Normally, I’m pretty formulaic with my blogs, which makes it easier for me to tell you about the most important things involving Operation Jack. But sometimes I think back to when I put this blog on here, and the purpose I had in my mind was to give you the opportunity to know what it’s like to be me and go through this whole “61 marathons while maintaining some kind of life” thing. So today, I’m just going to run down some random thoughts, pretty much like I’m writing in my journal at the end of the day. I’ll just talk about yesterday.
The main thing sticking in my mind is dinner. I got home and we were all set to have a nice dinner. Tiff made veggie burgers — she saw a show about meat on Oprah that grossed her out and she’s sticking away from meat a little bit. As much as I talk about all the cheeseburgers I like to eat, it really doesn’t bother me to eat a veggie burger. It’s only a meal, and there’s no crime in being healthy. I should be a little bit healthier and drop some pounds. Maybe I’d run a little faster!
Anyways, it was pretty good and Benjamin and Ava were even eating their veggie burgers (they thought it was just a regular burger). But then Jack came down for dinner and he was really picky. Tiff had to try several different things for him. He ended up eating gluten-free pancakes. This isn’t terribly out of the ordinary, but every here and there she loses it and gets really upset. And that was what happened last night.
With Jack’s therapist right there, she start crying about how she’s sick of our family dinner being a therapy session every night. She said she’s sick of every outing to the grocery store being a therapy session. I just started cleaning up the kitchen to stay busy because it was kind of awkward. I keep most of my sadness inside, but she’s not like that. She’ll let it out. And when she gets upset, it just breaks my heart.
There’s nothing I can do. I can’t tell her that it’s OK, because it’s not. I can’t tell her not to cry, because if that’s what she feels, then that’s what she can do. All I can do is clean the kitchen and look at the situation and think about how much I wish we had a normal family life. But we don’t.
Jack eventually ate OK, had a decent night, and Ben and Ava had a fun little “sleepover” in our playroom in their sleeping bags. I fell asleep on the couch for a little while because I’m still recovering from the red-eye flight I took Sunday night/Monday morning.
The one thing pertaining to Operation Jack that happened yesterday was I finally finalized the rest of my schedule for the year. I had an open date on the weekend of October 23/24, but I picked the Mankato Marathon in Mankato, Minnesota. There wasn’t a whole lot on the schedule that weekend, and I have some friends who will be there for that one. Plus, as silly as this sounds, I’m Silver Medallion with Delta (puts me at the front of the line for free first-class upgrades) and Delta is what you take to Minnesota.
For Thanksgiving weekend, I was going to run Atlanta on Thanksgiving morning and then fly back in time to have dinner with my family. My mom lives in Atlanta, so I would have been able to see her the night before. Atlanta canceled the marathon, though, so she was bummed and I was trying to decide between races in Seattle, Mississippi and Florida. Runner’s World was asking me about that race, because they’re finalizing whatever they’re running on me in the November issue, and they noticed that gap.
So, I picked … Baltimore! I found one out there, and normally, my mom goes out and spends Thanksgiving with my uncle (her brother) out there. This year, they were just going to do Thanksgiving in Atlanta instead. So, I’ll head out there on the Friday, run the race Saturday morning, then fly back that night. The airfare is actually cheaper than Seattle and Florida and I won’t need a hotel. And of course, I’ll get to see family. Win-win-win. And the biggest win is that FINALLY I don’t have to worry about my schedule any more!
The World Through Jack’s Eyes
Jack likes to take pictures using Tiff’s iPhone. So, I thought I’d run four of them in here today.
He lined up these three little toy bears he likes.
A, uh, different view of the bears.
He lined up some numbers in order and then took a picture.
His three favorite stuffed friends.
That’s pretty much it for today. Hope you have a great Wednesday!
It always brings tears to my eyes when I read about how daily activities, like dinner, are challenging with an autistic child and how you and Tiffany deal with those struggles. My heart goes out to Tiffany; I just saw the verse from Galatians at the bottom of the page and it’s so true…you and Tiff will never give up in being awesome parents and will continue to see big and little rewards for all you do.
That second picture is like the postcards you see around here of the backside of Mt. Rushmore!
Those photos are great. It’s always interesting to see things through the eyes of a child. On a recent “staycation” earlier this summer, we drove down to Seward and gave my son a disposable camera and just let him take photos of whatever he wanted. About 1/3 of them were close-ups of his face because he had it turned the wrong way, but with the rest, it was very interesting to see what he had decided to take pictures of.
Hugs to you and Tiffany! I can’t imagine what it must be like for every event to be a therapy session rather than just a trip to the store, or a family dinner. But you two are amazing parents and do so much and work so hard for all your children.
Can’t wait to see you in Runner’s World!!!
It sounds like Tiffany’s having a stressful time. Callum’s in the middle of nice fat meltdown right now, so that’s always fun, but I can tell you it’s much easier with two parents around. I know Tiffany appreciates you just being there, even if you’re not always sure what to do. The important thing is that Jack is progressing.
Sorry Sam, I’m a little bit behind on my OJ blog reading. :/ Yes, it’s difficult to have dinner every night with Jack AND his therapist sitting there at the table. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful and feel very blessed to have these therapists coming out to our home five days a week, but still, it sort of makes you want to have just a “normal” life…whatever that may be. Although I get emotionally overwhelmed at times and I feel like 95% of the efforts I’m making for Jack don’t seem to be working, when that 5% actually does work, I’m over joyed! For example, the gfcf sugar cookies I made him last night were a hit with him. I was so excited, I immediately started thinking about how he can have those same cookies at his birthday party. It was a huge deal to me!
Thanks to everyone for the kind words. It put a smile on my face. 🙂