Busy Weeks and the Miracle of Skype

Over the last few weeks our family has gone from busy to a place where we look back at busy as being a kinder, gentler time. Nico started hockey on Saturday mornings 3 weeks ago. This means that Megan and I spend our Saturday mornings freezing in Eagles Arena, watching Nico skate around with a bunch of other 7 and 8 year olds, whose fondest desire seems not to actually score a goal, but to celebrate after the scoring. They are equal opportunity celebrators. They give the double-pump, down on one knee, stick in the air for anyone who scores for their team. Then they give a double-arm up in the air salute for anyone who scores on them. I think if Nico spent half the time working on his skating that he spends celebrating he would be as good at hockey as he is at golf. Unfortunately, Nico doesn't appear to be headed down the "Hockey God" path taken by his uncles and grandfather. Let's hope that means that there will be a medical degree in his future, rather than a coach's whistle!
Tuesdays and Fridays mean speech therapy for Megan. We got a new therapist for her, and Jennifer (or Jenny, as Meg calls her) is wonderful. Megan looks forward to each of her sessions. I love to see her so enthused about speech, as it was such a struggle to get her there for the first few sessions with the other therapist. At one point I had fooled myself into thinking that Tuesday and Friday would be research days, as I was not teaching or doing office hours those days. It is amazing how that time has disappeared between Meg's speech and the Grand Forks school district's calendar that seems to give every other Friday off of school.
Friday evenings Meg has dance, and her favorite part is the Magic Box at the end of every class. In a large box, the dance instructors keep various costumes and accessories that the little ballerinas delight in wearing while they dance for the last five minutes of class. Though parents are officially banned from the studio, we all line up at the windows outside to catch a peek of the little princesses!
Thursday evenings mean Nico's Tae Kwon Do lessons at the community center near where we live. They are free, he likes them, he gets to practice doing pushups, and he can walk over by himself. We LOVE Thursday nights!
Piled on top of kid activities, we have normal things like homework for Nico and me, laundry, dinners to make, dishes to do, bathrooms to clean, and enjoying each other to do. Unfortunately, Andy is gone more often than not, so in order to enjoy some time with Dad we spend a lot of time at the hospital. The on-call room is in the maze Altru calls a basement, and we have been there enough that my kids can not only find the on-call room, but also 2 different sets of elevators, the cafeteria, and the entrance to the clinic. Impressive considering I still cannot find my way around down there!
Andy has begun to count down the days until the end of this rotation. He gets the last week in October off for vacation, so he is down to a bit over two weeks left. I think his first few days at home may be like someone who has returned home from an overseas business trip - the return to "our time" may take a few days to get used to!
In light of the craziness of our household, I still have not made it to Wisconsin to see Cathy's new baby, Ethan. I am itching to go, but the fates seem to be conspiring against it. To top it off, I haven't been able to find the time to make a simple phone call to talk with her since August when Ethan was born. I know what you are thinking, and yes, it really is that hard to find the time these days! I don't know how to explain it, but we really are that busy. Thankfully, Cathy and I have each discovered Skype and webcams, and on Sunday I actually got to talk with her face-to-face. While the computer images are never as good as actually being in the same room together, it was a wonderful conversation. Sometimes I need to be reminded to slow down and reprioritize my life!
Tonight, we are headed to the UND men's hockey game. Nico was picked to be the Sioux Kids Club Captain of the Game, and he will be introduced on-ice with the team. He also gets to ride the Zamboni. What more could a kid ever ask for??
Tomorrow morning, bright and early at 6 am we are headed to Sioux Falls. My niece, Annabelle, is going to be baptized, and Andy and I get to be godparents! We are very excited to go, especially Megan who has been talking about seeing her cousin, whom she refers to as "My Best Friend Kaden", for the last 2 weeks.
On a more personal note, Andy and I are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow as well! At times it seems like the days and years have flown by, and sometimes it surprises me how very lucky I am to have married such a wonderful man! And to those of you who were around when we got married I just have this to say: When did we all get so old?