July 24: Return of the Prodigal Suitcase and Family Reunions

Carl’s suitcase made it home! It helped that he went to the airport in person to ask about it and then was given a phone number that actually reached a live person. That person did something to get the search for the bag reactivated and the bag arrived at our house two days later. 

Last Sunday the plan was for Amy’s Girl Scout troop and our family to go to Sandcastle for the afternoon. Unfortunately, an hour or so after we arrived the thunderstorm, that was predicted for later in the day, decided to arrive early. They closed the park before the girls had done anything beyond the wave pool. There was much disappointment. 

Amy received a fun and mysterious letter, with no return address and no legible signature, explaining why it was unfortunately not possible to send a unicorn to the moon. If this is from any of you and you want to fess up and receive credit let me know! (And I can still keep it secret from Amy). 

The most mysterious thing of late is Sarah and her new sensitivity to being touched by accident, however lightly. If my hand lightly brushes her shoulder when I am brushing her hair she will say “ow.”  When I ask if it hurt she says no. Or she will tell me she needs personal space even though she was the one to enter the room where I was and we aren’t near each other. I have no idea from whence this came and I’m finding it very emotionally challenging. She still gives me chin presses and wants to snuggle, which is lovely, but also makes this more confusing to figure out what is going on for her. 

Sarah has also been having issues with too much phlegm again. Perhaps because I took two days off from giving her Claritin. For three days in a row she had mornings where she felt sick to her stomach and needed to spit up phlegm and rest but then was all better. I took her to the doctor who suggested keeping her on Claritin for the foreseeable future and to start her days with a glass of water. That does seem to help. 

This weekend we are having a wonderful time visiting my aunt and uncle in Virginia. On the way we stopped at our favorite rest area that has a sand area, a wooden train (I swear it used to be bigger!), and delicious cider donuts. The house where we are staying is next to a lake and many other extended family members are visiting too. Amy had a hilarious conversation in gibberish with the three year old (they were both fluent) and has also loved meeting an older cousin with her pet Guinea pig. Yesterday we spent a ton of time in the lake and at a pool. The water was so warm that I even got in! I also took a turn with Amy as we sat on an inflatable couch and were pulled around by a boat. This morning Carl is doing a long bike ride as part of his training for a super long bike race in September. I’m sure we will all also spend a lot of time in the water today. It is so fun to spend time with family that we haven’t seen in many years