming over that afternoon to give us a few hours off. She instantly understood all about the seizure log, didn’t bat an eyelash at the lesson on using rescue medication, and was just so obviously comfortable with Jade and Jade’s seizures that we never had even a moment’s worry when we headed out the door. I actually started a blog post about her that very evening, but I didn’t get to finish it and that night was such a bad one for Jade that I didn’t have the heart to finish it next day. But boy, did it ever feel good to go out with Michael for just two hours and have a bit of a date like a normal couple.
Mmmm, apple streusel
Belly at 36 weeks. On our date outside the Yukon Artists @ Work Gallery.
4. My laptop. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I am sooooo happy to finally have my laptop back, thanks to Ryan. (E-mail! Blog entries whenever I want! By blog reader!) It’s re-Vistafied (because apparently it was impossible to downgrade the BIOS to one that could run XP) but it is working much better so far. Despite the fact that the thing was basically a corpse when he got it, Ryan wouldn’t let me pay him for the time it took to get it working again. (But I’m not going to let him get away with it…)
Jade's teeth at 32-ish months
5. Jade’s new molars. Even though they may have contributed to the recent bad time Jade’s been having with her seizures, I’m so glad her last molars are finally coming in so that we can get this darned teething thing over and done with at last. Jade’s teeth have all be slow to erupt (with her first one coming at age 15 months!) and the last time she had any teeth come in was in March.
6. Great kids. When we do see her come out of her medicated fog, Jade is such a happy and loving child. She delights in meeting people, and she isn’t shy to join in on games wherever she goes. She truly makes the best of things.
Nugget has been great, too. I sure haven’t been spending a lot of time worrying about him/her, with all the worries we’ve had about Jade, and s/he’s been so accommodating by kicking lots to let me know s/he’s doing well, getting into place so that I don’t have to worry about a breech birth, and not being resentful of having so few pictures taken of him/her while in utero.
Jade happy in her helmet
7. You. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you share our joy and our burdens. Your comments, words of encouragement, prayers, and offers of help are such a blessing and really fortify us in our time of need. Thanks for being there for us.
