Good Resolutions

There's been quite a bit on my plate lately, especially in regard to health issues. I am very happy to say that things have been resolving left and right without much fanfare or drama -- something I have been desperately wanting (no drama!) ...

- My sweet boy does not need surgery! The issue he has is completely correctable as he grows, so there is nothing to worry about. But what was so cool about this afternoon was that the entire experience was just fabulous:
... we arrived at 1:30 p.m. for our 1:45 p.m. appointment, filled out a tiny bit of paperwork, and were ushered into the room at 1:40 p.m. Not only did we not have to wait, but the doctor was five minutes early!
... while we waited for those quick five minutes in the waiting room, two extremely friendly people came in and passed out free stuffed animals to all the children. I was a little stunned when Aidan replied, "No, thank you" when they offered him an animal, but they were (nicely) persistent, coming back a minute later with a big softer-than-soft gorilla just for him. He declined again, but then thought better of it; "I don't want it, Mommy, but I'll give it to Grace."
... the doctor was fantastic. I loved him. I think he was one of the best doctors I have ever encountered. I said to my parents that I almost wished there was something wrong, just so we could work with him, he was that amazing. Almost, almost ... not quite. :)
... I asked him if he deals with kids with clubfeet, and while he does not (darn!) he gave me the name of someone who, in his opinion, is "magnificent." Looks like we won't need to drive to another state just for a check-up! Bonuses all around!

On other fronts, Don had his first good night's sleep, cough-free, in about a month after taking Claritin (OT). That means I got a good night's sleep too (although not the ever-longed-for 10 hours I would like to have). I'm putting Aidan on Children's Claritin soon to see if his stuffiness clears up.

I'm not sure he'd like me broadcasting this, but my dad got a hearing aid! I'm glad, for his sake -- you can't even see the thing and it will improve his life, plain and simple. He has "moderate" hearing loss, so saith the charts, probably from years behind a deafening, clanking Linotype machine for 25+ years (not to mention shooting guns in the army, Mr. Sharp Shooter that he was, hard to believe!). Having tinnitus didn't help either, but now he's in the land of the hearing again (and actually told me to speak more softly this afternoon).

Speaking of tinnitus, and moving way off topic here, I recall hearing an incredible piece on NPR (I think) a couple of years ago about a "new" study on Beethoven (one of my favorites), who suffered not from deafness, as history claimed for years, but from tinnitus -- an overwhelming ringing of the ears, so much so that it can potentially drown everything else out. Think about that the next time you listen to the Ninth Symphony -- composed not out of silence, but out of a horrible cacophony of sounds in his own head. Composing in deaf silence, I think, would be "easier" than the alternative. It makes you stand in awe of his genius even more.

I'm feeling great about today ... issues resolved, more or less. Don's liking his job to boot, so that's a major plus right there. I feel like we're finally in a good place, a calm place, ready to take a look around at all the rubble at our feet, ready to pick up one chunk at a time and starting rebuilding our lives. That's the image I have in my head today -- rebuilding from the rubble. I pray that God will give us a Big Hand, right there along side of us ...