Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The Ups and Downs. . .

Want to know what Sergio's favorite toy in the world is right now (well, actually 2 now, as one of his nurses found a matching - pink one)?  A plastic pumpkin, the kind you fill with candy on Halloween.  Yep, we've moved from naked, backless Mr. Potato Heads to pumpkins.  The problem is, these pumpkins, just like the "tater heads" seem to bring out the very worst in my son.  As most know, Sergio is a HUGE fan of water. . . I mean addicted to anything wet.  He's the kid you want in the desert when you're dying of dehydration, because there is no doubt, he'll find water.  And into the water source goes the pumpkins. . . yep, and then he tries to flush them.  Can you tell where they are floating regularly?  Despite the best intentions, using locks on the bathroom doors and even a gate at the top of the stairs, Sergio "watches" for his opportunities to access the never ending water source called a toilet.  Doesn't matter if it's filled with goods from a previous child who visited but wasn't nearly as happy to flush.  It doesn't matter if he KNOWS he's going to get in trouble, the very idea of getting splash time is worth every ounce of time-out he gets.  So we put the pumpkins Up and then when he cries and signs for the umpteenth time for his pumpkin, we take it Down.  And the process starts all over. 

If you have never ridden an elevator with Marriela, you're missing out on an unforgettable experience.  I mean, really, she has made virtually everyone who enters that small 3 walled box with a closing door smile.  Not because she's actually trying to be funny, but because her angst and her desire to ride the darn things compete with each other in a very humorous way!  She is scared to death of elevators (and strange bathrooms for that matter as well) BUT she has to ride everyone she sees. . . quite literally, has to. (she also HAS to visit every strange bathroom as well, but that's a whole other story).  She will happily usher everyone onto the elevator with a smile, then she will put you through the 20 question game to determine every location and floor each person will go, BUT, don't let that door linger open for a moment past the "ding" or she'll go into her panic mode and start pushing you and any other random stranger unfortunate enough to not have an unrealistic fear of elevators, off the darn thing.  Then she starts laughing and waits for it to return.  It's really quite fun when you have time to kill, not so much when you need to be some where (and anyone that knows me, knows I'm rarely on time. . . if only they knew why). 

And last, on the Up and Down theme. . . my discovery that I can NO longer tolerate any form of amusement part ride again.  Sigh.  The signs of aging are many, but this one was a real kicker for me, as I used to love going on them with my son.  I discovered this, though honestly was pretty darn sure BEFORE we took a ride that I already knew the subsequent outcome, a few weeks ago at the New York State Fair.  The first ride we enjoyed was a peaceful version of hand gliding without any of the worries associated with hand gliding.  Cody was on one side, Joshua on the other and as long as I kept my eyes closed tight, it was a nice ride.  Then Joshua chose the Big Dipper.  I watched it go for a few runs, and it looked sort of ok.  Cody was within the size range allowed so, being the ever so hip mom. . . we got in line.  I watched this thing, I wasn't really that worried.  I heard the screams, but figured they were just for fun.  We got on.  The safety harness (a very large thick, padded "U" shaped bar that smashed us all flat against the back of the seat) was secured.  At this moment I began to wonder why we needed such security, the ride looked rather benign to me.  I held my 7 year old, Cody's hand, and was promptly chastised and told that he wasn't scared so I didn't need to do that.  I assured him, that at this very moment I was the scared one and I DID need to hold a hand.  The bottom of the ride opened up and we were left dangling in the air, too late to stop now.  The ride is a pendulum that goes back and forth while also spinning those anchored to its seats.  I smiled, saw the smiles on my children's faces, looked at the smiles on those around me, then we went higher.  And higher, and my God almighty, we were up-freaking-side- down!!!!  Now, I'm terrified, looking to see if my small son had been ejected and realized why we needed such security systems in place.  I was never so happy to feel the breaks being applied to something in my life!  Upon leaving the ride, I tried to maintain my composure, realizing that 1. I had no feeling in my arms at all and 2. I was beyond dizzy.  As I made my way to the bench about 10 feet away, where Peter and the others were happily munching away on BBQ chicken kabobs, I was greeted by a young rider who promptly lost her previous last 3 days of meals about 5 feet from me.  I was praying she wasn't going to attempt to try and make it to the garbage can sitting immediately to my left, or we were going to have a tandem upchuck.  Thank God, she simply tossed it all onto the Midway, and with her dad's help, took a drink and got in line for another ride. 

So that's it for our ups and downs lately. 
Love to all,
Renee