Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Unprecedented Silence and Snapshots

As you may have intuited by my unprecedented blogging silence, things have been busy around here. Holidays, the lack of preschool, and a three week long illness (requiring two courses of different antibiotics to conquer) pretty much eliminated all time and energy for blogging.

We had a lovely holiday. Although, to be honest, somehow it just all went by in a blur. The insanity began with planning for Michael's birthday in November and continued through Thanksgiving, packing for and going on a cruise with extended family, last minute Christmas preparation, and then Christmas. At least three weeks of that time I spent pitifully ill. (Now, to shine an accurate light on the situation, I pretty much only do "pitifully" ill. Either I'm slightly under the weather and muddle through ignoring minor symptoms, or things are serious enough that I get whiny. My husband tends to power through even major illnesses gracefully with some over the counter meds. I, on the other hand, figure that if I'm going to be miserable, I want some well-deserved sympathy. I do admire that man.)

Now that things are settling a bit, I'm glad to be back. Due to the aforementioned "blur" quality of the holidays, I'm left with memories that take the quality of photo snapshots rather than full-featured movies. _____

Ava's godfather got the children one of those cardboard playhouses for the holidays. One morning (while I slept in) my husband assembled the castle and let the children at it with paint. In the proper spirit of things, Ava put on her halloween costume. I came downstairs to this:



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Ava, nearing her fourth birthday, is amazing. She's snuggly, generous, kind and sweet, curious, verbal, and helpful. She also is reluctant to move much further away from me than a 2-3 foot radius. As much as I adore her, as much as she's actually acting like a little angel, she's driving me bonkers. We've all been together nonstop now for days and days and at least 80% of all her waking hours she's glued to my side.

I'll admit it. It was not my shining moment. Ava has a history of sensory issues. We benefited greatly from six months of OT to address those issues. She doesn't like noisy environments. Historically, every time I pull out the vacuum cleaner she disappears until the cleaning is finished. Although cleaning is not my first (second, third, tenth, fiftieth...) activity of choice I made a strategic decision. Vacuuming would get me 20 minutes to myself. Terrible, I know, but I was desperate.

Because karma wasn't in my favor, it didn't work this time. Ava gave me that pitiful "How could you mama?" look and sidled up to my side. I paused and looked down at her. She tentatively reached out her hand and grabbed the vacuum's handle - her hand next to mine. Then she mirrored every single step I took and "helped" me vacuum for the next 30 minutes. It took me twice as long to vacuum that room. And every second of it was spent with Ava glued to my side.

When we were done I let her try it by herself. I took a picture to commemorate the moment.



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We had snow. The children rushed into coats and ran outside as quickly as possible. After approximately 60 seconds of catching snowflakes on their tongues they were back inside stripping off coats and boots complaining of the cold.



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Michael has a significant Minecraft addiction. He's beginning to get a bit surly when asked to leave his computer and we've instituted a screen time limit. (Such a sad day for two geeky parents who -totally- get it.) Not five minutes after I had told Michael he had to stop playing for the day we got a delivery with a belated gift from his godfather. It was little tiled Minecraft magnets. Too funny. He instantly jumped at the opportunity to play minecraft with no screens involved.



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Here's one last good one... I was joking that I should just wear the pajamas I was still wearing at 11am to McDonalds for lunch. Ava helpfully agreed with me. At that point I began to explain that we didn't really wear our jammies out. Besides, I told her, I was missing certain parts of my wardrobe all together (socks, shoes, decently-brushed hair...) Michael was paying at least a little attention to our conversation. He chimed in with, "Mama, why don't you have your breast-holder-upper on?" --Lovely.

(No picture to accompany this one - for reasons, I hope, that are obvious.)



I hope you all had wonderful holidays and are having just the right amount of family time yourselves.

4 comments:

  1. I was able to overcome senile dementia via a complete naturopathic process.

    About two years ago, when I was 56, I started feeling foggy and had occasional memory lapses. My wife, Mary, started to notice it, too, but I also have hearing issues so she thought that was the problem. My memory problems worsened very gradually over the years, and we lived with it, compensating as needed. I became less social. After some months thereafter, it got to the point where we couldn’t keep making excuses or ignoring it. I had gone from doing our grocery shopping without a list to going with a list, to having the list but not buying what was on it.

    Mary went online to do some research, and it was during this process we had been fortunate enough to come across Dr. Utu Herbal Cure: an African herbalist and witch doctor whose professional works had majored on the eradication of certain viral conditions, especially dementia, ( improving the memory capacity positively), via a traditional, naturopathic process and distinguished diet plan. It was by the administration of this herbal specialist that I had been able to improve my condition for better. So to say, the encounter with the above-mentioned herbal practitioner was the first time we ever heard there was something that possibly can be done to improve my memory functionality.

