Kyler

Is my child normal?? I always wonder. Sometimes he does things that make me doubt. I know he is smart, I know he can read and add, he cares about animals and people, but it is the things he says that sometimes make me think....What was that? Please don't do that.

For example, we attended his end of season football party. The coaches had three funny stories to tell. Two of them about Kyler. Out of 20 players, two stories about Kyler. Is it because he was the most stand out odd ball? I am afraid.
So the coach tells this story.
The game was serious and the kids were getting frustrated. Kyler was trying to "pump" up the sideline players, so he says to the kids,

"Come on guys, they just need a word of encouragement!"

Is it normal for an eleven year old to say "word of encouragement"?? I would feel better if I heard the other boys shouting "positive thinking!" or "inner strength team!", but no one has yet.

The second story makes me wonder not only if he is normal, but is he food obsessed? The team was having a pregame pep rally; getting in the zone. Kyler says,

"Let's devour their lunch!"
Like it's a pie eating contest. Maybe he was just hungry, but sill, the joke all season was to listen to the biggest kid on the team, the"X" man, say he was going to eat the other teams lunch.

So, my husband and I smile when we are being told these things, and inside we are both thinking, is this kid normal?? Why is he the one the principal says makes her laugh? And the neighbor says they like to watch him from their window. Why? Because he makes them laugh. Are they laughing at my child? It makes me wonder.
What does the teacher mean when she says she is afraid the other children will "eat him alive" when he gets to junior high? Well, I think if they try to eat him alive, he may possibly devour their lunch.

So, I wait for a definitive answer and until I get one, I am choosing to believe he is just a little unique. Because it sounds better than weird.

Things to be Thankful For

On Wednesday November 14th , Dustin's 16 year old daughter, Kasandra was in a critical car accident in West Jordan. She was in the backseat of a small car (wearing her seat belt) when it was crushed and then rolled, leaving the three girls trapped inside. The roof of the car needed to be cut off in order to get them out. An off duty Murray EMT was the first to get to the girls and he kept Kasandra alive until help arrived. This is the first thing we are thankful for. Her neck was completely broken, her pelvis crushed, her spleen was hemorrhaging and she survived to make it on Life Flight. We are completely amazed at the ability of these people to work in life and death situations with such care and efficiency. No one realized how badly her neck was broken but the first responders kept her neck completely immobile throughout the transport and all the signs are looking as if she has movement in her arms and legs. That is the next thing we are so thankful for. Upon arrival to the University of Utah hospital she was rushed into surgery to remove her spleen and to place a halo on her head. We are so thankful for those trauma surgeons who kept her alive and were so focused on doing what needed to be done. It has been six days and over this time we have been so grateful for our friends and family. They have called to offer support and have been there to help us and to just sit with us. My mom and dad came up to take care of Kyler so we were able to be at the hospital together without worrying about home. Co-workers covered jobs and kept things running. We are Thankful to have them in our lives. Dustin has been spending most nights with Kasandra in the ICU, and has seen the fantastic nurses monitoring all of the machines keeping her alive. We are thankful for them. We have seen many sad families while we have spent time at the hospital.

We are

thankful for those people who reached out to ask about our loved one, while they shared the story of theirs. There were people of all different faiths offering to pray with us and for Kasandra. We are thankful for their kindness and comfort.
So this Thanksgiving will be different than any other. With all of the sadness we have felt this week, I cannot feel anything less than thankfulness.
So Turkey in a hospital waiting room, here we come!

My New Job

Ok...I have officially completed the first two weeks at my new job. Actually the same job, just a new location, new people, new parking..so it's like a new job. And I have discovered a few things about myself during this transition:

I am nice to new people
I am grateful for anyone who is nice to new people
I think most people are weird or ugly (until you get to know them personally)
If I smile all day I can pretend I like what I am doing
And maybe, I might not hate this new place

I talked to my friend Heather about how she is doing at her new job. I thought it was interesting she seemed a little reluctant to admit she was starting to like it there, and I thought, 'life goes on and people move on'. I guess that is how it should be.
As much as I wanted her to miss the old days forever, right along side me, I was happy she was moving on to a new time in her life. She was embracing it. Not bad a bad thing, healthy actually, but still a little hard.
And so I have decided, I will open up to the possibility that these new faces could actually become friends of mine someday, and I might not need to pretend things are Ok, they may actually turn out to be better than I thought they could be. So I will stop thinking each new person is strange and look at them with possibility.
So thank you Heather, for unknowingly giving me a nudge in the right direction ,and thanks Brendan for teaching me not to waste five years waiting to be friends.

Football Football Rah! Rah! Rah!

Our lives have been consumed lately with a new family hobby, FOOTBALL. We have never been people who purchase tickets to sporting events, watch sports on TV or feel the need to know the score of games; let alone understand the rules and finner points of how the games are played. Don't get me wrong, my husband is a manly man and I am not against watching men in tight pants pile on each other, but it has just not been our "thing". Until we signed our child up for football. How quickly we became those bloodthirsty fans. Discussing football pads, jock straps and screaming for total aggression on the field is now routine . I never thought of myself as the mother who would yell for my child to "pound" another child "into the ground", but that is what I have become. I find myself yelling things I never imagined yelling in public. "KICK THEIR TRASH" and "HIT SOMEBODY!" are not things I am proud to admit to yelling, but I have. Something overcomes us when we are watching our kid out there, running and sweating and being such a boy. We have been sucked in completely. Now we look at those games on TV and understand a little bit of what the half dressed, painted men are feeling. Even though I do draw the line at stripping to the waist and painting a purple "R" on my chest.

Good-Bye Cottonwood Hospital

Last week marked the end of an era.... I will miss the comfort of having these people in my life.

Patti "Queen of the Lab", Darling Anna Weiner, Todd Lonny, Lynne "cries about Draper", Ursula and her itchy you know what, Karin R. and our political companionship, Shaun with the quick, quirky wit, who loves karaoke and eyeliner, Juli the smartest and most accepting, Heather my innocent, unexpected friend, Brenden ...words cannot say, KatieBug, Wendy the registrar, Penny, someone in the closet, a few who are mean, Connie the mother, Dave the leader, Malin and his burrito, Alex a girl with a beard, Graveyard Jeannie, Creepywhisper Ati, Dancing With The Stars Carl, Emily, Gayle, Alicia, and too many who have come and gone over the last 12 years.........

Thank you for being a part of my life!