pool friend

On Friday we went to Gtown for my pre-op appointment.  G watched the kids at grandpa's house.  Hurray for Netflix.  How to train your dragon is a real treat.  I brought a picnic because we wanted to go swimming at a pool that has a climbing wall and has free family swim on Fridays.  Yay!  Grandma L came to the appointment with me and got to see the kids afterward.

While at the pool a young man saw us signing.  He asked me about what we were doing and introduced himself as having autism.  He was very interested in G and expressed sadness that G couldn't hear.  I said it was nice that he goes to a school where everyone signs.  The young man said he'd like to be G's friend and had me follow them around in the pool so I could interpret between them.  The young man showed G his yo-yo tricks and asked G about his paracord bracelet.  G was busy following B and L around but was polite about talking with the young man.  I don't know if G's ever had someone be so interested in being his friend like that.

I was grateful for the kindness of the other teenagers at the pool.  The young man was from a neighboring town so he probably didn't know them from school.  But the other 10-14 year old young men have gone to school with autistic children and learned to be kind.  I kept my eye on him as the other young men played sharks and minnows.  I'm always grateful to see people be kind.

When it was time to go the young man asked G if he could have his paracord bracelet.  G said "sure" and then we drove home.

merrier

After a busy week in Gtown, this week we've been watching 2 extra deaf kids.  M is at camp so I could still fit everyone in the van.  I mostly tried to go and do the things we needed to do like visit the library, renew vehicle registration, swimming with friends.  It's been harder but OK.  L and B have been a little territorial with the little boy.  Ugh.

I got some peaches and cut them up to freeze.  Yum!  It's so hard to cut them up and freeze them when they are so good fresh.  But peach season is kinda short.  If you don't put them up while they are good, you'll be without for the whole year.  I put my name down to buy a case of peaches.  It will be like the time I bought 15 doz eggs....  I'll just cut some up every day until it is all put away and frozen.  Getting a lot more than you can possibly eat helps to get them cut and frozen.

2 of a kind hat

Back in 2009 I made the kids these mini band uniforms when P was marching during Grad school.
The band director gave P 3 hats and I cut down the hats so they would fit the kids.  It was a custom hat for the Gator band, probably a run of 200 or so.  Then the two I cut down were even more unique.

This past week at scout camp G told me one of the scouts had stolen his hat.  It turns out that G lost his hat on a trail and the other boy found it.  But the boy claimed he had had the hat for 2 months.  He even claimed to have lots of these hats.  If it were any other hat, or even the full size one, I would be like "Well maybe there is a confusion."  But it was one of the cut down ones badly stitched together by me.  So the chances that he was just lying were pretty high.  People do that sometimes.

So we learned not to take things to camp that we care about loosing.  We also learned to put our name on things.  I wouldn't even care if G had lost it.  I was mostly indignant that the boy would claim that it was his hat.

Going on

We're in GTown this week while lP goes to science camp.  G is at scout camp 1 hour away and we had to drive out to him twice to take a flashlight, poncho and dry box.  His CI failed from the moisture and it has been raining hard every day.  It is Thursday and it is our first time taking the boys to the big park because it rained almost constantly.  

I've been getting walks and calisthenics in as much as I can.  I have so much energy.

Today on the walk B was touching the wagon wheels.  I told him not to and within minutes he got his hand run over.  He told me "maybe we shouldn't have gone on the walk" and "maybe we should donate the wagon."  I said "no, the problem was that you touché the wheels."

I have the same problem.

I donated blood today.  It was good to give to the system that G got so much blood products.
My hemoglobin was 14!  Grandma L watched the boys.  It was rough.

Integrity

It's Summer!  Now is the time of "Can we go to the beach?" for 20 minutes "Yes!"

Tonight I was making food to take to the Prophet's talk on Sunday.  M hadn't done her online classes so we didn't go to the beach until 7:10 when the dub dubs and work were done.  But we did go and it was lovely.  I love going to the beach at night.  It is so beautiful.  There is parking.  There is not scorching sand.  There are relaxed and frolicking children. 

Integrity is so important.  Keeping your word.  Being honest.  Honoring your covenants.  Being generous and brave no mater who sees.  It's in everything we do and impacts all our relationships.  There is no person on this earth that you can behave without integrity toward.  Your integrity is about who you are, not who they are or what they did.