The Never Normal

There is a lot to say about my vacation (to Mansfield, Missouri – home of Laura Ingalls Wilder) and also my ‘blog vacation’, which has extended beyond my return.  I can post some pictures of the trip but not of my most recent visit with Jonah, because I downloaded the vacation pictures and promptly lost the camera-to-computer cord.

I have accepted a few writing gigs, met a deadline for my monthly column in the Capital District Parent Pages, and judged entries for a “human interest story” ARC media contest.  (The acronym ARC used to stand for The Association for Retarded Citizens but we don’t say retarded anymore and I’m not sure what the acronym stands for now).  Most of the writers used the acronym without explaining it, as though the whole world understands what the ARC is and why it exists.  Several of the entries made me cringe;  one even made me cry.  It was hard to judge.  Who the hell am I?

So I met the Anderson peeps at Jonah’s eye appointment on Friday –and the doctor was really pleased.  She said the Humera is helping his right eye significantly.  Jonah was awesome-good and cooperative for every exam, my brave little boo.  (He did try to cheat by moving the plastic piece with which you’re supposed to block one eye).

Part of the reason he was able to be good is that E called me to warn that the eye doc office contacted her to tell her the appointment would be 2-3 hours long.   Evidently they planned to update his records because they’d switched from one software to another or something, and so entries would be made as we went along – from the check in to the eye test to the doctor herself checking his eyes.

I told her, “don’t worry, that’s not going to happen,” and then I called the office the next day and explained to the new (?), kind receptionist (also named Amy) how Jonah is not a kid who can wait, and unless they want him screeching, rolling around on the floor, and quite possibly attempting to aggress toward the mostly-elderly waiting room gathering, they’d better have us arrive when the doctor is ready to see us.  I was actually really calm and nice about it.  It’s for everyone’s benefit, believe me.  Amy worked her magic and told us they would come down to the parking lot and get us, so we wouldn’t have to wait.  God bless Amy.

E came with Mo instead of J, who’d gotten in a motorcycle accident and was out of work on sick leave, which I’m very upset about because I loved him and he was really very good with Boo.  Mo was cool but he’s not J.

Now I’m trying to help someone whose family is going through what we did during the months before Jonah went away to Anderson – a disabled child pulling hair, hitting, destroying things at home, pooping & smearing, and a school district with a reluctance to place him in the residential care he needs.  The mom e-mailed me today looking for advice.  I don’t know a lot, but I know a lot of people who know a lot.  I’ve said I wanted to advocate for others, and so here I go.

I leave you with some pictures from my trip.  Hopefully I find my camera cord soon (I have yet to pray to St. Anthony) so I can show the sweet pictures and video of Jonah by the river on Saturday.

I’m hugging a bust of Laura in the town square, as it were, while rocking my Laurapalooza shirt my friend K made me. HAPPY EXCITED ME.

Laura’s 10 room farmhouse, as she left it when she died in 1957 (three days after her 90th birthday).

Geek. You get the idea…

We ate at Hemingway’s Restaurant in the world’s largest Bass & Pro shops which, though I had no desire to go, was unbelievably cool.

…they had live turtles…

…and huge tanks of fish…

..the place is so hard to describe…

We went to the Dickerson Zoo and fed giraffes eye-to-eye from a tall platform

We visited The Pythian Castle and met a whippet dog named Trinity who was about to give birth. The dungeon part was creepy as hell. Lots of history in this place built in 1913…

…and we even saw Wilford Brimley at the airport. Lots of people look like Wilford Brimley but I’m positive this was really him. Truly.

Amy Ingalls Wilder, grinning wide.                  Laura Trip 2012 accomplished.