Left, in Stitches

We started out with a relatively normal week on Monday. It was ominously normal as the storm was quietly brewing just out of sight. 

Then, Tuesday came. Kira, concerned for my safety on the dark roads in the early morning and late at night, drove me to catch my early train. That was a welcome break from my bike ride, of course, but we may need to come up with another solution (like a second car). My day at work was going quite smoothly after I’d finally slept pretty well the night before, and then I noticed a missed call on my work phone. It was from Kira, which is unusual, so I checked my cell (which gets terrible reception in my office), and found a photo of Merritt with a huge gash over his eye. She called me again right then and explained that Merritt had apparently had a collision with a door frame or something like it. Kira did not actually see what happened, but knew he was barreling down the hallway in our room, on his way toward our bathroom, but seems to have tripped and crashed head-first into something with an edge. I quickly looked up the closest urgent care facility near our new home and sent that to her, then I awaited updates. Fortunately, Avey was home from school that day because it was the first e-learning day (they go through learning modules on their iPads). She was able to help with the little boys during the madness.

To make a long story short, the poor guy needed 4 stitches, and had to be strapped down while they did it. He promptly passed out in Kira’s arms right after, as you can see here:

Aside from a little swelling, he has been just fine since then. I worried he might play with the stitches or try to scratch at them, but he won’t dare touch them for fear of the hurt. We’ll take them out in a few more days, and see how the scar looks.

Wednesday was a little more hectic than usual, but this time it was because Kira was preparing for her Disneyland trip. She had planned several months ago with her parents and siblings to have a small reunion in Disneyland, so we made the commitment before we were even sure whether we’d have moved, and before knowing my semester schedule. The most difficult part was that Kira had to leave just after I normally do on Thursdays, so she found a babysitter to be with the younger boys while she got to the airport. I drove the car so that I didn’t have to wait for a train to get home right after my courses. Kira made it on time, and I was relieved to find the boys having a grand time with the kind grandmother-like sitter. Hakan didn’t want her to leave, he was having such fun.

So, with Kira having a well-deserved vacation in “the happiest place on earth,” the kids and I have made a pact not to shed any blood in her absence. We had a pretty good time on Thursday afternoon, actually. I took the boys out to lunch when I got home, and then we came home to pick up Carver after the bus dropped him off, then we all made a Wal-Mart run to pick up some groceries we’d needed to restock for some time. Friday was a long shopping day after the school kids were gone. We made a trek to Costco to fill up our empty cupboards, and it was a massive haul by our standards. The two little guys were zero help in unloading, as you might imagine.

Now that the shopping is all done, I’ve been working on getting the house in order so that Kira doesn’t come home to a complete tragedy. The kids have been pretty good help, but it seems they are all in need of a vacation of their own (from each other). It’s really hot today, which doesn’t help the situation, but at least we’ve had some fun.

Kira arrives home very late tonight, so the kids will be sure to take advantage of her tomorrow to make up for the brief freedom she enjoyed. In any case, I think we’re all hoping this next week is unremarkable.

#Happenings