Pink eye is gone, I am happy to say. That was awful, but thankfully only Joe and I had it. The girls (!) were spared gooey eyes. The kids had a nice long weekend recently. It started off rough for me though. A few months ago I volunteered to sew tutus for Lily's ballet class. It will actually be for a younger bunch of girls, not Lily, but I wanted to help since I DO have sewing experience. I also figured that with Erick being deployed I'd have time to fill at night and the tutus would be no problem. I
also didn't count on pink eye, adjusting to 3 kids by myself, and the general funkiness right after your husband goes to Iraq. I just spent many nights watching movies, reading books, or going to bed early. Long story short, I procrastinated until Friday when I was informed the tutus were needed by Saturday. The next day. No problem! I just brewed some strong coffee and sewed till 3 am. Tulle (the fabric for tutus) is horrible to work with, by the way. It is so sheer -very hard on the eyes. But I did finish them!I took the next day to chill out and rest. The kids and I didn't do much but watch movies and cuddle. Later that night, my friend Val invited us over for dinner. The kids always have fun there, plus it is good for me to spend time with friends, adult friends! But that was another late night. So, in my world, late nights back to back = weakened immune system = allergy attack. I spent the next day sneezing my brains out and mouth breathing. Very attractive. I really felt bad for Joe and Lily because their long weekend was turning out dull. The next day was Veteran's Day -- I took them to Walmart for some sidewalk chalk, let them spend some of their money and then we placed a lei on a memorial for some fallen Soldiers in 3-7 FA. I felt glad to teach the kids about honoring the fallen heros and remembering their sacrifice. I don't know how much they really grasp, but it is a good tradition to teach them.
Recently, Lily came downstairs after putting her pj's on, in tears. Real tears, emotional tears. She said she really missed her daddy. I hurriedly put Leah down to sleep in her crib (she had fallen asleep while nursing), and then I hugged my oldest daughter. Joe was there as well, concerned for his sister. Usually, Joe and Lily bicker, but I know Joe really does love her deep down. We sat on my bed and I asked her to talk her feelings out. I know she misses her daddy, but why such tears?
She said she was worried he would get shot.
Now, that may shock anyone reading who isn't in the military. However, though it still stabs my heart each time they talk of such things, this wasn't the first time the kids asked about the mortality of their parents. Joe and Lily both have asked if daddy could die in Iraq -- Hard questions to be sure, but remember they have been asking me these questions since they were very little. They have that thought with them every time he has to deploy. We have always explained how the Soldiers have bulletproof vests, gas masks and of course all their Soldier friends to watch their backs. Also, whenever Erick goes on training missions, I remind the kids that the Soldiers are practicing so they can be very safe in Iraq. It seems to make sense to them
That night Lily was out of character as she is usually the stronger one of the two kids. She was worried daddy might forget to wear his vest and get shot. Joe was good with her, reminding her that daddy would never forget that, and I told them both so as well. Lily wanted to know how many "bad guys" were in Iraq, for she thinks when there are no more bad guys, daddy will be home. I told her there are Iraq police now, and they are learning from Soldiers like her daddy how to keep peace. I also informed both kids about all the families who live in Iraq. Once I mentioned all the babies who live there, Joe and Lily were shocked and concerned for those babies! Of course, they must have right away thought about Leah and what it would be like in Iraq. I explained to them that Iraq is a little like Hawaii, just a little more dangerous (!), smellier and dirtier! They laughed, and Lily assured me she felt much better. A few rounds of tickling later and she was all better.
Those moments must give me grey hair. Good thing I use hair dye. ;-)
Joe had another difficult math homework session. He is struggling with math the same way I used to when I was young. I know 2nd grade is where a lot of children fall behind in math. The basics are taught in 2nd, and without those basic math skills, 3rd grade is nearly impossible. So he had turned his mind off to learning and I was stubborn and kept with the lesson. It was really frustrating because the math concept was very simple: "What is half an hour after 12:00?" Okay, I thought this would be easy, I even had him bring his analog alarm clock down so he could see the concept. I taught him; "half the clock is half an hour" or "the pattern is :00 and :30, :00,:30....." and after 5 hours, with many breaks in between (some tears on both sides), I told him to stop and I wrote a note to his teacher to explain why homework was undone. The next day she thanked me for the note and said the next time we have a hard time with math homework, it would be okay to just stop and let him try again at school. I could have kissed her! Those days when Joe has math homework are a toss up; he might fly through it and feel great ("It was SO easy mom, I got it!!") OR he may build up a huge wall between the math and his brain. Those days are when even simple math cannot be taught to him. Now I will just let each of us take a breather and try again the next day. He is getting it, very slowly, but still he is making progress.
Final thought: I had to take Lily to her ballet pictures this weekend. It was 9:00 am on Saturday and I had Lily all dressed in her sequins and glitter (very pretty!). We pull into the parking lot; of course I am driving slowly; the whole lot is full of minivans. A whole rainbow of vans, it was such a typical scene. And then there is my vehicle --yep-- a minivan! I was almost embarrassed to pull into the parking spot, taking my place next to a grey van and a tan van. I couldn't help but laugh! Oh well, I will surrender myself to the unglamorous life of a soccer/ballet/minivan driving mom. I'm still cool, right? Even with the van? C'mon, they're economical! Plus, when we bought our van, it was the only one around, and really neat looking. And black, there aren't a lot of black minivans, right? Right?
:-)
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