The Waiting Game

Have you ever read Dr. Seuss' Oh The Places You'll Go? There's an excerpt that talks about The Waiting Place:

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

Oh the waiting. I remember waiting to have kids, wondering if we were ever going to. This was especially hard after I miscarried my first pregnancy. I felt like we had already waited so long, I didn't understand why I had to wait even longer. After many prayers and a few priesthood blessings, I heard an answer.

You see, I'm a planner. While the boys and I eat breakfast in the mornings I ask them what they want to do during the day. I like to write things on calendars and know what's going to happen when. I like long-term planning too. Basically, I think I just like to be in-charge. All the time. This makes the waiting even harder.

The answer that I got? My plan, my timeline, is not always Heavenly Father's. And while it's hard, one of the things that I needed to learn from that experience was patience. Ah patience, that often illusive trait that I pray for daily. And not just patience. I needed to learn that maybe I didn't always have the best answer. I needed to learn to trust Heavenly Father. I needed to learn that my ways were not necessarily His ways.

My wait ended up being much shorter than many other's. Peter was born almost one year after the miscarriage. He came when he was supposed to, I know that now. I can see in retrospect that blessings came from waiting, even if the waiting wasn't my choice.

A few days ago I read this post on my friend LeMira's blog (and I'm pretty certain it came from another friend of mine, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong LeMira). It describes the answer that I got. Go read it. That poem has had me thinking all week about waiting. We're waiting for things now, things that might determine future plans. I'd love to know right now where we'll be in a year, but I must wait.

And that's okay.

I Scream, You Scream

Towards the end of breakfast, with both Captain Crunch and Oatmeal Squares on the table:

Me: (pointing to the Oatmeal Squares) Cooper, do you want this one?

Cooper: No

Me: Do you want more Captain Crunch?

Cooper: No

Me: Well, what do you want?

Cooper: (eyes widening at the thought) Ice Cream!

Order of Operations

The boys got a Valentine's Day package from Bryan's family this week. (Thank you!) Peter spent most of yesterday morning working through the preschool activity book that was included and Cooper was delighted to have his very own Valentine's Day card. There were a few other items that brought joy to Bryan as well as Peter and Cooper.

Cooper added to his duplo collection:
While Peter got some very exciting additions for his Lego box:



Peter had wanted to play with them during Cooper's nap (the Legos may only come out when Cooper can't get to them), but Bryan asked that I not get the new toys down without him. Peter settled for his regular Legos without too much complaint. Bryan came home a little bit early last night so he and Peter could put them together.

I made dinner while Bryan taught Peter how to assemble the army men, RC, and the rocket. (Cooper hovered nearby, but Bryan vigilantly kept him away from the tiny blocks.) Let me say before I go on that Peter has a bit of trouble following directions. It's not that he can't, or that he doesn't understand them, he just chooses not to. And he lets us know that that's why he's not doing what we've asked. It is not an enjoyable phase. But last night I listened as Bryan VERY patiently explained that they needed to follow the instructions. And then he had Peter examine those instructions and determine the difference between each picture.

It was a beautiful thing to witness.

There were a few times that Peter wanted to rush ahead and Bryan would explain that to make the toy work, they had to put the pieces on in a specific order. When each piece was done I came over and oohed and ahhed appropriately. But I was more impressed with directions that were followed and the teamwork that went on.

Well done Peter. And Bryan.

Bedside Manner

So it looks like we're on the mend. At least Cooper and I are. Peter... not so much. He felt really sick today, and spent most of his time on the couch watching movies. Cooper desperately wanted to help. This was the result:

Modern Medicine

I'm starting to feel like all I do on this blog is write about how sick we are. I miss writing about other things.

That said, this is another sick post, but I'll be brief.

On Friday when Cooper woke up from his nap he was running a fever and tugging on his ear. Sounds like an ear infection, huh? Taking the boys to the doctor really drives my anxiety level up, so I tend to only go when I really have to. Bryan, on the other hand, likes the boys to go to the doctor when they've been sick, which, you know, makes him a really good dad.

Since Bryan had come home a little bit early to work on something he offered to stay with Peter while I took Cooper to the InstaCare. I was so tired and sick myself that I really didn't want to go, but I grudgingly agreed.

Cooper was very patient with the mask that carriers of the plague must wear at all times while visiting the doctor. I'm not complaining, I know there are non-sick people there too. The doctor came and looked at Cooper's ears. Nothing. However, it turned out to be a very good thing we went.

Cooper has pneumonia.

If he hadn't been tugging on his ear I don't think I would have agreed to take him in. He's been on an antibiotic since Friday night, but the tell-tale rattle is still there when he breathes.

I'm so thankful that Bryan insisted that Cooper needed to go to the doctor. And thankful that there is medicine we can give to Cooper to help him recover.

Fighting the Enemy

My friend Beth (I have two friends named Beth that read this blog and, here's the trippy part, they're both married to guys named Nathan) left me a comment yesterday asking if I was still sick.

Sadly, the answer is yes. And I'm not the only one. Peter has coughed so hard the last three nights he's thrown-up at least once. Yup, at least. I had to keep tissue on me at all times today for what was streaming down Cooper's face. I have the cough, but it's much drier than the boy's. (That's kind of a gross description, eh?) While I feel yucky, I think I've had the lightest case.

