D and little Eli are living with me (again) after spending a week with J. I won't say much, but it the week ended horribly resulting in a no-contact order between the two of them until things are sorted out by the courts. In the meantime I've been appointed a third-party, responsible to transport little Eli back and forth between his parents. I'll be honest, at the moment, I don't think either of them deserve this little boy. But it isn't up to me.
This year, Eli will spend a half day with mom and a half day with dad. There will be no "family" Christmas my daughter envisioned. I suspect there never will be unless one or the other finds a real relationship that will last. This one is definitely over...or at least at the moment it is. I never say never with these two. The counselor D saw this week, has promised to help her break this cycle of co-dependency. I certainly hope so, more so for Eli's sake than anyone else.
He, thankfully, seems to take everything in stride. Though Eli has been sick with a bit of a cold and had a couple of near sleepless nights, (one here with mom, one with dad), he's had a good day today. Despite not feeling entirely well, he's a busy little guy!He has mastered the two steps to the kitchen, as well as the one step down to the front foyer. Today he spent time climbing the one step up to the bay window. There he pulls himself to a standing position and watches out the window. He is still very wobbly on his feet so perhaps my prediction of walking by New Year's will be a little off. It won't be long though.
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I did have a period of peace and quiet this week. I had a dental appointment on Monday. Now, I'm terrified of the needles they use and have a tendency to stop breathing and pass out. So I've found a dentist who will use an IV sedative on patients like myself. Initially it took a bit to get the IV inserted - thankfully those needles don't bother me. I asked the dentist if I would be out cold or if I'd simply be a bit loopy. She said I'd likely be aware....well, that's the last thing I remember until I woke up as she was finishing the last of the filling. My son had arrived to pick up and when I felt ready we headed home where I immediately went to bed and slept for nearly 2 hours.
I was up for a couple of hours watching television, then back in bed for the night. The following morning, I had to ask my son if I'd actually paid for the visit...he said yes. Then I asked if I'd made another appointment (my memory was fuzzy) and he said yes. I asked why? Because to be honest I couldn't recall that we'd discussed another appointment. He didn't know why so later that morning I called the dentist's office to find out. The receptionist laughed and said, "you seemed so with it when you left". Well, apparently I wasn't. :) Anyway the next appointment is for more fillings on the other side. I'm already looking forward to my nap.
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I'm looking forward, too, to the end of the Christmas Sparkle tour. One of our neighbours, and a co-worker of mine, is part of the tour. His house is decked out in lights which change with the music. He collects donations for the Cancer Society and hands out candy canes. These days the traffic on our generally quiet suburban street rivals the nearby highway. In the time I wrote that sentence I counted 10 cars going in either direction. There goes number 11 and 12! It isn't really the traffic that bothers me, it is those drivers who use my driveway to turn around, even though we're on a crescent. If they'd just keep going they'd find their way back to where they started from.
The benefit of the traffic this year though has been the recent sanding of our street. We don't see a plow all winter and this year's snow, melt, freeze, snow, melt, freeze had left the street a virtual skating rink. I suspect someone came by to see the lights who works with the city and made it happen. We had a couple inches of fresh snow this morning but I haven't been out since yesterday to see if it is still helping with traction.
In the meantime I'll enjoy my time with my little family, especially the little boy who lights up my world.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!