A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Boy, am I tired. Last night at about 1am, Peter started to cry a bit. Usually, that means that he has to go potty, so I jumped up to help him. When I got to him, I smelled a WAVE of NASTINESS! Vomit and diarreah hit me and I thought, "Oh no, no, no, no...PLEASE no!!" Yes. Peter had thrown up all over himself and had diarrhea, and what was worse (yes, it's worse) it was probably an hour or so previous to that time that that had happened. So it was dried onto him. Oh gross. Poor kid was caked with all the gross things of this earth. I tried to wipe him down as best I could with baby wipes and a cold wash rag (no hot water in the motor home). Finally Devin woke up, so he was able to take Peter over to a warm shower while I cleaned up as best I could. I had to climb up to the loft bed and face the monster that awaited me. I peeled the pillowcase off his pillow (YUCK!!!), then I had to tug the sheet out from under Josh on one side and Andrew on the other. Luckily, they were so dead to the world that they didn't even notice! I'm pretty sure I didn't leave any chunks behind (*vomit sound*), and I was able to sweep most of the stuff off the floor from the initial undressing of Peter (*more vomit sounds*). I tried to clean his pillow using a wet rag and some hand sanitizer (that makes an interesting smell). I piled all the sheets, blankets and rags into a laundry bag and got Peter some new clean clothes and made him a bed on the floor next to us for the night. Poor little guy. We got him all dressed after his warm shower and he fell back asleep and slept all night. I think that got it out of his system, as he seems to be back to normal today. Good times. I'm just grateful that we were at an RV park with water and showers and power. The power kept the fan going which covered all the noise of our nighttime efforts, and the shower was indispensible in getting poor Peter cleaned off. After we all managed to get up (blah), we headed back out on the road. My goal was to get to Spokane and go to the temple and hopefully get all the way to Rainier. I think, though, that when I have these journey's-end-goals in mind, I become extra ornery and it's impossible to live with me. We drove through Missoula, then through Ceour D'Alene. Devin wanted to stop in Ceour D'Alene and see the lake and I got super ticked off. He did it anyway, which made me even madder! It WAS a beautiful spot. And what a shame that I ruined it by being snotty! I spent the whole time at that peaceful spot wondering when we were going to leave and checking my watch! Sometimes I surprise myself. Where did this come from? Well, I finally got my way and we were on our way to Spokane. We found a park by the temple, dropped off the kids and Devika, and we went to MY goal. Yes, the temple is a GOOD goal, but I was honestly going about it the wrong way... Anyway, we get there only to find that it's a super small temple. Not only is it a super small temple, but it's the BUSIEST temple!! They were totally booked and wouldn't let us in!!!! They put us at the bottom of a super long waiting list, and we went to a waiting room where I sat down and just sobbed. I told Devin we should just go, but then the temple president came in and asked if we'd be interested in a sealing session if he organized one. Ok. I was a blubbering mess, though. Red-eyed, he led us through to where we needed to be and arranged a sealing session for us and another couple who were in the same predicament. It was a lovely session. I'm actually glad it happened that way. Half the time, I didn't need to be attentive at all, so I was able to think and be introspective. I realized how uptight and unbearable I've been acting and that I really need to realign myself and lighten up. I've worked very hard to lighten up and be more flexible and I was regressing. I was also able to remember that time almost 12 years ago when Devin and I knelt across that altar to be sealed together for time and all eternity. I love him even more than I did then. It was time for me to let go again and just enjoy the journey, if not for myself, for him! So, while we didn't get to do an endowment session as I had planned, what we did was what I really needed. I'm back, and I am fine. I was able to take a deep breath, apologize to Devin, and make a resolution to do better. After our outing to the temple, we picked the kids back up and started on our way to Yakima, WA. We had about 3 1/2 hours to go. Halfway there, Devin decided he wanted to stop at a lookout area. My first thought was, "No way! We need to get to Yakima so we can get a spot and cook dinner and get the kids to bed at a decent hour!" Then, I stopped myself. Why do we need to get to Yakima so fast? We don't. Why do we have to have a spot in an RV park in order to cook dinner? We don't. Does it REALLY matter if the kids stay up a little later right now? No. We're on vacation. it's ok. So, we stopped. There were paths to run on up to this cliff overlook of the Columbia River. It was beautiful! We all ran on the paths and played! Devika made us dinner of fish, pumpkin and salsa! We ate dinner while the sun set over the Columbia River! The kids and I found cool basalt rocks to add to their special school rock collections and we did some science experiments using the COOLEST experiment book I've ever found! We learned about sedimentary rocks by cutting Snickers bars in half and inspecting them with magnifying glasses, then looking at shale. We had a GREAT time, and we would have missed it if I would have put up a fuss. What other wonderful times have we missed in the past few days because I've been uptight? I don't want to think about it. I'm ready to be open to impulse stops and unplanned awesomeness!! :) After dinner, we loaded back up and headed on down the road to Yakima. The kids played on the iPad and listened to radio dramas and stayed up late (almost 9--Ha!). We found an RV park that was almost completely full. We stopped and were able to wash Peter's yucky sheets/blankets. I showered and felt much better. There was some GREAT wi-fi, so I was able to download some apps on my phone and do some other little things. I fell asleep feeling much more comfortable with myself. That's a good feeling.
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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