    By the existence of such an encounter, I was able to learn of the new approach by which this herbalist successfully treated dementia conditions, which included a distinguished herbal therapy and lifestyle changes of which I had undergone to a tremendous, positive effect.
    It was after the completion of the herbal therapy I had started to experience a great deal of cognitive improvement when it came to rational decision making.

    In brief, I was able to go through the dreadful hollows of senile dementia without any further hazardous damage to my health condition, and within a short period. Had it not been for the support of my wife, of whom had encouraged me to undergo the above-mentioned therapy and that of the herbal practitioner of whom now happens to be benefactor - I would have been long exposed to the further perils of this condition and of which had been apt to result to a calamitous end.

    I would also wish for the same positiveness upon patients who may happen to be suffering from this debilitating disease, and would warmly beseech them to locate a confidant like this herbal specialist with whose professional services I was able to attain a divine healing.

    For additional information concerning this African traditional cure for Alzheimer's disease; feel free to reach Dr. Utu directly via email: drutuherbalcure@gmail.com

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  2. Hi, there. I am Tom Neil and I wish to describe how life had been for my younger brother living with schizophrenia and how he had been permanently able to overcome this debilitating disease via naturopathic, herbal means.

    Maicon - my kid brother was twenty years old when he was brought to the emergency room by the campus police of the college from which he had been suspended several months ago. A professor had called and reported that he had walked into his classroom, accused him of carrying his tuition money and refused to leave.

    Although he had much academic success as a teenager, his behavior had become increasingly odd during the past year. He quit seeing his friends and no longer seemed to care about his appearance or social quests. He began wearing the same clothes each day and seldom bathed. He lived with several family members but rarely spoke to any of them. When he did talk to them, he said he had found clues that his college was just a front for an organized crime operation. He had been suspended from college because of missing many classes. My sister said that she had often seen him mumbling quietly to himself and at times he seemed to be talking to people who were not there. He would emerge from my room and ask my family to be quiet even when they were not making any noise.

    My father and sister told the staff that Maicon's great-grandmother had had a serious illness and had lived for 30 years in a state hospital, which they believed was a mental hospital. Our mother left the family when Maicon was very young. She has been out of touch with us, and they thought she might have been treated for mental health problems.

    Maicon agreed to sign himself into the psychiatric unit for treatment. The whole family except I had agreed to have Maicon transferred to a mental asylum. I knew inwardly there was still some plausible means by which my kid brother could overcome this condition. I knew botanical means of treatment will be more favorable than any other type of treatment, and as such, I had taken a keen interest in the research of naturopathic alternative measures suitable for the treatment of schizophrenia. I had pleaded for some little patience from the family in the delay of the transfer, I was looking forward to proving a point to the entire family, of a positive botanical remedy for this condition.

    It was during my ceaseless search on the internet I had been fortunate enough to come across Dr. Utu Herbal Cure: an African herbalist and witch doctor whose professional works had majored on the eradication of certain viral conditions, especially schizophrenia, ( improving the memory capacity positively), via a traditional, naturopathic process and distinguished diet plan. It was by the administration of this herbal specialist that my brother had been able to improve his condition for better.

    Before the naturopathic remedy - Maicon's story had reflected a common case, in which a high-functioning young adult goes through a major decline in day-to-day skills. Although family and friends may feel this is a loss of the person they knew, the illness can be treated and a good outcome is possible.

    My brother Maicon is just like many other patients out there suffering from this disease. Although he was able to overcome this condition via a naturopathic herbal remedy administered by this African herbal physician and saved completely thus, rekindling the lost joy which had been experienced by the family members.

    I wish to use this opportunity to reach across to anyone who may happen to be diagnosed with this disastrous condition to spread the hope of an everlasting herbal remedy that is capable of imposing a permanent end to this disease.

    For more information concerning this naturopathic herbal remedy, feel free to contact this African herbal practitioner via email:
    drutuherbalcure@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. The personal anecdotes shared in "Unprecedented Silence and Snapshots" beautifully illustrate the significance of media digitization in preserving life's fleeting moments. Each memory, whether it's a holiday blur, a child's developmental milestones, or humorous family interactions, is precious. Digitizing these memories ensures they are not lost to time, allowing future generations to relive and appreciate these heartfelt experiences. Media digitization not only safeguards these snapshots but also makes them more accessible and enduring, turning ephemeral moments into lasting treasures.

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