So far this summer I have taken one or both girls to:
- A carnival with rides and fireworks
- Swimming at a local lake
- Swimming at the local pool
- Wading in a stream at a nearby park looking for crayfish
- On a boat ride along the Erie Canal
- To the MOST (the local kids’ science museum) for a big screen show on dinosaurs
- On a trolley ride up the side of Onondaga Lake and back
- To the big playground at Onondaga Lake Park
- For ice cream at various local venues
- To Destiny USA for a trip through Wonder Works and some ropes course time for Kiddo
- To Howe Caverns for a tour of a giant cave on a 90+ degree day because at least it was cool underground
Not bad for someone with a seriously weak sad ankle still! Uneven ground at the playground and local swimming hole nearly did me in, but I persist in going such places and it’s slowly getting easier.
My Physician Assistant commented yesterday that my strength and range of motion at this stage of my ankle recovery are remarkable, and I told him I’ve been doing my physical therapy stretches and exercises daily. He called me a “unicorn” because “no one ever does their PT exercises daily at home.” Ha! But the truth is, I think my stubbornness in persisting in walking on uneven surfaces and for longer and longer distances is making just as much of a difference for my recovery. Stubbornness FTW!
But I digress.
Sprout also spent last week loving Manlius Pebble Hill, the private school where I went to high school. They have a summer program for pre-k kids and she enjoyed the heck out of it. I loved that school body and soul, and am so excited to have Sprout able to attend it even if all we can afford is one week per year. Sprout’s public school is doing well by her, and my private school isn’t great for kids with IEPs – that’s just not what it specializes in – so even if we had the money Sprout likely could not attend it. But that she loves it even for a week in the summer makes me happy. Kiddo is begging to go there for a week next summer too, so perhaps both my girls will love it.
Up next? In a few weeks, camping in Maine! I’m so excited I’ve already started packing and accumulating the stuff we need. I’ve planned a couple of kid friendly day trips from our campground. We’ll spend a day at another state park where they have both fresh and saltwater (brr) swimming. We’ll also spend a day or two at my favorite place in the United States: Quoddy Head State Park, where there’s a lighthouse, tide pools, bogs with carnivorous plants, and misty green magical walkways that weave from sunny coast to deep woods. I picked up inexpensive digital cameras for the kids so we can do some photography trips along the coast too.
Seth is worried about our trip. He’s afraid Sprout will be whiny because she’s overtired, and Kiddo will be a sulky mess, which is how she often is around him. Ah, trauma behaviors. I think they’ll be fine but then, I’m an eternal optimist. I also have perfected the Mom evil eye, as well as the ability to let sulking roll off my back like water off a duck, so tend to get good behavior and/or be unfazed by the bad that Seth is worried about.
That said, I’m truthfully a little worried about the Maine trip too. We will HAVE to have the tent pitched in the shade because I always have to nap. Every day. I can’t get by without one. All those fun trips listed above? All were preceded or followed by a long nap in the middle of the day. I can’t take the kids for a traditional day at the beach with picnic lunches because my body gives out part way through the day.
I can’t adequately describe the way the fatigue hits me. See above for statement re: my stubbornness, which is how I get through the activities at all. But by the end of each couple-hour outing I’m toast. My eyes shut. My body aches for sleep. My brain gets fuzzy. There’s nothing I can do to avoid the need to collapse and sleep for a few hours. And I mean nothing. I’ve tried gallons of coffee, and long sleeps at night (I sleep 10 hours a night generally). I’ve even tried prescription stimulants, which help (thank god) but don’t cut out the crushing need to sleep. They just postpone it for long enough periods that we can squeeze in some fun, then come home and nap. Or nap, then wring a little fun out of the remaining afternoon.
My kids are soooo gracious about it. I do sometimes get complaints from one or both that they want to stay somewhere longer, but both have been understanding overall, and cooperative with my nap schedule. Sprout usually sleeps when I do, or else has quiet time playing in her bed. And Kiddo just plays on her phone or watches something on tv. Kiddo this past weekend wanted to go play laser tag at the end of a busy morning, and when I asked her how set her heart was on playing, she just said “You need to nap? That’s ok. We’ll come another time. You need your sleep.” I teared up. From a 10-year-old? That’s a lot of grace.
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