Chatter Boxes

Our at-home-summer-schedule includes some down time in the afternoon.  Sleep is not required but quiet time alone is.

Colin doesn't like it when it's his turn to have quiet time in the basement.  Something about the fear of bugs (though I don't think there's more down there than other places and never mind that he collects them outside).

He wandered up and down the stairs one afternoon, getting more things to keep himself occupied and when I finally put a stop to the stalling maneuvers he camped out at the top of the stairs.  I was fine with it as long as he stayed quiet.

He stayed quiet indeed.  So quiet that one might think he had fallen asleep...


...because that's exactly what happened.

He slept another 30 minutes in this spot while that comfy snuggle spot below lay wasted.

Prepped and ready

Seth is having surgery today on his ear.  It's a surgery we knew he would need shortly after he came home.

We're sitting in the waiting room a little anxious but confident in the doctors and staff.

I've passed the time reading the magazines I brought from home.  John is watching 24. Now I'm people-watching.

Some thoughts...

1.  Prayer is common.  The people in this room are obviously different from one another.  But more than a few times I'm overheard phone calls and conversations asking for prayer or thanking people for praying.  It warms my heart.   Some are more churchy than others and we probably aren't praying to the same God.  But behind every prayer is hope.  And hope is powerful.

2.  Perspective is a gift.  We're here for outpatient surgery.  Seth's surgery is not overly complicated but it's not routine either.  No surgery would be better but things could definitely be worse.  We are thankful to have hospitals and professionals nearby who can fix him.  That's not the case for many and hasn't always been the case for Seth.

There's a little girl who checked in shortly after Seth who has severe autism.  Her parents are patient and attentive but I can tell they are also tired.  The few hours John and I sit here anxious and a little antsy while Seth is in surgery, may be the most peaceful hours these parents have had in a while.  I've prayed for them this morning (and those like them) more than I've prayed for Seth (thanks to all the people who ARE praying for Seth today).

3.  While not as touching or profound as the thoughts above the fact remains that I do not like cartoons.  The Disney Channel is on in the waiting room and as of this moment there is no one here under the age of 18.  The characters voices are squeaky and more often than not they are whining about something.  I'm thinking of facilitating a group vote on changing the channel or turning the TV off. It probably won't happen.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers today.  We'll give an update when we know more.

Update:  Surgery went well.  We'll stay at the hospital for observation to make sure all is well.   Hopefully we'll be home by dinner time.

After a quick nap he requested french fries and wanted to watch the World Cup.  I think he'll be okay.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a fun day.  Go Royals!