The 5th of July

I am really sore today. I spent the 4th of July day working at my father in laws house packing and moving things so that Russ, Steve's cousin in law can spruce it up to sell. I suspect the house will sell quickly, especially with the facelift.  That was at least my fourth trip out there and it is incredibly tiring, physically and emotionally, and I am feeling the effects today.

We just have so much on our plates this year.

I slept in the car as Steve drove us home late in the afternoon. Once we arrived I took a much needed shower, made dinner and then fell asleep about five separate times while watching TV. At 8:30 PM I was awake again and Steve asked me to go watch the San Francisco fireworks show that started at 9:30. Sure. We can't just sit here relaxing, can we?

We drove down toward the Marina, not daring to get too close to Aquatic park and Pier 39 where they were shooting them. Our target was the Marina Green, about a mile or so away. We knew it would be difficult or impossible to park near the water, so we parked just outside the Presidio and walked about a mile to the St Francis Yacht Club, just behind Marina Green. (I complained every step of the way. I know, delightful, right?) We arrived there about 9:15 and found dozens of parking places. Who knew? Oh well.

We wondered if we would see anything because the fog was in, but it wasn't hugging the water, so hope sprang eternal. It was so beautiful down there. We were just below the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was shrouded in fog and barely visible.

We could see the fireworks from Sausalito/Tiburon across the Bay in Marin. There was no fog over there. It was strange. we could see the end of the layer of fog even though we were standing in it. I took this picture with my phone, but it was hard to capture.

  

Then the San Francisco show started. You could basically see the bottom half of the fireworks from our vantage point. The top was lost in the fog. (I suspect those at Aquatic park got a full view, though) It was kind of cool, but there is a lot of watching the fog change color.

We chatted with a man who held his daughter as she slept on his shoulder. I missed Maggie alot as I watched them, like an aching longing. That made me smile in spite of things because I never took her down there for the fireworks. It was too cold (low 50's last night with the wind bowing hard) too late and too crowded. Still, I missed her and I wondered if I was too protective of her. I dismissed that thought pretty quickly and smiled remembering us making a flag cake and watching the fireworks on television together. I kind of missed that too.

Fireworks over, we walked back to the car and went right past the Palace of Fine arts, which is simply beautiful day or night - but especially at night.  It kind of put the fireworks to shame. (and it kept me from complaining on the walk back)

We were home before 11 and I climbed into bed and fell sound asleep, tired from a long day of activity.  I woke up this morning and realized another holiday has come and gone.

I guess that's what ths year will be, just checking them off and remembering.

Praise the Lord and pass the IPAD

It is Sunday evening at the end of what was technically NOT a long weekend, but certainly felt like one.  I am tired and content.

My plan was to recap the weekend in this post, but I have to limit it because there's too much to report from the 4th of July.

First and foremost, Eddie was home with Grace!! They arrived around noon and Maggie was very happy to see them. Though Steve and I have both seen Eddie a few times in the past months, he has not been home, so Maggie has not seen him since before Christmas.  She was very happy and excited to have him here. She hasn't seen Tim since he left for Chicago in January, so there has been a serious big brother drought around here. With Eddie here Maggie World righted itself a little bit.

I tried to take a picture of just Eddie and Grace but Maggie was in the background and this is now my new favorite picture of her. She's still just delighted even while she's covering her face. It's as though she cannot believe her good fortune to get to see one of her boys, and Grace is just a bonus. 

We did have the traditional 4th of July barbecue and my mom, my sister Kate and Eddie's friend Chris joined us. Steak and flag cake all around!

But that was the end of the evening. There was one very strange encounter in the morning. 

Maggie and I made a quick trip downtown to FINALLY buy her IPAD. She was excited and she impressed the hell out of the geniuses in the store with her opinions and preferences. She picked the color and responded appropriately to several complicated "yes/ no" questions.  I was impressed that they actually seemed to "get" her differences and needs and that they respected her intelligence. (Genius recognizes genius) Of course the accessibility expert was asking me a ton of questions for apps etc, and I was passing along the info I learned from Diane, Maggie's former therapist and assistive technology guru at CCS.  

That was all good, the strangeness came when we left the store.

There was a man washing windows at a building a door or two up from the Apple Store. That was curious in and of itself, given that is was a major holiday. He turned toward us made a strange move. When you live in a big City, you learn there are times to keep moving. Strange people are everywhere and not all of them are harmless.  My maternal instincts (spidey sense) started tingling. I was momentarily worried about our safety. Was he going to strike us with his window washing equipment? Was he going to block our path? What was going on here? 

Little did I know what he had in store. 

He looked at Maggie and SHOUTED at the top of his lungs, 

"IN DA NAME A JAESU CHRIZE, SHE WILL WALK!!!!!!!!!!!!*"

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! That's a lot to take in on a downtown street when one is flush with the accomplishment of purchasing an IPAD and conversing with geniuses. 

