Mon 31 Mar 2008
Easy Street: A Retrospective
Posted by Jane under Updates
[8] Comments
As Ramona’s next surgery approaches I’ve been looking back. And despite all of my anxiety and worry about her cath, I am feeling very encouraged about how things are going now. Here’s my list of the top ten ways our life is easier, happier and more relaxed than it was at this time last year…
1.We are getting a reasonable amount of sleep. Because Ramona is no longer tube fed and receiving medications only during the day, we don’t have to sleep in her room or wake up multiple times a night to attend to her.
2. Simon can walk himself to and from the car. This makes going somewhere with both of them by myself much easier, I no longer need a team of experts to help me get to the store, doctor’s appointments, etc.
3. Things around here are now measured in much larger time increments. Instead of watching the clock constantly to keep track of feeds and meds, we now just make sure that naps, meals and bedtime are regular and consistent.
4. Because Ramona’s perfusion is so much better, she no longer vomits several times a day. In fact she’s only thrown up twice since her second surgery.
5. No feeding tube! This means no tape rashes on her face, no vomiting blood, increased speech and communication and lots more fun in the highchair.
6. Did I already mention more sleep? Both Simon and Ramona go to bed at 7:30pm and wake at 7:00am. Yesterday they even napped at the same time!
7. One year ago we didn’t know if Ramona would have a birthday. We didn’t know what color her eyes or hair would be. We didn’t know if she would smile and laugh. We didn’t know if she’d ever get to see green grass.
8. I can now leave both of the babies unattended for several minutes in their playroom to attend to something elsewhere in the house. I can even go to the bathroom by myself 
9. Because Ramona is no longer on oxygen at home, I don’t have to map out every single move I make or curse at the tubing as I drag her, the IV pole, and Simon from place to place.
10. I could go on and on. But the biggest change I think has been between Andy and I. The amount of grace and understanding we are now able to show each other, even when stressed, tired and angry, has been a real blessing. Not just to him and me, but to the babies as well.
So hooray! Although we’re not out of the woods yet, things have slowly but surely improved and my day today is bound to be more peaceful, more joyful and just more fun than it would have been a year ago. Now it’s your turn. How is your life shaping up, for better or for worse, in comparison to a year ago?
Here are a few shots of Ramona doing some water play while Simon naps and I wash some dishes.
Love, Jane.
Where to start? Like you I could go on and on. But one year ago I was counting down the days to Jilly’s 3rd surgery. It was the whole months of March, April and May that I was paralyzed with dread, anxiety, fear, and an overwhelming sadness. She was physically blue and I was emotionally blue. It is wonderful that now we are at this point with no planned surgery looming over our heads. Jilly is no longer blue and is thriving and I am feeling stronger, less scared, less anxious and much more optimistic.
Amazing what a year can bring.
I am so glad that Ramona is doing so well and that things have gotten easier for you.
Dina
A year ago we were saying things like, “we’re going to make it.”
Ramona isn’t out of the woods yet, but it feels like we did “make it” over the past year. Sayings like “one foot in front of the other” and “day by day” have actually come to mean something in our lives.
Jane,
I just can’t stand it! She is so beautiful and so precious! She looks so much like you in these.
Your gratitude was an inspiration for me today. Thank you.
Jane,
Wow a year ago…
I was packing, having a hard time leaving my friends, Had just found out that Lyle was officially Delayed with Speech etc. You and I went to buy your news glasses for your Birthday a year ago Friday. It was rare time together without kids. We were praying so much for so many things. Thanks for sharing and reminding me how many of those prayers have been answered.
Missing you
Love
Jen
Dera Jane, Dear Andy,
I celebrate the joy you are experiencing! I believe there is a kind of “power” in making affirmations & in expressing thankfulness. May it continue for your good & the good of your dear ones.
I also believe that the gains you describe did not come without sacrifice on your part. You have applied your many abilities & talents to the work of love in your home, & I am proud of you & happy for you!
Holding you close!
Well, a year ago I was pretty much a puddle of tears every time I read your blog, and now . . . I’m pretty much a puddle of tears as I read your blog! What a difference a year makes in those tears! I am so happy for you all.
I hope the perspective of a mom whose kids are a little older than yours can give you a glimpse of what you have to look forward to:
In the past year, I got out of the diapering business officially, both of my kids are in school, one is no longer in a car seat, they can both buckle themselves, the big one has become a less fussy eater while the little one has become a more fussy eater. This is the first year I feel that they both really got the solemnity of Good Friday and the joy of Easter and they are both asking questions about getting baptized.
We’ve all settled into our house a little better after nearly four years and have learned to appreciate it for the blessing it is, rather than cursing it for all the things it is not. We’re all learning to hold on to “things” a little more loosely — “austere” is the new buzz word at our house and even the kids have embraced it. We’ve made a commitment in the coming year to be better stewards of all our blessings and hopefully we are instilling some good values in the kids along the way.
And, of course, largely inspired by Ramona, we are a family who prays more.
Jane,
Thanks for encouraging us to look back at life a year ago. Something we often save for Dec. 31…but with Spring hopefully on its way…it seems good to refelct.
A year ago I was just starting what would be ten weeks of bedrest. Our life was nothing like yours…but for me it was topsy-turvey! Our church brought meals, did the laundry, cleaned my house and I sat “and fiddled whiled Rome burned.”
I am thankful for the work that God has done in my life over the past year. I have come to realize how precious my children are again…I have freed up my schedule a bit so that I can enjoy them in the stages that they are in right now. Not an easy journey because I feel that I dont know where I am anymore…
Over the year I have cried and rejoiced as I have read your blog. I have also been inspired in my own parenting. Thanks for being real and encouraging thought and dialog.
I am still part of the diaper birgade…even more so than a year ago, and unlike Dina…am just starting the car seat thing, toddler thing, teething thing all over again. But what God is showing me is that I need not compare myself with all of my friends who have new freedoms in parenting but to be content and enjoy where I am now. I hope that does not sound trite…it really has been a soul searching journey.
Ramona as always is beautiful and hip in these pictures.
It is encouraging to see how God continues to work in your family.
Blessings to all four of you.
Mmm, good post Jane. I admire your efforts to take count and be grateful for the things in your life. My life has improved from last year this time because I am showered, my house is relatively clean, and I just finished making a birthday package for my niece. These things were defintely not done last year, as I tried to figure out my newborn. My life has not improved 100% though, because I don’t have Ramona’s killer madras shoes or rosette hair bow. I will have to accept this.
Molly