Friday, January 25, 2013

25. el. oh. vee. ee. #JanBlogaDay

I love my family. Here are three pictures that have special meaning for me.

You saw this picture in the mood board.  Well, that was a generic photo of the toy, this is a photo from Ben's room.  This was Rachel's gift to Ben several years ago, before the diagnosis.  She and I went to Seattle, sang the Hallelujah chorus in a flash mob and then went to several toy stores looking for the perfect gift for Ben.  It was a really nice day, this was a thoughtful gift and there are several reasons I love this gift: (1) Ben, who has a strong oral fixation, has never chewed on this toy.  The wheels and animal's noses are still intact.  (2) I've seen Ben pull this toy around a couple of times, as it was intended to be used.  (3) Some nice memories of that day with Rachel. (4) It also reminds me of a simpler time, pre-diagnosis.  The gift Rachel and I got him this year is probably more appropriate for his stage, but it's not as cool a toy, it took us a lot longer to pick out and we ended up feeling rushed after looking and looking and looking without finding something unique but also appropriate.  (In the end, I think we did find an appropriate and meaningful toy, but it wasn't like this one.)


Here you see a mom, holding her child for the first time in hours, after having had the life punched out of her for a few hours and coming to the understanding that her world has just been irrevocably shifted again.  This in the children's hospital after the panicked drive to the ER, the ambulance ride to the second ER and then the transfer to the hospital and all the waiting, beeping, people with clipboards and stethescopes and handshakes who breeze in and out.  This is relief, pain, confusion, exhaustion and a million other emotions all wrapped up in a numb fog that would last for weeks, but it's also love.  Her love for him and even though in this particular shot he's in a medically-induced sleep, a reminder that we are blessed to have an autistic child who is very atypical in how cuddly he is on a regular basis.  I also enjoy the whimsy of the small toy warming the cold hospital crib bed.


Getting read for church one morning.  Ben's not as great with photos these days and we've actually, sadly, gotten out of the habit of taking regular pictures with them with each other and with their picture animals.  This isn't too long ago, but man were they not in great form that morning?  Such a beautiful moment in time with our two wonderful children.

Day 25 of January Blog a Day.

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