After the holidays were over, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. The weeks leading up to Christmas were stressful, to say the least.
In addition to the many preparations to be made leading up to the holidays, we were dealing with mixed emotions of this first Christmas with SMA being part of our lives.
After winter break was over, I was looking forward to getting back into a routine. Our routine.
But what exactly is our routine these days?
Right now, a typical week includes:
- Preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for Ava (Henry also goes on Mondays)
- Physical therapy for Ella on Tuesdays
- Church groups for Michael and me on Wednesday nights
- Aqua therapy for Ella on Thursdays
- A mom's bible study group on Friday mornings
- Occupational therapy for Ella on Fridays
These things are constant. They are in our calendar as "repeating events".
But I'm looking ahead to next week, and I'm a bit overwhelmed. These are the extra events (in addition to the ones listed above):
- Interview tomorrow with the "Elmhurst Patch", as they are doing a story about Ella and the upcoming fundraiser for her in February.
- Minivan "browsing" tomorrow afternoon (comparing the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna... we found out that both can be modified the way we need them to be).
- Swallow study for Ella on Monday morning at Edward Hospital
- Dr. Appointment for me on Tuesday afternoon
- Mom's night out on Tuesday night (oh, how I need this!)
- Sleep study consultation for Ella on Wednesday at Central DuPage Hospital
- Developmental therapist evaluation for Ella on Thursday
- Social worker evaluation for Ella (day to be determined)
The last two evaluations were recommended by Ella's physical therapist. She thinks Ella will benefit from adding these additional services to her current Early Intervention services of PT, OT, and aqua therapy.
So I don't think I'll have any moments of boredom next week. But I think that's ok. I've found that being busy is a good thing. It keeps me occupied, preventing my mind from wandering to that "dark place" too often. And it feels great being productive for Ella; accomplishing things that will hopefully help her.
And then at the end of next week, we'll be heading to Michael's aunt's house on Saturday in New Buffalo, Michigan. One of our very favorite places to visit. I'm looking forward to that day on so many levels :) What a wonderful reward for making it though a long week!
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| Ella's first time playing in the snow... and loving it! |
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| Our three snow bunnies :) |
