A whirlwind weekend...

I'll apologise in advance if this post is a bit wafty- I have caught the nasty virus that's been going around (& that B & C have already had) & it's making it kind of hard to think clearly... It's been a busy 4-day weekend. B has been pretty relaxed with the time off school, although he was doing some "the vacation's nearly over" complaining yesterday. When his dad reminded him that he wouldn't enjoy his time off nearly as much if he kept thinking about how soon it would be over, & B had to agree & so subsided... Friday was pretty quiet, with lunch at McDonald's (for the weekly bionicle toy release)- B had a salad instead of a happy meal :), & a trip to a local apple farm for Cortlands (my favourite apples) & home-made doughnuts. We watched some more InuYasha, too, & Friday evening we finished reading "Over Sea, Under Stone", which B really enjoyed. Saturday we had a Japanese lesson- past tense of verbs!- & our treat to share with Tomoko was home-made green tea ice cream (vanilla custard with matcha green tea added), the last of the season, since I put the ice cream maker away after making it. Summer is officially over at our house :) B then persuaded C to take him to one of the suburban libraries that, when they looked online, appeared to have loads of pokemon videos in stock. They came home with a bonanza of 5 videos & dvds- B was in heaven :)

Sunday was super-busy, starting with church & Sunday school. C took off from church for his last day of sailboat racing, & B & I went home for lunch. I took a short nap while B watched some pokemon, then I dropped him off at his best friends's house so that I could drive to Buffalo for the memorial service for my friend, Didi, who died of breast cancer a couple of weeks ago. Although I am used to driving for more than an hour when we go on vacations, somehow it's different when I'm alone in the car for more than an hour on the thruway... I had map-quested the church, but it was still nerve-wracking, hoping I'd allowed enough time to get there, etc. I was there about 1/2 hour before the service, which was perfect. I was relieved to quickly find my friend Roo, who had been Didi's best friend in the world. I'd estimate there were at least 150 people at the service, which was an amazing testament to Didi & her life. An old & dear friend, Ros, who attends the church where the service was held, was there too, so it was nice to catch up with her while Roo was connecting with people after the service. I mentioned to Ros that I'm doing a service on autism at our church in November & she asked me if I'd do it at their church too, maybe some time next year. I've spoken at this church before & told her I'd love to bring the message to Buffalo... :) Roo's family had dinner together afterward & they kindly invited me along, so I didn't leave for home until nearly 8:00 pm. I was really glad to have gone to the memorial service, for my own sadness & to support Roo, but the drive home in the dark was gruelling & took about the last of my energy. I was not surprised to feel my throat getting scratchy & my nose running by the time I got home. C told me that he & B had had good afternoons while I was gone. B's buddy's dad took the boys to a go-cart track & B had the best time (mostly spinning out & roaring around so fast his buddy's dad couldn't keep up with him :) & C's races went well.

This morning I was feeling pretty rotten & running a slight fever. I warned B that I might be short-tempered because I wasn't feeling well (he appreciates it when I warn him :) & the morning chores were, well, a chore, but I managed to get them done & we watched some more InuYasha together before lunch. B has been having a lot of trouble with tics whenever he isn't distracted with videos & computer games, so we tried to think of some ways he could use self-talk to calm the anxiety. A nearly constant bad thought for B is of one of his pokemon stuffies or Rufus being eaten (he went into hysterics when I inadvertantly set Rufus on the kitchen table this morning, since he associates the table with food & things being eaten... sigh), so we talked about how powerful the pokemons are, with their special powers, & that he could imagine them zapping anybody who came near them with a knife. As for Rufus, he's the one who's always saving Kim & Ron from danger, so we decided that Rufus was smart enough to protect himself as well... After lunch we went back to B's best buddy's house for the afternoon for a "play date" scheduled long before we needed someone for B to stay with while I was in Buffalo. Even though I wasn't feeling well, it was lovely & relaxing just to sit & chat with E's mom all afternoon. We rarely saw the boys, they were so busy with legos, video games, finding Weird Al videos on line (we sat in for those- what a hoot), & playing outside. We came home in time to beat dad home for dinner & then C & B baked cookies afterward, to take to school on Wednesday when C goes in to have lunch with B's class. I sat in the living room & tried to ignore the excitement in the kitchen- B was trying to keep dad from spewing cookie batter all over the kitchen with the mixer (B has much more experience with mixers now :) & occasionally came into the living room to give me an update. It was pretty silly & a nice distraction for B. I never heard him complain once about going back to school tomorrow... Although I suppose I'll hear it tomorrow morning for sure.

After B went to bed C & I discussed strategies for school tomorrow, to offer his teachers. Since we seem to be bagging the homework thing (B freaked out so badly last Thursday about having homework over a holiday weekend that Cherie & I decided to let it be for a while) it might just be best for me to pick B up a half-hour earlier than usual. It really seems to be the last half-our of school that is the worst for B, coping-wise. I guess all we can do is try things & see how he responds... And that's our whirlwind weekend!