After 10 long days, the rain has finally stopped falling and the sun has decided to reappear. The ground is a soggy mess and everything smells like dead worms and decaying foliage, but Timmy seemed oblivious to those details. I think he was just happy to be outside again.
Undeterred by the mud and determined to make the most of our sunshine, I changed into a sundress and joined my little explorer in the yard. He was delighted to play in our squishy, odoriferous and muddy yard, exploring throughout the afternoon. I could feel my anxiety melting away as the sunshine was beating down on my bare shoulders.
Timmy spent the afternoon running around the yard, happily searching for worms and splashing in the muck. I did my best to keep up with him. While he seemed to have no issues traversing through the mud, I didn't find it nearly as easy. The mud puddles were sticky, holding onto my prosthesis at every opportunity. I felt like I was walking on sponges dipped in glue.
I have decided that I dislike mud as much as, and possibly more, than ice. Mud is deceivingly slippery, a lesson I learned the hard way. Falling is a humiliating experience under the best of circumstances. Falling in the mud takes humiliation to a whole new level.
Yesterday my prosthesis became stuck in a particularly deep mud patch. I pulled hard to release for my next step. Unfortunately my efforts resulted in my coming out of my leg and losing my balance. My prosthetic stayed upright in the mud pile while I ended up sliding down the mud hill in new sundress, face first in front of the UPS driver. There is no graceful way to recover from that entrance.
I hate mud.
Tired from the rain, yesterday we packed up the kids and headed to our local indoor rec center to use the pool. Timmy was delighted to practice his pool skills, and being active did wonders for my affect. Almost as soon as I slipped into the warm water I began to feel my anxiety melt away.
After two hours of splishing and splashing, we began to get cold and decided to go home. We pulled our happy little fish out of the water, dried off and headed back to our car. It was only when we arrived at the car did we realize we couldn't find the keys.
Scott (my husband) swore he put them in the pool bag. We ended up emptying the contents of our overstuffed bag in the middle of the parking lot.
No keys.
We went back into the gym, assuming that the keys fell our of the bag when we grabbed our towels.
No keys.
We visited the check-in desk out of the hopes that somebody had found them on the ground and turned them in.
No keys.
Frustrated and exhausting all options (we thought) we called AAA. As luck would have it, our spare keys were in the glove compartment of the locked car. (Sometimes forgetting to take something inside works to your benefit!)
After a long 30 minutes wrangling two antsy and wet kids in the parking lot while keeping my now fuming husband calm, AAA finally arrived. The car was unlocked, our spare keys were retrieved and we headed home.
When I got home I changed out of my swim suit, forcing me to take off my leg. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the missing car keys in the bottom of my socket. Scott put them in my leg for "safe keeping" when I switched into my water leg. I assumed that my poor suction was because of the wet liner- it never occurred to me to check in the socket.
D'oh!
The sun never came out yesterday. By early afternoon I just couldn't handle being cooped inside with an antsy toddler any longer. I dug out my rain coat from the back of my closet and located one of Robby's old ones for Timmy. Unfortunately the smallest raincoat I could find was still considerably too big for Timmy. He looked like the Paddington Bear playing dress-up with his yellow raincoat falling below his knees and the sleeves swallowing his little arms. (He was absolutely adorable!)
Thrilled to be leaving the house, Timmy happily helped me locate our strawberry baskets. He was excited to pick strawberries in the rain and I was delighted to take advantage of the 50% off u-pick in the rain offer. Fully anticipating becoming both drenched and filthy, I grabbed some extra towels and my water leg on the way out the door.
Timmy had the time of his life splashing in the puddles and mucking around in the mud. He giggled and laughed throughout our picking adventure, loving every moment of playing in the warm rain. The puddles were so deep that his boots were rendered virtually useless. Instead of keeping him dry they filled up with puddle water, causing him to struggle and slosh when walking. Soon he abandoned his trusty Thomas boots altogether, opting instead to splash barefoot.
With the exception of my water leg becoming muck covered, I remained relatively dry and clean throughout our adventure. I'm so glad I remembered to grab my water leg. I think that venturing into the mud in my everyday prosthesis could have been a disaster. At least my water leg is built for submersion and clean-up was easy.
