We had a difficult day today. I'm on edge and the boys have been cooped up for too long. Gavin's been freaking out a lot lately and Lizze is still struggling with losing her grandmother a couple weeks ago. It's been one thing after another and today was just tough on all of us.
Having said that and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, there are a few things that happened today that I'm incredibly thankful for.
For starters, Elliott still has a nasty cough but is otherwise feeling better. That's a very good thing and with any luck, he'll continue to improve.
Eariler today, I was sitting in bed writing when I heard Emmett crying. Lizze and I were trying to figure out what had happened. He's wasn't talking about it and kept screaming that he wanted to be left alone.
He was really upset because he missed his dog Bella. She was his dog since he was a baby and she was a large part of what finally got him to come out of his shell. As she got older, she began picking fights with Maggie, our English Staffy. Maggie had been here long before Bella. They got along really well for years until one day, Bella became very aggressive.
It got ugly and dangerous. After trying for many months to change the behavior, it was deemed the best and safest thing to do would be to rehome her.
The vet said she was challenging Maggie for dominance and while normally they settle things and move on, she wasn'tettong it go. It got very bloody and dangerous for the kids because she would pick fights around the kids. We had no choice. It killed Emmett but that was years ago. I don't know what sparked this today.
Lizze asked him if she could sit with him, so they could sit alone together. Surprisingly it worked.
As he was settling down, I asked him if he'd like to go walking with me. He jumped at the chance and we were off to the park.
I didn't expect him to walk very far and I told him that we'd go as far as he wants.
It was about 30°F and he was all bundled up. We talked for most of the walk and inside of the first mile, he found this giant leaf. You'd of thought it was made of gold because he was just enamered by it.
He set it down on a rock and we finished the lap. As we neared the end, he decided that he wanted to go back and collect his leaf. I explained that he would have to walk another mile and a half but he insisted.
We walked a bit over three miles and he did amazing. It was really nice to spend the time with him. He definitely needed it and so did I. ☺
He carefully carried the leaf for about the last mile and brought it home so he could dry it out.
Shortly after we got home, we had to leave for therapy. During therapy, the boys all played together and it was so nice to see them all getting along.
They set up this castle thing and used it as target practice for their Nerf guns.
After we got home, we had dinner and watched *Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. *It was a nice evening and everyone, with the exception of Gavin, watched the movie.
Lizze and I even had a poor man's date night at the kids went to bed. A poor man's date night for us is whatever ice cream Walgreens has on sale and a movie on Netflix or perhaps a few shows off the DVR.
It's super cheap, not fancy at all but it works for us. ☺
We don't have money but we feel it's important for us to set time aside for each other. It costs maybe $10 but the time spent is worth so much more than that. ☺
I feel like despite how challenging the day was, we have many things to be thankful for. It's important that we not lose sight of those things.
