The Saturday 7

Well, well, well, you're in luck. There wasn't supposed to be a Saturday 7 today, but thanks to a wrench in my plans, there is. Stay tuned for more on that.

1. Lena did much better with school this week. She still made sure to tell me that she didn't want to go every morning, but there were less tears and theatrics. I think doubling her medication dose is definitely helping. She also started counseling this week. It went well. The counselor gave Lena some techniques to get through the anxiety - some we've tried before, but it's good for Lena to hear it from other sources than just me. On Wednesday night, she was actually over-the-moon excited to go to school the next day. Now that she's officially in Middle School, she got to attend "retreat" for the first time. It was at a local camp and Lena knew she'd get to do ziplining and rock climbing and all the things. The kid is terrified to go to school, but loves ziplining. Anxiety is irrational, man. I was worried that she'd change her tune by Thursday morning, but she didn't! She bounced right out the door and off to school without a backward glance.

2. I didn't share much about my new job last week because I ran out of time, so you get to hear about it today instead! I officially started my new role at school as . . . Development Assistant? Written Communications Manager? I don't have a title. But I'm assisting with social media and most forms of written marketing - from appeal letters to flyers. It's just once a week, and I get to work out of the main office instead of my sequestered library office. I actually see adults throughout the day and have to engage in conversation and stuff! It's weird! Haha. The job is intimidating and exciting. I don't have any real qualifications except a tiny bit of natural ability that people think is better than it really is. I'm perpetually afraid of letting everyone down. They think I'm this great writer because I've been blogging for twenty years, but I write conversationally, not professionally. The social media aspect is more up my alley . . . but I made a cool video for the first day of school and now I'm worried that I set the bar too high for the rest of the year. Lol. Mostly, I try not to overthink it and just do my best. If they hate it, they can fire me, and I'll just enjoy working in the library. Haha. 

3. It was another brutally hot week. A few schools in our area actually closed because heat indexes were so high. But we have AC so we pressed on. As much as I love clinging to summer and dread winter, I will say that the days we've had in the low to mid 70s before and after the most recent heat wave have been ideal. I love being able to open the windows instead of relying on our inefficient AC. And I love that the kids will play outside on evenings after school. They find neighborhood friends and play driveway basketball or jump on the trampoline or make up games and gymnastics routines. But the cooling temperatures always make me panic a little about the loooooong winter ahead of us. We get so little summer in Michigan. Where can I live that it's in the 70s year round? 

4. Fortunately, the weather cooled considerably just in time for our one weekend of camping for the year. Temps were pretty much perfect for camping - cool enough at night that we didn't bake, but warm enough during the day that the kids still swam and could play outside without layers. I complain every year that I don't like camping, but now that we stay in a cabin with beds and a refrigerator, I've realized my biggest complaint is the work required to get ready for camping. I spent hours this week meal planning, grocery shopping, meal prepping, packing for myself and Levi, doing laundry to make sure we had everything we need, and trying to keep my house clean so we don't come home to a disaster. It's exhausting. 

Anyway, we made it up to the campground yesterday by 4 and the kids took off on their bikes. Well 2/3 of them did. The other one sat in a chair and read all day. Camping is definitely getting easier as the kids get older and more independent. I love that they can just ride their bikes to the candy store and go to the playground without constant supervision. I was able to play (and win) a card game, read a bunch of my book, and eat some yummy walking tacos before the trouble began . . .

5. Around 8:30, Justin took the kids down to the pool. I read outside for a while but then I started getting eaten alive by mosquitos so I decided to go down to the pool. When I got there Lena was laying on a chair crying that her stomach hurt. Eventually I walked her back to the cabin. She said, "This feels different than my usual nervous stomach ache or gas bubbles" and I got a wee bit nervous. She laid in bed with me, literally writhing in pain, but she can be dramatic, and the pain wasn't localized to one spot so I wasn't worried about appendicitis. Then all of a sudden she sat up, clutched her throat, and said, "I'm going to throw up." I hustled her to the trash can and she puked violently over and over and over. Lena never pukes. I honestly can't remember the last time she did. It's been many years. She said she felt better afterward so I was hopeful that it would be a one-and-done occasion. Such false, false hope.

She was terrified to sleep on the top bunk as originally planned because she was worried she'd need to puke again and wouldn't be able to climb down fast enough, so Justin put her mattress on the floor between our bed and Levi's. For once her fears were not unfounded. Fortunately, I had the foresight (and my mother-in-law had an empty bucket) to give her a puke bucket. She used it at 10:30. And 11:00. And 11:30. And 12:00. And literally every hour after that for the next 6 hours. 😭 It was horrible. Her whole body was convulsing, and she kept panicking that she couldn't breathe, and she just kept crying miserably, "I don't want to puke anymore!" Fortunately, she always felt it coming - even when it woke her up from a dead sleep - so there weren't any messes to clean up. After the first couple of bouts, she was just puking up water anyway. She kept sipping water after each episode, but it would come right back up an hour later. 

Needless to say, this morning she and I packed up and came home. The puking had stopped by 6:00 a.m., but she was still queasy and afraid to eat or drink. Plus we were there with Justin's whole extended family, and I know they didn't want to be exposed to her germs. Lucy came home with us too, because she hates camping, so Justin and Levi had boys' day today.

6. And in a cruel twist of fate, I'm not even that happy to have gotten out of camping. Haha. I'm so sad for Lena. She loves this weekend and has been looking forward to it all summer. And I'm sadder than I expected to be away from Levi. Lol. I'm sad that I'm not there to see him having fun doing all the things he loves - eating junk food, swimming, riding his bike, playing with dogs, etc. I'm hoping that we'll be able to go back up tomorrow after Lena gets a good night's sleep, but we're going to play it by ear. I will say I'm not mad that I get to sleep in my own bed tonight - even if I am sharing it with Lena, who sleeps like a starfish.

7. Pics and memes:

The only camping pic I took

After some much needed naps, we made the most of being home-bound with Culver's (for Lucy and me, at least) and A Cinderella Story. 

I considered taking Lena home in the middle of the night, but I didn't really want her puking in my van, and also I have terrible night vision for such a long drive. 

Guilty.

I just said this a few days ago! I cleaned the whole kitchen and remarked to Lena, "Don't you just feel so good when the kitchen is clean?" She said, "No, but I can see that you do." Lol.