Vacation!

Grandpa Bob (aka BobBob)

Wow! I suddenly realized how long it has been since my last post. One writing project, and a vacation later, and 12 days have passed. Tom forbade me from bringing the laptop and making use of the wireless access available in the cabin. And for good reason. For the first time in longer than I can remember, we relaxed.


Prior to my parent’s arrival, I had expectations of 2 days of carefree quiet relaxation. Tom and I both found, quiet brought a different surprise. Relaxing allowed us to mentally process all the last year has entailed. 3 years of waiting and 2 surgeries will do that to a parent. During all of this, we had the best time.

Lake Wisconsin is quite large. We have a small flat bottom which Tom’s dad gave him on his birthday. The purpose of taking it was to fish. Though I was not fond of Tom urging me to slug my coffee down early one morning, I was glad to have the time as a family, minus the ring of Tom’s work phone. Sidney loved helping to reel in the line. Tom was only jealous the day I thought I was caught on a weed and was actually reeling in a fish, two times! Eli was a fare weather fisherman and enjoyed taking in the wildlife around the boat. He hardly left Tom’s side the entire week.

Fishing also meant Tom cranking the motor while we screamed down the lake on our flat bottom. Any wake in the water was a bumpy ride! I took to sitting on the floor with Sidney. Sidney screamed on the first ride. With each ride, she gained confidence until the end of the trip when she was pointing and looking around, finally allowing herself to enjoy the experience. Of course it didn’t hurt that she was sporting her Dora the Explorer sunglasses. She loved the live well on Grandpa Bob’s (aka BobBob) boat. She is so gutsy. When we showed her a freshly caught fish, she reached out and stroked its scales.

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew also joined us for a couple of days during our trip. Nothing was cooler than seeing Sidney playing on a blanket with our nephew, patting him on the head. She definitely is a nurturer. What shocked us was how gentle she was with him. Over the last couple of months, we have witnessed her hitting. This is not a sweet little tap but a conscious slap which is typically followed by laughing. Typically a parent can quickly reprimand a child of 2 who does not completely understand their wrongdoing. Sidney’s actions are deliberate. This is a reality of her time in the orphanage and something that continues to improve over time. Typically, it comes out when she is really tired, and we try to avoid her becoming too tired before laying her down.

On a medical note, Sidney only has a couple more weeks and the splint comes off. This means we are free with the exception of physical therapy on the hand which was completed in January. Ultrasound is being used on the newly separated fingers to prevent the webbing from coming back. A majority of this preventive work comes from a splint and a plastic mold which separates her fingers at night. Whatever is in the plastic works to break down the scar tissue. Two or three times per day we work on the scars by rubbing vitamin E into her scars. We go back the end of next week to get rid of the splint. We are very excited!