To Friend or not To Friend

The age of the internet has provided the world with a whole new perspective and a whole new way to communicate.  Social networking sites like Facebook have provided us with a way to connect with old friends, long lost family, and strangers. And for the curious, social networking sites have given us the ability to check up on someone without actually reconnecting. Especially if their privacy settings are not set.

I did this recently; I was one of the curious. I noticed that a friend of mine was Facebook friends with a childhood friend of mine. With one click, I could see where my childhood friend was living and what they have been doing.  And then suddenly, there were two more childhood friends, I clicked on their pages and memories came flooding back to me.

These people were a huge part of my childhood. I remember believing that we would be friends forever. I also remember that I was at times a horrible, short tempered brat.  Do they remember me as that brat, as a childhood friend or even at all?

Life happens, people move, people loose touch. Except for three of them, they are still the best of friends. It was with joy that I saw them together as adults at a recent wedding. I could tell that they are still the best of friends. As I looked at the photos (privacy settings folks, use them), I was also a little sad; a part of me wished I could have been there.  A part of me wished I was still friends with them.

Suddenly I was torn. Should I ask to be their Facebook friends? Did I dare? What if they said no? What if they said yes? What is one to do?  

The little girl in me desperately wants to reconnect with these childhood friends. My adult brain and heart knows that it isn’t necessary. I am blessed with great friends, an incredible family and an exciting future.

Early Intervention

The Big D had his early intervention evaluation last week to see if there is a reason why at 16 months he isn’t standing or walking. Specifically we were looking at the issue of standing and not putting any weight on his legs.

During the hour long evaluation several things were noticed by the occupational therapist. Little things that the big D does that I hadn’t noticed before. The most obvious was the way he crawls. He crawls with his feet in the air. He also crawls with his wrists in a strange position. The second is that although he is showing signs of putting some pressure on his feet, it is pretty obvious that it is uncomfortable for him.

When I was young, I remember being able to put my feet in positions that none of my friends could. I could bend my wrists farther back then anyone else. The term the doctor used was hyper flexibility. It appears that my son takes after his mommy. He may even be more hyper flexible then I was. The good news is that if he wants to run away and join the circus, he should have no trouble getting a job. The bad news is that he is going to need to work harder then others on his gross motor skilss.

The occupational therapist showed me a couple of different exercises that I can do to with Big D to help him gain some muscle control. I am happy to report that I think they are working. True, it has only been a week and perhaps I am just being overly optimistic but it does seem like Big D is getting some confidence to stand.

I do have a gripe with the early intervention folks. After our initial evaluation, which was a brief hour in which Big D took awhile to warm up to them, they told our pediatrician that they felt Big D should see a pediatric orthopedic and go to Children’s Hospital in Seattle. I have such mixed feelings about this. Of course if there is anything wrong with my child, I will spare no expense and take him to the best doctors possible. However, I also feel like the early intervention folks might be jumping the gun. They said that Big D’s feet were highly sensitive and that he wouldn’t put any weight on them at all. This is wrong. He didn’t like two strangers playing with his feet during the evaluation. He puts some pressure on his feet and he doesn’t show any sensitivity at home. I feel as if the early intervention folks need to spend more time with Big D before making such huge recommendations.

I don’t know. It might be mistake, but for now we are going to try the physical/occupational therapy only. If we don’t see any improvement in the next couple of months, we will then look at having Big D see a pediatric orthopedic.

I try to make Big D’s exercises a game. We play every day and each day he seems a little stronger. Hopefully soon he will be able to stand on his own. 

New Adventures

I have two new adventures that are about to happen.

The first adventure centers on my son. At the age of 16 months, my guy doesn’t stand or walk. He doesn’t put any weight on his legs. When we try to hold him up and have him stand, it only works for a couple of seconds at most. This is worrisome. We are in the process of scheduling a screening for developmental delays. Specially, he will be evaluated for gross motor delays.

It is difficult to put my emotions into coherent thoughts. I can’t help but worry that there might be something wrong with my happy guy. Especially if ones reads the articles on the internet. A word of advice, don’t do it. The internet is a scary place for information. Then there is the part of me that feels that my guy will simple stand and walk when he is ready. He didn’t crawl until two weeks before his first birthday. He is on his own schedule and we shouldn’t worry. He will stand and walk on his terms.

What is a mom to do? This mom will go into the evaluation with an open mind. I will accept the help and tools offered to give my son the confidence and skills to be a great walker. And if there is something more serious, we will tackle that with the love, humor and strength and is strong in our family.

A final thought on this adventure, please stop asking if he is walking yet. And don’t look at me or my beautiful son with a pitiful sad expression, when I say no. My son is perfect thank you very much!

My second upcoming adventure causes more conflicting emotions. As I write about this second adventure, now and in future posts, I will probably sound like I have split personalities. Every time I think about this adventure I bounce between sad, scared, angry, happy, excited and so much more.

It looks like my family will be moving away from this beautiful city that has been our home for so very long. My husband’s job is being transferred and we will probably be moving by the end of the year.

I am excited as this will mean a much deserved promotion for the hubby and will give us the opportunity to try new things and have new adventures. However, it is hard to conquer my overwhelming sadness and fear of moving away from my family. Almost my entire family is here and they are a huge, huge part of my life. The idea of not seeing them on a regular basis, having them in my son’s daily life, saddens me beyond words.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like a free spirit in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." ~Helen Keller

I've decided to start a blog

As much as I enjoy Facebook and other social networking sites, I feel as if it is time to share more. Or perhaps share with only a select few. I’m not sure which it will be. Even if no one reads my blog, it will be a place for me to get my crazy, incoherent ramblings out and into the open.

I hope to use this blog to share my thoughts, adventures and more.

It is here, in my first post, that I will apologize for my lack of editing skills. Please forgive the misspellings, typos, and general bad grammar. As all of my English teachers will tell you, editing is not my thing.