rain on tulips

(please note that I do not suggest this as a standard approach)

We went to the scout meeting on Tuesday night, and had quite a time keeping the kids away from the pool until after the awards portion of the evening. As soon as the leader dismissed everyone to go enjoy the BBQ, all the kids made a bee-line for the water. DS was already stripped down to his suit by the time I turned around to see where he was!

Now, here’s the thing: I’m not a big water person. If I get into a pool, I mostly want to hang along the side and lounge, nothing more. Put my kids into the water and I’m a walking panic attack! Generally, Fuul goes into the water with the kids and I pace around the sides, making sure he sees everything. And hoping my kids don’t pick up on my paranoia. (Don’t know that either is very effective!)

Tuesday night, Fuul wasn’t feeling up to swimming, so he stayed out around the edges, as well, close to where GC was hanging on the ladder, and where DS was cruising around the shallow end. For the most part things were going smoothly, & everyone was having a good time.

And then that moment that my anxiety has been waiting for unfolded in slow motion before me…

DS moved along the side of the pool toward the ladder, which marked the point where the shallow end began to drop off to the deep end. I don’t think he knew that’s what lay ahead, but from my vantage along the edge, it was painfully clear the water deepened and darkened right there. As he reached the ladder, where GC was hanging, he stepped away from the edge of the pool… I think he meant to just move around her. He was still in the shallows.

I called out to him - “DS! What are you doing!? come back!” He looked up at me. Smiled. And one foot slipped back along the steep decline into the pool. His head dropped so his mouth was at water level. Then another slip back, & he was under to his eyes. And still slipping.

Everything went quick then… Fuul saw him go at almost the same moment I did, and yelled out for someone to grab him. For a split second, it didn’t look like anyone heard him….

And then JS — not a stunning swimmer in his own right, but doing ok — paddled up behind DS (who by this time was completely submerged) and grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him toward the shallow end again. As is typical in most near-drowning incidences, DS panicked and pulled JS under a couple of times, but they wound up near enough to the edge for Fuul & another adult to grab hold of both of them and pull them to the side. A moment before, I felt Fuul tense, ready to jump in after them both. I’m glad he was ready, & equally glad it didn’t come to that.

JS took a couple moments to catch his breath and realize what he had done. What a boost to his self-esteem to have saved his brother’s life. I’m glad — so glad — he got that effect… and so wish he could have done it without causing me to have an entire nervous breakdown! (DS went straight back into the water as though nothing happened!)

And me? I’m gonna keep my post there by the side of the pool. Having panic attacks. And hoping they keep answering that quickly when we call!

(If my heart ever stunts pounding, I’ll let you know!)

Not actually, but you wouldn’t be able to tell differently by how often I’ve been posting lately. Sorry about that.

Anyway… for those who wonder, I’ll shoot for a quick recap on the recent weeks.

• EK has been to a couple of drs appts… a great start with the new ped; bad news (but finally news!) from the ENT; and pretty positive stuff from the Physical therapy lady. ENT says her breathing problems are related to inflamed tonsils and adenoids, which they can’t treat ’til she is 2-3 years old, unless she develops severe breathing issues (sleep apnea, for example). We are going to request a sleep study to see how she breathes now.
• I spent 1 1/2 hours filling out registration forms to get the kids into school here. (10 pages a piece! Talk about hand cramps!) They’ll start school on the 31st.
• My computer is working-again, so long as I don’t let the Battery run down: if that happens it takes more than 24 hours to recharge. Think it might be the power cord.
• Fuul talked with the dentist about his teeth: looks like $10k of work needs to be done. *sigh* Dentist said if the teeth had been capped or crowned originally instead of just filled, they would all be fine now. Typical.
• Another offer on the house fell thru, but a new one came in. They were supposed to do inspections yesterday. but we’ve not heard any more since the weekend. Hoping it all moves forward, and we can close by the 15th.
• After 2 months in the new house, Fuul & I finally got a new bed & mattress on Saturday! Woohoo! Even splurged on 500 thread count sheets! Nice!
• JS’s scout troop pack meeting tonight is a swim party… ought to be fun. Made my Dad’s macaroni salad - minus the tuna, itwon’t fly in my house - to take for the BBQ.
• Not done *any* writing. Of course. Maybe when the kids start school?

Anyway… have to herd kids into swimsuits and out the door for the party. And I promise (again) to keep up better on the posting, and maybe get some new, good pics up soon!

Fuul broke (majorly) another tooth this morning. I swear, the dentist telling us that his splint couldn’t be the cause of any of his problems is just a fool… why would his teeth only get cavities along the edge of the splint? Why are they all shattering? (He takes REALLY good care of his teeth now — brushing and flossing 3-4 times a day!)

We still haven’t gotten any information on our new dental insurance, so I don’t even know who to call to see about getting him taken care of. Hopefully he can find some info for me today, but it looks like we will still have to wait at least through the weekend in order to see anyone.

Grrrr.

I’ve spent the whole morning thinking it was Friday, that Fuul wouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow, and that we could just hang out and relax tonight!

