June 15: Camp, Graduation, and Good News

Apparently it is Sunday! While some part of my brain knew this well, the weekly writing part of my brain did not remember!

A week ago Sarah went to camp to stay for five nights. Last summer we tried a similar camp but the sleep-away aspect was too much for her. We slowly worked towards a second attempt, having her attend weekend retreats. She was extremely eager for camp to begin, asking me multiple times a day when her check-in was and who was going to drive her there. She even initiated giving Amy a goodbye hug before she got in the car.

Remarkably, she made it until Thursday morning before I got the call to come get her. When she was homesick Tuesday evening, talking with Carl on the phone helped her recalibrate and stay, but by Thursday she was out of her staying power. Still! This is amazing that she made it as long as she did. It’s the longest she has ever been away from her family. She then had the space to listen to me for many minutes as I had big feelings about an interaction with a stranger I wish I had handled better. Some tiny moments can trigger enormous feelings of shame and regret and embarrassment. This was one of those. Sarah was extremely patient and sweet, wiping away my tears. This was after I had listened to all of her tears about being homesick. So it was a good day for tears and tissues.

Amy is officially a rising ninth grader, having graduated from eighth grade on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day that wasn’t too hot and wasn’t rainy, which is a minor miracle given the weather in Pittsburgh of late. Grandma and Grandpa came to the ceremony, and then we had a taco dinner with more family and friends after the ceremony. We celebrated Amy and her bestie with heaps of guacamole and with chocolate cake for dessert. Later in the week Amy and two of her best friends spent the day at Kennywood, navigating the whole experience independently, with a friend’s mom at the park just in case they needed anything and to provide transportation.

Amy saw her orthopedic doctor for a check up, and the exciting news is that her scoliosis curves have stayed the same. The doctor says she will probably be able to stop bracing in nine months or so and that she probably won’t need surgery! I felt like crying with relief and joy. This is similar information from the last time we saw this doctor, but at that time the Whisper brace was relatively new for Amy.  Our decision to go with the Whisper brace was a bit of a gamble, so this was a huge win that Amy’s curves didn’t get worse.

Sarah has discovered a new activity that she loves, and is a heart-filling review of my book. She likes to listen to parts of my audiobook while paging through the matching text in her paperback copy.

May your work be celebrated doubly and with all the guacamole your heart desires.