Of course, this week is one of the more difficult letters and I didn't already have an idea in mind. Inspiration struck when I saw her napping this afternoon:
When our kids were little we renamed naptime and called it "quiet rest time." Sometimes they'd fall asleep, but usually I considered it successful if they stayed in their room and were quiet enough that I'd get a little sanity break in the middle of the afternoon.
This week Lauren has been particularly interested in stories of funny things that she did when she was in the hospital, and I've been telling her stories about the time she spent in Philadelphia waiting for her heart transplant.
I found a picture of a good quiet rest time when she was three years old and living on CHoP's cardiac floor:
Unfortunately, those good nap days didn't happen every day. One of our biggest issues with naptime and bedtime in the hospital is that she quickly learned that one of her nurses would come take care of her if she pulled off her heart monitor stickers. It became quite the game. I'd tuck her into bed for a nap and sneak down to the cafeteria for a late lunch. Lauren would pull off her stickers, set off the alarm, and a nurse would come in. Her nurses knew it was naptime, but still had to check on her and put the heart stickers on each time. Eventually, I figured out a way to keep her from being able to take them off. (It included a big ace bandage and a onesie put on backwards so that it snapped behind her back. Don't mess with a determined mom.)
I also remember a day when I walked back towards her room and heard Lauren singing one of the songs she had learned from music therapy. She was singing (shouting?) at the top of her lungs, "Jimmy crack corn and I DON'T CARE!" The "I don't care" part was her favorite and was sung loud enough for our whole end of the hall to hear. It wasn't a very quiet rest time that day.
This week is the seventeenth week in our Blogging Through the Alphabet challenge -- letter P. Click the button below for this week's linky. It will open at 9:00 Eastern Time on Monday and stay open through Sunday evening.
Sweet memories, even if they are from the hospital. We're praying for Lauren still!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember hearing the "I don't care!" story before! What I do remember is that it was a long time before staying in their room, making no noise, and pretending they did not exist was ever consistently achieved.
ReplyDeleteAt least two have that plan down pat now. :)
DeleteSweet pictures. <3 Prayers continue!
ReplyDeleteI loved your story of the song and having to put the sleeper on backwards. My cardiac kid was like that too! That survival instinct runs strong and comes out frequently as a rascally child (LOL). We are praying for your daughter. My oldest who is 25 now spent many months in the hospital through his infant and preschool years with Tetralogy of Fallot. He is now pacemaker dependent, but his heart is mostly fixed.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn