Special Day

This was a day that was different from the ones that we have come to expect when we live in the weather bubble that is Phoenix.  We get so complacent, feel so entitled to the warm, sunny days that we almost forget that there’s anything else out there.  So when real life weather hits you with thick, cool, oatmeal colored skies and sunshine that comes and goes with the wind;a downpour of rain; and 35 mph gusts that rip your kite right out of your hand (twice)… well, you feel just a little miffed.  Not that it is all bad.  It is a little inconvenient, sure.  Disappointing, at times.  Unexpected, definitely.  But bad?  No, I wouldn’t say that.

And in a way, this different day reminded me of another different day exactly four years prior. 

That day my twins came into the world 6.5 weeks before they were due.  All I knew about what to expect was what I was told, and when none of that fell into place, I realized what I really knew.  And that was nothing.  That day and the month that followed shook me to my core and changed my life.  I realized that I had been living in a bubble.  I never new misfortune or grief or having to fight for anything, much less the most important thing – the health and survival of your own children.  There was a lot I didn’t know (there is still I lot I don’t know).  But there is also a lot I do.  And I’m not sad to say that I do.  I’m proud to say that I do; that I know; that I CAN.  And, I’m sorry to say that I probably would never have even been aware of this reality if it hadn’t been made my own.  I never would have known or cared what wind felt like if it hadn’t taken my breath away in my own front yard.  I’m grateful for this experience… this so very real experience.  But most of all, I’m grateful for my children who brought it to me.  Four years ago.  Happy Birthday Ariana and Gabriel.  I love you so!

Ari has turned the corner with her power chair (figuratively, that is).  She has taken the huge cognitive leap that has made her aware that she, and no one else, is in control when she’s in that chair.  It makes me high to see her going wherever she pleases.  I feel higher still when I realize that ‘wherever she pleases’ is now, more often than not, in safe, appropriate directions that we have requested.  She follows us with the chair!  She, of course, still gets distracted when she hears and airplane overhead or stops to check out the neighbor’s basketball hoop even after I’ve asked her to come back to our driveway, but that’s a part of being 4, and that’s okay for now.  But this girl is going places. 

 

The kite went rogue twice and, luckily, wrapped itself around a speed limit sign on the main road right before getting caught in the power lines.  A near miss (strung itself on the same sign both times too).  Gabe was not feeling well, so he clung to my leg most of the time we spent out there.  He had been begging to fly the kite every time a breeze blew through the trees.  I felt terrible that when it actually came time, he couldn’t even partake in the fun.

Ariana, on the other hand, had a hay day flying the kite.  She got so excited that she didn’t even realize that her right hand (not her driving hand) accidentally hit her drive button and kicked her chair into “full speed ahead” mode, thereby running over Bella and trapping her under 300 lbs. of vehicle.  It was not a favorite moment of the day, but no harm no foul I guess.  Ari got to learn a valuable lesson from the experience, which can really only be learned first-hand… when you hit someone with the chair, it hurts.  She got to witness that, and she had the appropriate response from watching the drama of it all – big terrified cries of guilt and panic.  Every dark cloud has a silver lining.

  

Ari and Gabe got to have red velvet cupcakes for dessert (not the right number of candles in the cake, I know.  I was just thinking one for each twin.  We’ll get it right at their birthday party.)  Gabe wanted to help blow out the candles, but when I offered him his cupcakes, he said sadly “I’m too sick to eat my cupcake.  Just throw it in the garbage.”  Broke my heart to bits.  So, we saved it, and he got to eat it the next night when he was feeling better.  Both kids are well now, thank goodness.  Just hoping that wind doesn’t show up uninvited to the party on Saturday.