A wrap up.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a professional pen assembler.  Sitting on the floor of my bedroom, I delighted in twisting, unscrewing and reassembling many an ink pen.

Then I matured a bit and decided that I wanted to be a professional grocery cart pusher.  Momma often allowed me the control of the cart as she shopped for our pantry essentials.  Quite pleased with myself, I mastered sharp turns and timely brakes that were surely far beyond my years.  *wink*

I only just remembered these two childhood hopes of mine when I noticed Bennett studying the way that I was  screwing an ink pen back together.  With great intensity, his little face absorbs every detail of any object that twists, turns or comes with a lid.

I wonder what he’ll be.

*Clock ticks as I ponder which direction to take my last “official” post.*

*Esther’s tail taps in her sleep.*

Brian has noticed a change in himself regarding this latest round of winter illness.  Typically my husband would be laid up on the couch, miserable, beckoning me to fetch this and fetch that.  This time, however, though it’s been several days, he describes this “weird” sickness as one that just feels like he’s “getting” sick.  I can’t tell you what a relief it is to see him carrying on with some household duties even though he’s not feeling 100%.  He’s been taking Dr. Bartlett’s supplements for over a month now, sooooooo…

As for myself, the other night my throat was so raw that it hurt to swallow and I couldn’t sleep.  I had already downed tea, water, orange juice, gargled with warm salt water, etc.  Then a stroke of genius hit me.  (Don’t freak out, okay?)  I thawed just a bit of frozen breast milk and – yes – sip, sip, sipped.  Before you spew your morning coffee all over the place, can I just tell you that literally the INSTANT that I took my first tiny sip, my throat reacted in a way that was completely unlike ALL OTHER liquid remedies I had tried.  Immediately the swelling subsided and I felt a cooling, comforting coating line my throat.  The burning was gone just. like. that.

Man!  If I wasn’t convinced of nursing Bennett through cold & flu season before, I sure am now!  Found relief as fast as a snap!  Even my ears quickly responded to the milk.  All in all, I probably slowly sipped about 3 ounces total.  Not ashamed.  Not ashamed in the least.  (It makes me wonder what the results would have been if I sipped baby formula.  Just a thought…)  Don’t hesitate to hit me up for some breast milk if you find yourself miserable and desperate like I was.  *big, cheesy grin*  Seriously, it was such a miracle that I woke Momma up at 1:00AM to let her know.  (She was not thrilled… but I’m pretty sure it was because of the hour, not the breast milk.)

*Brian’s laptop blares in the distance.*

Would it be surprising if I admitted that I’m already fantasizing about the summers when I’ll be able to take Bennett’s twin cousins for a week?  Unlike the close relationships that I have with my siblings, unfortunately I was never too close to my cousins growing up.  Even though Joey and Caitlin live two hours away, I am anxious to see them as much as possible and only wish that I was right around the corner to offer a helping hand.

*Bennett naps on.**

I suppose I ought to recap our Christmas, huh?  Christmas morning consisted of the in-laws dropping in for breakfast and presents.  Right off the bat, Bennett figured out the chalkboard that Brian had painted for him and began trying to color on it even before I had taken down the cellophane.  He’s slightly interested in his leather-bound Jesus Storybook Bible and I knew that he’d appreciate the mini broom and dustpan.

(Now, about that JSB.  The website says that it’s good for kids ages four and up.  But Bennett?  He’s seems to like to get an early start on things.  That Melissa and Doug walker he’s enjoyed for the last eight months?  Well, my 14 month old baby has already outgrown its use and the box claims that it’s for babies age 1+!  Puh-shaw…  When I was a little girl, leather-bound Bibles with pages trimmed in gold just felt so special in my hands.  That softness reminded me that there was something else about this book, unlike all of the other books on my bookshelf.  I’d like for Bennett to also know that his Jesus Storybook Bible has a little something extra, a little something that the rest of his library can’t quite capture.)

Those three Christmas gifts symbolized the gold, frankincense and myrrh that Jesus was gifted by the magi.  The “Santa gift” was only remembered as an afterthought, but it was sweet seeing My Little Thinker realize that something was within the stocking and reach… reach… reeeeeeeeeeeeeeach to get out his wooden car, wooden plane and wooden truck.

Naturally, he was more than spoiled by the grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Unfortunately, each and every picture that I captured on that Christmas morn was blurry as I failed to notice a huge smudge on the lens.  Major bummer.

See?

 

(Got those robot PJ’s at Three Lil Monkeys for $2.00!  They’re our favorite!)

And, for better or for worse, our first Christmas without Charley felt a little fast and furious.  Perhaps we were all too guarded to want to be the first domino in a line of emotional breakdowns, so it was a much less sentimental Christmas than usual.  No tears of grief at that moment, but also very little opportunity to pause.  No, that was done more on an individual basis behind closed doors and out of eyesight.

Oh, and those jacked up Christmas cards?  Customer service from www.PhotoAffections.com informed me that they’d be willing to offer a reprint at 50% off.  But since I can’t afford even that, I kindly replied that I appreciated them meeting me half way, but that I’d have to pass.  Well, whatdoyaknow?  Yesterday I received another email stating that they ARE in fact reprinting my cards and that they appreciated my patience and good humor regarding the snafu!  They even indulged my editing the original card to reflect a later mailing!  Top notch.  Looks like I’ll be busy scribbling addresses and stamping envelopes after all!  If you’d like a very belated Christmas card, feel free to send me your mailing address!  (Heads up: They’re a stitch!)

*Finding it strange to wrap up.*

Just so ya know, along with my fading and part-time presence on Square Piece, I’ll be pulling back from Facebook as well.  If you haven’t signed up for email notifications for new posts (right sidebar) and you don’t want to miss the sporadic posts in the new year, you might wanna do that as I intend to sever the connection between Facebook and Square Piece.  If I can figure out how, the notifications will no longer show up via Facebook.

A big thanks to each and every one of you who have encouraged my writing and my sharing, whether in person or by your replies below.  Thank you for loving my family and lifting up your prayers.  This has been such a rich and fulfilling journey.  I trust that this next chapter of my life will greatly benefit from my undivided attention and I appreciate your support in that!  May the Lord bless you and yours, and may you bless Him back.

Holy XOXO’s,

Suzy**