What a Weekend!

Elijah and I left on Friday around lunch time to drive to Austin to participate in the Family Weekend Retreat at the Texas School for the Deaf(TSD). Jacob had to work over the weekend so he stayed with my partner, who also had to work! We arrived around 4:00 and got checked in. We went to our dorm room and settled in. Dinner was at 5:30, so we left a little early to walk down to the cafeteria. I have learned from past experience, it is good to get to the cafeteria early when attending something like this!

We had about ten minutes to wait and there was another family there waiting also. Elijah and their daughter played and ran around a bit. The mother and grandmother chatted with me. I then hear a scream and someone crying.  I look over and Elijah is getting up and holding his nose. He had fallen while running up the stairs. He comes running to me and when he moves his hand all I see is BLOOD. The other mom handed me tissues and when I wiped away the blood, I saw this huge gash! It was deep. I knew it needed stitches.

He and I started our walk back to the check in area, because our car was there and I needed to find out where the closest hospital was. I was a nervous wreck. This would be my second trip to an ER in two weeks and this was in another town! The nurse looked at Elijah's nose and agreed it needed stitches. Someone offered to drive us, because by this time I was in tears and my hands were shaking. Elijah was crying and all I wanted to do was take care of him.

We arrived at the ER and they got us back pretty quick. The woman who took us waited in the waiting area. She was the first of many angels that night. They took X-Rays and he had also broken his nose. He got five stitches. Elijah was not very happy about stitches and threw a fit. I told him they would have to give him medicine to calm him and he would get sleepy. There would be no ice cream social at TSD if he was sleepy. He calmed down and after two huge shots he got his five stitches. We then got his prescription for antibiotics and left. It was now around 7:45. We found a CVS and arrived right around 8:00. The pharmacist then tells me they closed at 8:00. I explained the situation and she filled the prescription. Our second angel of the night.

We arrived back at TSD and they had saved us dinner. TSD is a huge campus. It reminds me of a small junior college and there are lots of stairs! Another staff member then drove us over to the ice cream social in a golf cart, because the walk was SO long. This was Elijah's favorite part!!! We ate our dinner, had our ice cream and Elijah got to play with other kids. He was a real trooper!

The rest of the weekend was awesome. I went to workshops on Saturday and Elijah went to a day care where he got to play with other kids. He swam, but did not submerge his head due to the stitches. He had an awesome time and he behaved! I arrived back and we hung at the dorm until our group got to eat dinner. We then went and watched them shoot off rockets at the football field and then hung out with some other families. Let's just say we crashed hard that night and were in bed by 9:30.

Sunday morning was our last to be there. Elijah went to day care after breakfast and I went to two more presentations. We left around 11:15 and met my sister and nephew for lunch. We are now at their house!

Once we get home, I will post some pictures that I took. I really enjoy connecting with other families at this retreat. This is also a time when Elijah gets to be around other deaf kids his age. There was a good mix of families there with kids who signed, talked or did both! If you live in Texas, I encourage you to take your family if you have a deaf child. It is only $75 for the weekend. You stay in the dorms and they feed you while you are there! You can't beat this deal. Just be careful on those stairs, or you will spend some time in the ER. OH and I am ever so glad to have that accident insurance, WHO knew I would need it again so soon!

Angels Among Us!

I wrote about my grandfather and how I think his angel visited me in a dream! I also think there are angels in our lives everyday. Just everday people who take the time to go the extra mile to make our lives a little better. I have a lot of angels in my life and I am thankful for each of them. I hope I am someone's angel. I hope I give enough to others who need the help.

Just remember, you could be someone's angel. It could just be a simple act of human kindess.

Thank you to all of my angels, I appreciate all of you!

Angels

I have been thinking a lot about my Grandpa McGowan. He died back in 1991. He was a great Grandpa. He and my grandmother would pick us up all the time and take us to the movies. We would go and stay at their house and get to play doing a variety of things. They were great grandparents. I am lucky enough to still have my grandmother with me. She lives in Alabama and I talk to her often!

My grandfather died before I got married and I really missed having him there. He was a great dancer and so much fun to be around. He loved babies and always had a baby in his hands if there was one around. After Jacob was born in 1996, I was completely overwhelmed with this new baby. I was tired and stressed. I remember thinking what the heck was I thinking having this baby. I will not be a good mother. I went to bed one night just so worried about Jacob and how I could handle things. I had a dream about my grandfather. I remember that many of my cousins were in this dream and we were playing in the front yard of my grandparent's house. Something happened and I got hurt. My grandfather ran to me and told me, "Everything will be ok!". I woke up from that dream with a sense of peace. I truly felt my grandfather's presence with me. I have not dreamed of him since that time.

Elijah has been going through so much lately and I do feel overwhelmed by him. I thought of that dream with my grandfather and how it was like his angel visited me that night. It helps me to remember that yes, everything will be OK, just like my grandfather told me in the dream. Even though I have not had another dream about him, I know he is with me. He is with me through my grandmother and my mom and through all of my aunts and uncles. He is with me through their memories, but I also think he is with me in spirit. He will guide me and show me through with the help of God's hands. It brings me peace!