Vacation blues

This hasn't been the best vacation week ever. We had planned to go to Rochester, but our plans changed at the last minute.

Because we had planned to travel, I did not structure the week with activities here, so we've been winging it. I don't recommend this as a vacation week strategy. It was fun for a few days, but by the time the Tuesday snow arrived, we all had cabin fever and I realized I had to swing into planning mode.

I'd like to say we scoured the community calendar in the paper and packed our days with one educational, fun-filled activity after another. What we actually did was go to the Y in the mornings and plan a few playdates. I also had the singular privilege of making a huge food shopping run with three kids in tow. (To be fair, they really were very well-behaved in the store, but still, it's not my favorite thing to do.)

We've also gotten back into our practicing routines, which has been good. Abby is starting Minuet I, and Brian has pretty much conquered French Children's Song. He also put London Bridge together for the first time yesterday.

One highlight was that we took one of Timmy's friends and her mom to Boston Bowl yesterday afternoon for some candlepin. The kids had never been before, and I'd only been once, myself, having grown up in tenpin land. The kids had fun, but Brian was ultra-competitive and got very sad and disagreeable when he realized he came in second, even though it meant he had outscored me and all the kids. We had a long talk about sportsmanship last night, which hopefully will stick the next time we plan an activity like that.

Of course, no outing would be complete without at least one mishap. This time, Abby dropped her bowling ball on my friend's foot. Poor J never saw it coming, and was hobbling around for a little while. She later said she saw stars. I do hope she's okay today.

Abby had quite a bit of difficulty bowling. Her motor planning and spatial awareness problems both came into play, and the resulting efforts became painful to watch for me. (I feel strangely defensive, writing that. Please save your harsh comments and hear me out.)

I've been encouraged in recent months about Abby's progress in so many areas. Yesterday's bowling expedition was an undeniable reminder that she still has a long way to go. It left me feeling deflated and sad, even though she said she enjoyed the experience and didn't seem bothered by her difficulties in the least.

For me, it brought into focus that despite my belief that Abby fits in with her peers in most situations, there are some in which her disability becomes painfully obvious. I didn't appreciate the reminder.

Bowling mishaps aside -- if nothing else, this week has proven once again that several days of unstructured time is no good for Abby, or for any of us, really. She even said to me yesterday, "Going back to school will be a relief." I couldn't agree more.