Howdy! Judy Reichart here; hope this finds y'all well!
Sorry for not writing in a while; between birthdays (Ethan is now nine, Erich is now 12, and Missi, 11), tests (on Ethan's part, to see if he could be part of a study; he failed miserably! :( ), and trying to keep the children healthy (plus ensure that they completed their homework on time; all passed, I'm happy to say! :) ), I just don't have much time to write in here anymore. I hope you understand.
Add to this, caring for Ethan, who is severely disabled. He needs help with just about every area of his life; it's a horrible way to have to live, and it's even worse on us, his healthy family members! We all try to make him as comfortable, as happy, as possible; it's difficult at best, especially when he becomes sick or ends up in the hospital again.
It's very frustrating. And that's not even counting the weekly therapy sessions or the regular visits to his doctors!
The mere fact that Ethan has reached the grand "old" age of nine is nothing short of extraordinary. Doctors said he wouldn't live beyond the age of five. He's beat their predictions by four years; he's still going strong and proving them wrong! Leave it to Ethan, my little superhero! :)
He's a lot stronger than what people give him credit for!
Well, in just two more days is July Fourth, but the fun starts tonight, in downtown Nashville. The city is holding a huge celebration replete with concerts on three stages (many different styles of music represented, including country, jazz, big band, symphony/classical, rock, rap, reggae, Cajun, German polka oom-pah-pah, and bluegrass), fireworks (tonight, tomorrow, and the big display on Saturday night; that one is supposed to be at least 45 minutes long; it's one of the biggest displays in the southland), military tributes and flyovers, and carnival rides, games, and contests for the kiddies or the young-at-heart.
We plan on being there. The weather is supposed to be hot, but sunny all weekend. We couldn't have asked for better festival weather! Well, at least we don't have to worry about the fireworks being rained out! :) The kids will surely enjoy themselves, as will we, as we celebrate our nation's birthday!
Besides the "Red, White, And BOOM!" Festival, there's the parade in the morning, down 16th Avenue in downtown Nashville. It's a huge parade: over 100 floats and marching bands will be participating. There will also be a military flyover and tributes to our fighting men and women and our veterans (all branches, all wars represented).
We plan on being there, too.
(Mental note to self: be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen, first aid supplies, and burn ointment!!)
Last year, we went to the "Red, White, And BOOM!" Festival, and we were watching a Cajun band when a thunderstorm blew up. Everyone was sent scrambling for cover, and everyone worried that the fireworks would be cancelled. Thank God the rains ended in plenty of time; but the fireworks were delayed by an hour; however, when they went off, they did not disappoint. Everyone oohed and ahhed (except Ethan; he cried during the entire time; the noise from the fireworks bothered tender little ears!).
He was probably also crying because he was soaked and needed a diaper change, plus he couldn't see the pretty multicolored flowers exploding overhead.
That must be horrible: not to be able to see fireworks going off. No wonder Ethan was so unhappy! I just can't imagine something like that, yet this is something Ethan experiences every July Fourth!
If there was anything I wished for Ethan right now, it is for him to have sight, just so he can see the fireworks! Or a voice, so he could tell us how pretty they are!
Well, I've just made myself cry again, so I am going to go now. Damnit, I hate this!! I will write in here again soon; I just wanted to let y'all know how we were faring, and to wish everyone a very happy and safe Fourth of July! Take care and God bless!~
~Love, your friend, Judy Reichart. :(