I thought we were getting better. Bryan and Cooper went to church on Sunday. They had missed two weeks. I stayed home with the still hacking Peter. He has now missed three weeks of church. I could tell it had been too long since they'd been because throughout the previous week Cooper would walk up to me with my shoes on saying "Bye!" When I'd ask where he was going he would say, "chuch," which is Cooper-ese for church.

We were doing so well that we even went to play at a friend's house on Wednesday. Sorry, friend. I hope we didn't get you sick.

I've been trying my hardest to send this illness away. Even though it's still cold outside, I've been opening one or two windows everyday for at least a few hours to get us some fresh air. I've done laundry. I've mopped. I've vacuumed. I changed towels and bedding. I've kept the kitchen in a company-friendly state all week. Doesn't that sound like it would be enough to cleanse us of this common-cold-monster?

It would probably help if I could get the boys to sit still and rest and drink lots of fluids. Peter will enter an almost comatose state in front of the TV (it's quite scary, actually, and the main reason we watch almost no televsion) so if I let him, he wouldn't move from our big comfy chair all day. That might really help him recover. However, Cooper cares about TV for approximately ten to fifteen minutes and then he's done. He uses that word. "Done Mommy, down. Play. Run." I'm so paranoid about Cooper running in front of our behemoth of a flat-screen that I don't let him play in the living room while the TV cabinet doors are open. That kind of squashes the whole let-Peter-watch-TV-all-day idea.

I haven't given-up hope. I think there's a chance that we might all make it to church on Sunday. And if we don't, I think Peter and Bryan will be well enough.

I realize that there's no cure for the common cold, but what do you guys do to shorten it's stay? Or, better yet, how do you stay healthy? We've been so sick this winter it's felt like one long, consecutive illness.

Modesty is the Best Policy

While getting Cooper dressed for the day on Saturday morning:

Me: Okay Cooper, let's change your diaper and get you dressed.

Cooper: (with a sly twinkle in his eye the moment I unzipped his pajamas) Oh no! (Quickly using his arm to cover his bare chest) Nakey!

Much to his chagrin, he wasn't "nakey" for very long.

Perspective

Thanks go to my wonderful mother-in-law for sending this to me. I admit, I got a little misty-eyed when I watched it.

Where's Cooper?

After dinner on Sunday night Cooper grabbed the cloth we had just used to wash dinner off his hands and pulled it up to cover his face. He was initiating a game of "Where's Cooper?" I played along.

Cooper: Look! Look! Look!

Me: Oh! Where's Cooper?

Cooper: (still behind his cloth) Land!

Me: Did he go to Disneyland without us?

Cooper: (still hidden) Yeah. Boo!

Me: (now that I can see the grin on his face) There he is!

Cooper: (starting another round) See! See!

Me: Where's Cooper? Did he go to the beach?

Cooper: Yeah. Boo!

Me: There he is!

Cooper: (beginning his final round) See!

Me: Where's Cooper?

Cooper: (from behind his cloth) Jesus! Jesus!

Me: (trying to figure out what that clue could possibly mean) Uh... did he go to... church?

Peter: No, he went to Jesusland.

Cooper: Yeah!

Me: (to Peter) And where is that?

Peter: It's the place with all the planets and stars.

It took me only a moment to realize that he was talking about the North Visitor's Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. That building is highlighted in February's Friend magazine. I'm not sure that's what Cooper was thinking of, but he was content to go along with Peter's interpretation.

Doppleganger

Last week the big trend on Facebook was to replace your picture with a celebrity that you've been told you look like. Pictures of Lisa Kudrow, Anna Paquin, and Alanis Morrisette (among others) replaced my friends' pictures. I thought the likenesses were pretty good.

I did not participate, for no reason other than I chose not to. But I did think about it. Upon contemplation, I can come up with three celebrities I've been told I look like.

Shannen Doherty

I remember standing in line for dinner at the no-longer-functioning Morris Center dining hall my Freshman year at BYU. A fellow from my ward happened to be standing in line behind me. I didn't know him very well and, being the friendly person that I am, figured I should talk to him. I can't remember most of what we talked about, but right before we got to the food he looked at me and said, "You really look like that girl from 90210, Shannen Doherty." All I knew about her was that she was a bit of a diva, so I asked him if that was a good thing. His response, "Yeah." Um, thanks...

Kelli Williams

I know this actress from the few episodes of The Practice that I watched sometime during the 90's. According to IMDB she's now on a show on Fox called "Lie to Me". Personally, I think I resemble Ms. Williams much more than Ms. Doherty. Her high cheekbones, her strong chin, her big forehead, and even her hair color remind me of me. And it was a total stranger in a Jamba Juice (I think) that told me I looked like her. Good eye, total stranger.

And finally, Miss Piggy

That's right, one of my fellow Resident Assistants at BYU told me that I reminded him of Miss Piggy. I know the look I gave him was one of shock when he told me that. Yes, my nose turns up, but only slightly. Yes, I have very pale skin and have been known to sizzle like bacon on a sunny day. Yes, I can be quite loud on occasion. But Miss Piggy? Really?

Have been told you look like anyone famous?