What an ugly shock to realize its only Thursday…

My computer crashed. Big time. OK, sorry, that’s a little over the top. What we think happened is that my battery died — it quit charging, and once it hit total zero, the computer simply shut off and wouldn’t start up again, even with the power cord in. (Who knew that you have to have an active battery in a tablet pc for the power cord to work!?) Anyway. We saw the problem growing, and last Thursday or Friday, I pre-emptively ordered a new battery. $100-some dollars later (ouch!), I got email saying the battery was on its way!

Sunday, while I was at church, the computer went thru its last death throes, and wouldn’t start up at all when I got home.

Tuesday, the new battery arrived. I pulled the old, inserted the new, plugged the whole mess back in, and waited. (OK, I didn’t wait long, because, well, I’m addicted!) I tentatively pushed the power button, and everything started up!! It was the most wonderful thing I had seen in quite some time! I had to wait for a really slow startup, and all the programs that had been open when the crash occurred had to system-check themselves as they reopened, but things seemed to be working! Email downloaded, I was able to get to my webpages and pictures and calendar items… for about 25 minutes. Then the whole thing, no warning, shut down again. And wouldn’t restart.

I called Fuul, and he said that its likely that the new battery just didn’t have enough charge to support the whole running with the power cord thing, and to let it charge overnight. I realized while talking to him that the battery charge light had not been on at all while the computer was on, though. (A little disturbing, that). The battery charge light blinked all night and into the next day (quite a long time for a charge, I think, and worse because before the recent battery-dying-thing, the battery charge light was always solid-on when it was charging; this blinking thing makes me nervous).

The computer has been off since it crashed the last time; Fuul says the next restart ought to take place in safe mode, meaning I will need to connect my USB keyboard before I start turning things on. And do a complete back-up of the whole system ASAP.

I know that the battery was old (its the original one, and I’ve had the computer for 3 1/2 years, so its had a nice long life. But if its failing to charge the new battery when the computer is turned on… well, that may be a bigger problem than just a battery issue. I’m hoping its not, but hope fades after a time….

And in case you were wondering, I haven’t gotten any work done on EB. I did get out a notebook and had fleeting thoughts of handwriting the synopsis, but it just hasn’t happened yet! (heh!)

And I’ve spent the last week on Fuul’s computer hating the online email access, having withdrawals from my whole life being organized on my computer’s calendar, and trying to take care of bills and final shutoff stuff at the old house (shut off the gas/electric/water/phone yesterday — woohoo!).

So. I’m still here. I’m still breathing. Still tired (really need to get a new mattress!). And still having hopes to return to a more normal semblance of life and communication in the near future!

I’ve decided its time to just suck it up and write a 10-ish page synopsis of EB. Of course, I’ve been thinking this for a good week now, and have only rearranged two rooms and nearly caught up on the laundry instead. Procrastinating on my writing is useful in getting other stuff done, but the writing suffers. Gotta do something about that. (Maybe posting it here will provide the appropriate impetus.)

2 offers in. 2 offers countered. 1 counter accepted. 1 accepted counter accepted.

All that babble translates to a scheduled closing date on our house on 8/29. Feel free to keep fingers crossed for us that it continues going smoothly!

Well, maybe “quick” isn’t quite the right word in the larger scheme of things, but!

Anyway, when we moved here a month ago (can it have been that long already?) it was with the understanding that Fuul would be “benched” (ie. payed to be available) until the contracting company was ready for him to come in. It was nice that he was able to do some work from home on old contracts, and was able to play with the kids and help settle in. But it was frustrating at the same time, because he really does love his work. Since there was no way to know when he might be called to come in, it limited our ability to go anywhere (like the Farewell and Family Reunion we are missing this week).

But, Monday morning, Fuul had a phone interview, and then a request that he come right in to work that afternoon! Interview & job all in the same day!?

Turned out that the request for resources (ie: him) had to go through someone else, so it wasn’t approved until late enough in the day that he actually reported for work on Tuesday morning. But, that’s still mighty quick in my books!

(And just to remind us of that old adage about “The Best Laid Plans”… we selected this house in large part because of its close proximity to the main campus where we were told Fuul would be placed. Turns out the project he was selected for is at the campus on the far side of the lake, about 11 miles from us - between a 20 minute and one hour drive,depending on the traffic and time of day. And us still with only one car. The upside: once Fuul gets his official ID, he ought to be able to use the inter-campus shuttles, so can get picked up here close to home. Even better would be if he finds someone from Church who is already commuting to that campus! We can dream!)

In setting up our new home, we have realized that its rather convenient to use the kitchen table as it was intended, rather than as a crafts catch-all like it had evolved into at the old home! (We had a long counter area where the kids ate, and Fuul and I tended to crash on the couch for dinners.)

Anyhow… now we eat at least dinner all together as a family, and I’ve learned something interesting:

When we sit together, the kids tend to eat more in both quantity and variety, and I tend to eat less overall. Its an interesting benefit I hadn’t considered before!