Last Sunday we had what felt like a requisite quintessential summer experience of going to an event (the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix) on a hot day and traipsing all over in the heat, drinking overpriced lemonade, and eating fair food the came with a gigantic amount of fries. The fries came with one order of chicken tenders but were more than enough for five of us! We enjoyed watching one of the races, especially with the earnest character of the old Mini Cooper. Then we went home and most of us took naps. Sarah’s nap was over two hours long and when I tried to rouse her before she woke on her own she was completely out, with not even a flicker of an eyelid when I came in with her favorite music playing. Grandma and Grandpa visited that afternoon and Grandpa reminded me of my own previously learned lesson of trusting Sarah’s body and letting her sleep. While Sarah was sleeping, Amy decorated Grandma’s hair with hair chalk so it was vibrant in many hues.
Grandma had the girls help grind vegetables for making her special relish and the girls had a great time using the old-style grinder, testing their muscles when it was time to grind a carrot. Carl enjoyed participating and remembering helping all through his growing up. This relish really is the best and we are happy to help replenish our stock.
On Tuesday, Anna took Sarah and Amy to the library when Jeeves the Therapy Cat was there. Amy got to hold and pet this hairless Sphynx and thought he was adorable. Sarah had good time looking at an online version of her current favorite book since they didn’t have a paper copy there.
On Wednesday Amy had a dentist appointment to get a filling in a small cavity. She was petrified. Before we left she was curled up crying under a blanket on the sofa. Initially Sarah started ranting and raving saying she didn’t want to go to the dentist, but you could tell she was speaking as Amy. Remarkably, for the drive and the time at the dentist, Sarah was sweet and kind and supportive. While she is often that way if I am upset, she is usually antagonistic if Amy is upset and may laugh at Amy. Instead, this time Sarah asked to be in the room with Amy and said she would be nurse Turkey and help Amy feel better. Amy was so upset I’m not sure that she realized how different Sarah was being from what we might have expected. Sarah sat in the room at watched Daniel Tiger. I’m not sure that helped Amy but at least it didn’t make it worse. The dentist and her assistant were absolutely wonderful with Amy and I kept my hand on her leg for the process. Once it was all done Amy looked at me with surprise and said, “you were right, it wasn’t that bad!” I do think this dentist is the best I have ever experienced in terms of filling a cavity. So if anyone in Pittsburgh needs a dentist, let me know and I can give you the information.
Carl worked from home on Thursday so I could teach. It was wonderful to be with my students again after a few weeks away. Carl was on a zoom meeting while getting lunch for the girls, so wasn’t always sitting at the table in front of his laptop. He had the camera turned off. Until Amy snuck over, positioned one of our Minion balloons in his seat, and turned on the camera. Carl said he could hear from the kitchen how the tone of the meeting changed and he had to find out why. Much laughter ensued.
Thursday night was one of the best nights of the year. The Bandits on the Run gave a concert in our backyard and we had some family, friends, and neighbors in attendance. When they arrived they surprised us with a serenade of a singing telegram we commissioned a few years ago. Then, after a taco dinner and carrot cupcakes, we got set up for the concert. Sarah got out her guitar and strummed along with some of the songs. She also danced and sang along with the songs we know. I think I had a smile on my face the entire time they were playing. If you haven’t heard them, I highly recommend checking them out. It is such a delightful treat when they come to town and it was extra wonderful getting to hang out with them for a bit after the concert. Adrian, one of the band members, was a volunteer in our Sarah-Rise Program and was instrumental (ahem) at bringing in other volunteers simply through his exuberance at sharing what he was doing with his friends. To honor that connection, we collected donations at the concert to send to the Autism Treatment Center of America, home of The Son-Rise Program. It is beautiful to think about the lifelong friendships that began because of running Sarah-Rise, finding people that began as strangers and now are so dear to our hearts. Adrian is one such individual, as are some of the people he inspired to volunteer with Sarah-Rise, and now we adore all of the Bandits.
Sarah continues to love quoting from Sandra Boynton’s Blue Hat, Green Hat book about the turkey who just can’t dress correctly. When we donned our new Bandits on the Run t-shirts, she started pointing to the pictures of the band members while saying, “Blue hat, green hat, yellow hat…” Amy then made paper hats to tape onto Sarah’s shirt - plus a cat to tape onto her own shirt.
We are now having a wonderful weekend with Amy’s BFF and her parents. We have had fun times at a lake beach and with playing music and looking at old photo books of when Sarah, Amy, and Amy’s bestie were younger. The grownups had the weirdest jigsaw puzzle experience ever. I’m not sure where the puzzle came from because we have a closet full of puzzles that we acquire over the years. I may have purchased this one because it had a picture of a wave on a beach and so that seemed perfect for this weekend. But… firstly, it was mint scented. Who does that? Who, when making a puzzle, thinks, “you know what would really make this a better experience? If it smelled vaguely like mint!” Secondly, all of the pieces were of two cuts. That was it. You could make stacks that were completely identical. So when you tried to put them together, of course they fit. Always. The only thing to tell you if you were right was the picture, but since it was of mottled sand and water that was not always easy to tell. It was crazy-making. After much laughter and gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair and doubting our senses and all that we thought we knew about the world, we scrapped the puzzle and put it away. We considered burning it, but wondered if the mint scent would release noxious chemicals. So it may just go in the trash. Unless any of you would like this lovely puzzle…?
Anyway, I wish for all of you the extended joy I feel whenever the Bandits on the Run are playing live music in my yard. May you have such joy that you can’t stop your face from smiling.
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