Summer Vacation

Our family went on vacation recently, driving from Savannah to Pittsburgh in about 16 hours over two days. "Two days of forever" as Jon has said. We hadn't been on a big trip since before the kids can remember, so it was exciting for all (except Evan, who is not impressed by such things yet). I must admit the drive reawakened my love for moving about in the world. The call of the open road, seeing the landscape, pondering the possibilities that lie ahead, meeting people along the way... like the miner with his arthritic Australian Shepherd who ran after the ball Anna and Will threw for him at a rest area; or the friendly Pittsburghers who welcomed us at their home for the church picnic; or the West Virginian who took our picture at the scenic overlook. You realize the distance between us is greater and lesser than you might have imagined.

Anna and Will had a great time, although they didn't think it should have taken so long to get to Aunt Heidi and Uncle Gary's house. They marveled at seeing mountains for the first time and how the rocks looked like giant stairs; they were excited to stay in a hotel twice; they were in awe of all their cousins' toys. They loved the dinosaurs, amusement park rides, polar bears and tigers... skyscrapers, the Children's Museum, driving through tunnels, swinging, eating out. What more could a kid want? Oh, right. Now they're asking when we can go to Disney World!

Potty Talk

Somewhere along the way in the greening of America, someone came up with the genius idea of automatic flush toilets. Let me just say it was not a parent of small children. Sure, initially it sounds like a good idea... save some water, increase cleanliness, whatever. But the fact is these toilets were not engineered for the 40-pound people who may need to sit on them.

So we're at a restaurant for lunch today and Will has to go potty. We walk into the restroom and I notice the automatic flusher, but refrain from commenting so as not to induce a Refusal To Potty. Will sits down and starts to "go" and in a minute the potty flushes, much to his displeasure. Luckily it was not a loud flush like some toilets make. The toilet flushed three times while he was on it, stressing out the little guy so he couldn't even finish his business and using extra water for no good reason.

Anna and Will have actually Refused To Potty on various occasions upon noticing an automatic flushing toilet, and I can't say that I blame them. The only thing worse than the auto-flusher might be the automatic hand dryer, especially those high-powered ones that threaten to damage your hearing while saving the environment. Will accidentally walked underneath an auto-dryer recently and had no kind words to say about it! Wouldn't it be nice to have an override switch available or an old-fashioned alternative as a back-up plan when needed? I know my kids would appreciate it.

Helpless Babes

What strange creatures we are - born so helpless and totally dependent, unlike other critters who hit the ground running as it were. If not for the care of other (adult/parental) people we would surely die (ok, except for the anomaly raised by wolves, I suppose). What is the point of it? Is there some reason for being born so needy? Maybe to teach us that we are totally interdependent upon one another, to foster community living, to try to keep us humble. "No man is an island." Maybe we can also see our spiritual condition through the lens of the natural... We must be born again - then what? "Crave pure spiritual milk," grow up in the faith, live in the community of the church, be nurtured by "older" Christians. There is so much to learn, so many ways to grow...

Motivation?

Motivation. How do you instill it, teach it? Where does it come from? Is it innate or can it be learned? The people who "get ahead" in life are not necessarily the smartest, but they are motivated. They have vision. But where do they get it from?

I remember my first-year roommate at college told me upon meeting that she wanted to be an aerospace engineer. What?? The idea of that occupation wasn't even on my radar - maybe that's one of the many perks of going to a big, well-funded school system (Northern VA vs. coastal SC). But she had vision. I just had some ideas and stuff I liked to do, but no clear vision of how to fit them together. Sure I made better grades, but she was working toward something real. (Not sure how she fared as we lost contact).

Will, our three-year-old, is motivated to achieve, to be "big", to do whatever Anna (five years old) can do. He's our go-getter so far. Anna, our firstborn, is the observer, cautious and calculated, not too excited about taking risks. Is that just a benign, natural personality difference or can we/ should we seek to get her more motivated? Don't know. All I know is, as a parent there are a million things to analyze, evaluate, and puzzle over, and few clear answers.

Life and Death and Numbers

Farrah Fawcett was 62. Michael Jackson was 50. My dad is turning 69 on Sunday, and just found out the growth that was removed from his voicebox Wednesday was cancer. The surgeon thinks he removed all of it, and the prognosis at this point is good. Radiation treatments will begin in a couple weeks after Dad's throat has healed from the surgery.

Everyone knows the end will come, for our loved ones, for us. Yet it still manages to surprise us. We live like it will never happen, pushing the inevitable far to the back of our minds. And yet we will surely die. Are we ready? What number will we make it to? 96? 54? 33? 18? Who will rescue us from this body of death? We can have hope in Jesus who conquered death. He died to pay the penalty for our sins (to fulfill the requirements of justice), and rose from the grave to new life (so that we might have that life, too). He promises eternal life for all who believe in Him. There is hope in place of despair. Are you ready?

Blue Dog Confession

Will has been missing Blue Dog recently. Blue Dog, you might remember, is a tiny blue plastic dog that Will used to take everywhere, and who has gone missing many times. He was lost again a couple months ago, much to everyone's dismay. But it seemed that Jon and I were more distressed than Will at the time. So when I found BD in Will's closet, Jon and I decided to hide him for posterity and for our own peace of mind. Blue Dog is safe and sound in a little dish in my room, though poor Will thinks he's missing. And every once in a while Will talks about BD and I say "I'm sure he's around here somewhere." Is that just terrible or what? I feel sad for Will and guilty for my secret, but what about all the time we've spent searching for the little piece of plastic? Can we risk losing him again? Won't it be cool to bring him out later in the future and reminisce? Have I lost my mind that I've spent so much time contemplating the fate of a small plastic dog?

Story of our Breastfeeding Challenge

Ok, so Evan is now almost eight weeks old and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We've had challenges (to say the least) with breastfeeding, but he is doing much better. Evan was unable to latch properly, for some reason, until he was six weeks old. We worked with a wonderful lactation consultant who provided great advice and encouragement. Our routine was to nurse Evan, then pump, and then cup-feed him the milk that was pumped - a process taking 45 minutes to an hour - every two to three hours. It was very difficult to keep up with - especially with Anna (5) and Will (3) running around - but I had help from friends and family. Still I was pretty much tied to the house, in an endless cycle of feeding or getting ready to feed the baby.

Someone asked me why I stuck with it for so long, and the reasons are many... First, I know that breastmilk is the best food for babies, and researchers are always finding new benefits for both baby and mom. Also, I had breastfed Anna and Will, so I knew it could be done. Convenience - I can't imagine having to pack up formula, prepare it, wash bottles over and over. Frugality - have you seen how much formula costs?! Why spend that money when I have a free supply of the best food anyway? Stubbornness - I had decided, and could not give in to quitting no matter how discouraged I became.

I am happy to say that Evan is now eating like a champ - it was well worth the effort! So maybe our story can encourage someone else to stick with it if they are struggling with breastfeeding. Get expert help right away if you need it - there are different techniques and aids available to help you make it work. Oddly enough, breastfeeding does not necessarily come naturally or easily, though it really seems to me that it should! There are enough immediate and long-term benefits for baby and mom to make it worth any trouble. For a good website on the subject go to http://www.drjacknewman.com/.