Beach walk column

Abby and I took a walk along Wollaston Beach a couple of weeks ago. Read all about it.

Surgery follow-up

Earl's surgery on Monday went very smoothly. He is healing nicely and being a very good patient. Best of all, the pathology report came back yesterday, and the cancer was completely removed. It's a load off all our minds.

Monday morning, Abby's stomach was still "squeezy," and I realized it was anxiety over Earl's surgery, not a stomach bug, that was causing her nausea. Poor girl! She barely held it together until she got to school, but then was fine for the rest of the day. She's still not eating as much as she normally would, and seems a little anxious, although she's not talking about it. She will probably feel much better when Earl resumes his normal schedule in a few days.

I've been feeling a little squeezy, myself, for a few different reasons. The surgery was on my mind, of course, and waiting for the lab results was tough, too. Then I had to call an editor to discuss a new project -- more exciting than anxiety-provoking, but I still got a little nervous. Then, of course, it was time to do taxes, which isn't nervewracking but it's not fun, either.

Thankfully, all that is behind me. Here's to cancer-free husbands, non-squeezy daughters, the end of tax season, and exciting writing projects to work on. Things are looking up.

Better-late-than-never bunny cake

Third annual bunny cake, with three pastry chefs

Timmy, Brian, Abby

Easter list

I want to write some record of Easter, but am too tired to put a serious effort into it. Here are the highlights:

• Hysterically funny chocolate-egg hunt, commencing at 6:30 a.m. The Bunny hid eggs everywhere -- in shoes, in toys, on shelves, in tissue boxes, and, Abby reported, 16 of them in her room alone. It was sweet to see the kids so excited, especially the boys.
• Abby was more subdued, and by the time we sat down to breakfast, we understood why. For the first time in her life, she didn't want the special twice-a-year cinnamon rolls (some people are Christmas and Easter Catholics; we're Christmas and Easter cinnamon roll people.) She excused herself and read one of her new books the Bunny brought (Pick of the Litter, perfect fiction for a juvenile dog-lover.)
• I dashed off to sing the 7:45 mass, doing my makeup in the car, hoping Abby wouldn't get sick on her way to church at 9:00.
• Checked voice mail between masses. Abby thought she would be OK, but ended up too nauseous to come to church; Earl turned the van around and went home. Disappointed, I sang the 9:00 mass and made a hasty exit.
• Timmy informed me when I got home that Abby was feeling "squeezy."
• He had also told me last night, when discussing Earl's pet allergies, that it was a good thing the Easter Bunny doesn't shed.
• Abby slowly improved throughout the morning, even eating a light breakfast. By the time the lamb (lamb! on a squeezy stomach!) was done at 1:30, she had made a full recovery.
• Gorgeous, gorgeous day here. Yummy dinner, good company, and a family hike in the Blue Hills, followed by more backyard fun. It's such a treat to be outdoors and not freezing.
• Too many wonderful desserts. Bunny cake (photo forthcoming), ricotta pie, a few other things. Mmmmm.
• Lots of other sweet things -- Brian calling his worry stone (with a cross on it) in his basket his "holy stone"; kids wanting to stay in their church clothes until Grammy and Grampy got here, even though they never actually went to church in those clothes; kids playing by the stream in the Blue Hills; Brian saving his special baseball Easter-egg shaped brownie for the game tonight; Earl reading today's Gospel to the kids and discussing it with them after they decided they couldn't go to church.

It was a great day, and tomorrow is a big day, with Earl's surgery. I'm hoping for a smooth procedure and an easy recovery for him, and that we both keep this Easter joy in our hearts.

Easter 2010

The sun isn't up yet, although I think Abby is. I hear her walking around upstairs, but she's being quiet about it. The Easter Bunny usually leaves chocolate eggs for the kids to find, even in their rooms, so I bet she's on her own little treasure hunt.

My living room is perfumed with the sweet fragrance of hyacinths. Earl bought a pot of them for his mother, beautiful purple, each flower heavy with a hundred little blossoms.

Birds are chirping outside, knowing that the sun is coming. Some folks, my in-laws among them, are undoubtedly preparing for sunrise services outside, commemorating Jesus' Resurrection.

I'm singing masses at 7:45 and 9:00, and although that's plenty early, the sun will be up by then. I always feel a little sorry for the 7:45 crowd, which is used to a quick and quiet mass at that hour. No doubt the trumpet and full organ will be a bit of a jolt to their nerves. They'll leave church knowing they've celebrated, for sure.

I wish you and yours a blessed and joyous Easter, whether or not the Bunny comes to your house. It's going to be a beautiful day.

Autism Awareness month

April is Autism Awareness month. Oh, we're always aware of it in our house, although it's such part of the fabric of our family that we hardly notice it sometimes. This is made easier by the fact that Abby's Asperger Syndrome and Brian's PDD-NOS are milder than the diagnoses of many on the autism spectrum.

My general acceptance of autism in our family is a relatively new thing. When Abby was first diagnosed (with PDD-NOS) it was as if we were told our beautiful four-year-old had a debilitating, incurable disease. My head swam with horrifying thoughts: She'll never have any friends. She'll end up in an institution. She'll never hold a job, never get married, never live independently. She'll never be the daughter I hoped she would be.

More than four years later, I can say that she has some friends and many positive acquaintances. She won't be institutionalized for her Asperger's. In all likelihood, she will develop the necessary skills to find rewarding work as an adult. She already wants her own place to live when she grows up, so she can get a dog. And who knows if anyone will get married, disability or no disability?

She isn't the daughter I had originally hoped for (and that would be the perfect child every first-time mother hopes for) but she's the daughter she is and I wouldn't trade her. For the record, I'm not the mother I hoped to be, either, but we're doing all right together.

It's all in the timing

This little doodad may save my life.

Well, maybe my sanity. Or at least my voice.

My sweet Abby has a real issue with time management. I'd actually say it goes deeper than that; I'm not sure she even has a clear concept of time, let alone trying to accomplish tasks within a certain amount of it.

I've been contemplating getting a "time timer" such as this for months, and finally ordered one from Amazon last week. It arrived in the mail today, and after establishing it was, in fact, working, even without the tick-tick-tick I expected, it turned my little lollygagger into a model of efficiency.

Never was her nighttime routine accomplished so quickly. She also was thrilled to use it to time her bedtime reading. I personally can't wait for her to use it tomorrow morning, to help her move through her routine without reminding, cajoling or prodding on my part.

The timing (ha!) of its arrival is excellent, too. The Triduum and Easter unfold within the next four days, and I'm going to be doing a lot of church singing. Far better to save my voice for that.