I did what any other mother would do and picked up the pace. I nodded my thanks to the man who was absolutely glowing with pride. He was holding his window washing pole as though he was in an honor guard.  As it turns out, he meant no harm, but it was a strange strange moment. There was no way I was sticking around to discuss this with him. We were around the corner in record time. 

We arrived home shortly before Eddie arrived. After the initial hellos, I shared my story of the evangelical window washer. I told Steve, Eddie and Grace what happened doing my best imitation of the guy. Steve raised one eyebrow, Grace laughed and Eddie said, "Hmm, too bad you didn't run into him 18 years ago. Things would have been a lot easier." 

Maggie threw back her head and laughed at that because Eddie is hilarious and Eddie is home and who cares what that weird dude with the long stick has to say.  

______________

*I'm typing this the way he sounded. I could not place his accent but English was not his first language. 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all of you out there in Maggie's World.

Maggie started out the day waving the flag. This is not only symbolic but a real achievement for her. It is a tremendous physical challenge for her to hold onto something. She never dropped it!

Happy 4th of July

Gorgeous day here but the fog is supposed to arrive before the fireworks show, which Is an unfortunate tradition in San Francisco. No matter Maggie is ready for all the festivities.

I am making flag cake as i do every year and we are adding a new patriotic dish as well. How can anyone pass up red white and blue star shaped ravioli? How did we live before Costco?

Hope things are bright and shiny where you are.

4th of July Hugs

This is Maggie giving me a hug on the 4th of July at Crissy Field. Note her patriotic scarf. Maggie's hugs are great. It takes her a minute but she just throws her arm around my neck.

It was breezy there and Maggie was most unhappy unless we had the wind at her back. Makes sense, she can't protect herself and it's kind of freaky to have the wind blowing in your face. But keeping the win at our backs meant walking in a straight line to the east. Getting back to where we started still had to happen but Steve used the crowds to shelter Maggie from the wind.

Flagging Maggie (with apologies to Flogging Molly)

We went for a walk in the park this morning. Eddie is home and he joined us - but he rode his bike while we strolled. It was a good thing he was there because we were about 4 blocks from home and I went to suction Maggie and realized we forgot the suction machine. That is a first for us. Eddie zipped home on his bike and was back in about five minutes. Crises averted.

I think we were so focused on Steve lashing the American Flag to Maggie's chair that we forgot the suction machine. Her understated patriotism brought a lot of smiles to passers by. Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July.

sorry I just edited - I hit post instead of spell check.

Back to Monday

Ahh, a long weekend. Wait, that is not entirely accurate. It should be, “Ahhh, the Monday morning following a long weekend.” I love the break from the routine almost as much as I like returning to the routine. Maggie is back in school this morning and that is good for her and good for me.

I find myself completely worn out on the days she is off school. I have to find some way to entertain her, which is not at all difficult because she loves to do anything. However, it takes a physical toll on me. That is eight additional hours of lifting, pushing the wheelchair, etc and it tires out this old body o’mine. Summer school is out on July 17 – a week from this Friday -- so I have five weeks of this to look forward to before the school year starts.

I do most of the lifting anyway, but these extra hours without help make a big difference. The nurse that comes in the afternoon does not do any lifting. She cannot do it. That may seem ridiculous, and some will suggest that I get rid of that nurse, but she brings other attributes to the table and besides, she has been here since Maggie was born. She is like a member of the family. I had a helper coming in a couple of days a week, which was great when I had to go somewhere, but it look like she has other employment. Besides, my commitments changed and it felt somewhat stupid paying someone when I was here.

Despite my aching shoulders and arms, I have to say the weekend was great. We had my mom and sister over for a barbecue on the 4th. Tim’s friend Quran came too and I haven’t seen him all summer. In the afternoon, I got a call from an old law school pal, Melissa. (Ok, she’s not THAT old) who was in San Francisco for the weekend. She and her friend Paul stopped by for a while which was a nice surprise. I had not seen her in about three years. I used to head up our alma mater in Sacramento every year for the continuing legal education, and Melissa and I would spend the entire day yakking in the back of the room just like old times. My husband Steve, who was also in my law school class (dreamy, I know), does his continuing legal ed through his office. He had not seen Melissa since we graduated in 1985 and was very surprised when he returned home to find her sitting in the living room.

Melissa and I met in our first year of law school. We both spent many hours in the library. Before you remark on my dedication and studious nature, you should know that much of that time was spent in the library stairwell laughing and gossiping with Melissa. If not for that stairwell time, I very likely would have lost my mind. On the other hand, if I was actually studying all that time I would probably be on the Supreme Court today. Thanks A LOT Missy, you ruined my career.

Now back to Monday.