We ended up staying at the strawberry farm for nearly 90 minutes despite only needing 30 minutes to pick our berries. The rest of the time was spent splashing and playing in the pool sized puddles. Soaked through his raincoat and covered with mud, my little guy had a blast!
Even though the sun never materialized and the dreary rain persisted, I felt my mood lighten. I guess I just needed to think outside the box. Yesterday I was reminded that it can be a lot of fun to play in the rain.
This near constant rain is really beginning to play with my moods. Being suck inside and living under a cloud without the sun has caused me to become irritable, sad and downright grumpy. In fact, everybody in this house has a severe case of the weather grumpies.
Timmy is frustrated that I won't let him play outside. I don't blame him, I know that he sees mud puddles ripe for jumping. Despite his pleas, I'm not letting him tackle the mud holes until the thunder and winds die down. This disagreement has led to a near constant whining, which is intensifying my sour mood. We have created a grumpy mood loop.
Yesterday we spent the day cleaning the house and organizing all of toys strewn through the living room. It took us nearly five hours, but his precious tracks and trains are separated by type and placed into the appropriate bin. I am fully aware that the Island of Sodor will be reassembled at the first opportunity, but at least now we have a clean slate and a working system for organizing the parts.
More rain is in the forecast today (what a shock), so it will be another one spent indoors. I think I'm going to pack him up and go somewhere fun. If I have to spend another day in the house I might officially become stir crazy!
Outside it feels like a swampy mess. Even Timmy, who relishes spending as much time outside as possible, has been clamoring for inside activities. With continued hot temperatures and rain in the forecast for the next few days, it is going to be awhile before we dry out.
With our activities relocated indoors, my living room has been transformed into a landmine of train tracks and various vehicles. My goodness my little guy certainly loves his trains! I try to keep a path cleared to walk to the kitchen, but even that "safe zone" becomes swallowed by the tracks by the middle of the afternoon. Between the track clutter and being stuck inside, I am beginning to feel claustrophobic from the plastic overload.
I am actively reminding myself that this stage will pass, and that some day I will again have a living room floor. Of course it is an entirely different internal narrative when it is the middle of the night and I step on a train. Those little trains can cause a lot of pain.
Unlike Robby and Scott, who are forced to enter our train depot/ living room without adequate protection, I have learned to walk in a modified shuffle through the plastic toys. Whereas I hear Robby and Scott yelp in pain, I only hear a loud crunch when I step on a toy. Sometimes being an amputee has some clear advantages!
Warm weather finally has arrived. With the temperatures edging towards 90 everyday, I think that our persnickety winter is behind us. Over the weekend I packed up the snow garb and brought out the summer clothes. (Of course, none of the clothes I carefully packed and stored for Robby or for Timmy fit anymore, making the entire effort for naught.)
Robby and Timmy both went through growth spurts over the winter, so their shorts are both way too tight and way too short. I suspect that we will be shopping for new clothes over the next few days. I always feel a tinge of sadness sorting through clothes for the boys. They are both growing up too quickly!
While their clothes are too small, I happily discovered that my summer clothes are too big. The shorts that were too tight in September now fall off of me, and my snug shirts look baggy. Needless to say, I'm delighted with this development!
I've been working hard at becoming healthier. To date I have lost over 40 pounds, and I feel stronger and happier. Timmy is still fast as lightening, but at least I have a chance at keeping up with him. I finally feel like all of my efforts are starting to yield rewards.
My Mother's Day was laid back and relaxing. The boys allowed me to sleep in, a rare and much appreciated luxury. After I woke up I enjoyed some coffee while watching Hamlet play with his trains on the floor. Scott quickly ran outside to hang up my banner while Robby presented me with a ceramic flower he painted in art class.
I spent the day alternating between playing with the boys and cleaning the house. Unfortunately for the clutter, I spent the majority of my time with the boys. Despite my plans, I just couldn't gather up the motivation to completely clean the house. With rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, I will be presented with ample opportunities to tackle the project.
Yesterday both Robby and Timmy asked me to go for a bike ride, an activity that will almost always trump doing chores around the house. I couldn't have planned a better activity for my special day. Bike riding with the boys is quickly becoming one of my favorite things.
I hope that everybody had a Mother's Day filled with love and relaxation.
