She Blinded Me With Science

If you are wondering if I am still alive, I am. But just barely. I seemed to have come down with a serious cold this week. I very rarely get sick, so I am usually unprepared when it happens to me. Hopefully, I will be recovered by this weekend and able to catch up on all of my blog reading. Until then, here is a post of some family fun we had before I arrived at death's door.

Last Saturday the family and I went to the Science Museum. Number One Son was able to invite a friend of his to join us. We actually made it a two day friend adventure for N1S and his friend.

On Friday, after school, N1S's friend, J, came home with him. They played Star Wars and Legos in N1S's room until it was time to go to the high school basketball game. That was a pretty big deal, since J hadn't been to a game before. N1S and J are in the same third grade class, so Lady Di and myself let them have a little freedom and allowed them to sit anywhere they wanted on the bleachers. First, they chose the highest seats at the top of the bleachers. After a while, they moved down closer to the court and met up with another boy in their class and stayed there the whole game.
Lady Di and I were nervous wrecks trying to keep them in constant view.

Sweet Pea, who was already mad because she couldn't have a friend, followed the boys like she was tied to them with a string. They didn't seem to mind too much though.

After an exciting game, we all came home tired and ready for bed. Once again, SP protested the unfairness of N1S's sleepover buddy but eventually was too tired to mount any serious resistance.

The next morning, after chocolate chip pancakes, we motored off to the science museum. We picked a good day to go because traffic wasn't too bad and the museum was only mildly crowded. We saw an Omnitheatre film on horses which SP loved. The museum was also advertising a travelling display, which is coming this summer, called Star Wars, the science of imagination. N1S and J's eyes pretty much popped out of their skulls just trying to take in the advertisement. You can bet we will be back this summer to see that.

The feature attraction this month is a Cartoon Network exhibit that the kids enjoyed. They got to see how cartoons are made. They also got to experience sound effects, optical illusions and photography. They even had the opportunity to make a stop-action movie with moving shapes.

On the second level of the museum, the boys got to see and touch a real cow's eye. SP didn't want anything to do with it and stood behind me and peeked around. Both boys donned gloves and felt the lens from the cow's eye. Apparently, it was about as hard as an eraser. Both boys were surprisingly brave. I wonder if it had anything to do with the squeamish teenage girls who were nearby?

There is so much to see and do at the science museum that we didn't even come close to experiencing all of it. We all got tired and hungry in the early afternoon, enjoyed a late lunch and then went home to rest.

N1S enjoyed his sleepover greatly. He doesn't get invited too often to sleep over. J and N1S got along together great and I think both boys had a great weekend. Even though SP didn't have her own sleepover guest this time, she kept up with the boys and included herself just fine.

N1S and I will have to get our Jedi robes ready for this summer's return to the museum. I hope they let us use real light sabers.

Absence Makes the Father Grow Fonder

Last Monday my son Ethan had his second ear surgery to repair a hole that didn't close after his ear tubes fell out. About one month ago he had the same surgery, but the patch to cover the hole didn't attach itself. This time we spent another long day at the hospital. We got there at 8am and came home around 5pm. Ethan did a great job. He was a little scared of going under anesthetic this time around, but in the end he was brave. He was a little crafty too. Like I said, this time he was scared of going under for some reason. We tried to reassure and persuade him that it was alright. Out of desparation we offered to get him something he wanted if he was brave. We said we would get him a Gameboy. He said, "How about an X-box?" We declined and he resigned himself to a Gameboy and allowed the doctor to put him under. He was quite groggy and in some pain afterwards. To make matters worse, we hit rush hour traffic on the way home. On top of the traffic, we had 2 detours to maneuver around. He only complained a couple times about not being home sooner. Now we have to keep him from running, jumping, blowing his nose and roughhousing. Basically, he has to stop acting like an 8 year old boy for at least one to two weeks. So we borrowed our friends' Harry Potter movies and bought a couple new Jack Sparrow books and lined up as many indoor activities as we could think of. Luckily, he likes board games and reading.

The weekend before Ethan's surgery, his little sister Emery went to stay with Gramma and Grampa up north. She is having a great time. She caught a sunfish "all by herself" yesterday. She has gone swimming and shopping and even went to a township meeting with Gramma. I talked to her on the phone tonight and asked her if she is ready to come home soon. She said, "Yeah, soon or maybe later." I think she still has some fun stuff to do.

It's nice for the kids to visit family overnight on occasion. The dinner table has definitely been quieter though. I am finding that I sure miss her when she is gone. I notice her missing in the morning when I make breakfast. I only set the dinner table with 3 plates instead of 4. I see piles of pony tail holders, stuffed animals and 'My Little Pony's' and I miss her.

Tonight, Ethan was to have had a baseball game. He had to miss it due to his surgery. When the coach called out his name inadvertently I had another sense of something missing. I knew he was at home, but it still made me notice that something wasn't right.

Losing a child is something I don't ever want to have to endure. I can't imagine how it feels for parents who have lost a child. I don't want to seem morbid. I know my children aren't far away. But sometimes their absence from a place I'm used to seeing them in, reminds me that something could happen to them. Then what would I do? I wouldn't be the same man. I guess that my family is such a large part of who I am, when one or more of those parts are missing, a large part of myself is missing. It is natural for a father to love and protect his family at all costs. When I think of such things, I think of how grateful and fortunate I am to have the family I do have. I love Lady Di and the kids more and feel greater joy when we are together. Emery will be back home on Friday. I think I'll give Ethan an extra special breakfast tomorrow morning and save a couple dozen hugs for Emery on Friday.