Thank You

"Thank You" is a grossly overused phrase. I say "thank you" to the guy at the grocery store who bags my groceries even though that is his job. I say "thanks" to the lady at Tim Horton's who hands me a frothy cup of coffee, even though it is her job and I did pay for the coffee. It is not like she gave me a free cup just for being there for the 5th time that week. So when I say "thank you" to everyone who said a prayer for Steitler and to the families that swept Maddie up and took care of her it sounds rather shallow. I trust that you all know how much your thoughts and prayers meant to our family. And while Maddie insists that Ms. Anna made her do all the laundry, she had a fabulous time at her "slumber party" and I am grateful she was in such good care while I was with Steitler. For those of you who do not know, Steitler fell about 5 feet off a slide on Wednesday night. The thoughts of him in a neckbrace strapped to a table are not pleasant to rehash so I will proceed to the end. He had no fractures of the skull or spine but did have a small bleed in his brain which had stopped bleeding before his CT scan. He was admitted to the Pediatric floor for observation until Thursday night. He has passed all tests of pupil dilation, balance and coordination, and memory/knowledge/recognition. He is restricted from any rough play, jumping or climbing for the next week.

How many times in the last few years have I shaken my head in disbelief and thought, "This boy, what am I going to do with him?" Everyday is a renegade adventure to him. I can truly say that he is exhausting. His energy is not, despite popular belief, contagious. He has me on my toes every minute of every day. When he was a lot younger, I had to be on guard that he would injure one of the smaller, more vulnerable children, not necessarily on purpose but just because he was big and strong and liked to bite. As he grew older, "Steitler, do not jump off the couch, do not somersault into the living room, please do not run and jump off the front porch, please stop hanging on the refrigerator door, climb off your dresser, get out of the sink, climb out of the dryer, do not throw hand weights down the stairs..." The list could go on and on. Even Maddie gets tired of tattling on him and sometimes I swear I can hear her sigh and then just walk away. All I can do is shake my head and say, "Boys."

Thank you all for your prayers, kindness and love for our family.