Dumas 4

Before we are moms, we are women. Before we are women, we are girls. Before we are girls we are children. Few things have stayed constant in my life through all of these stages. My family, my faith and the desire to be a mother. I loved baby dolls as a child. I would enter a world where I was in control of those around me and they had to do what I told them. I foolishly thought that would happen when I became a mother. When I was a girl, I decided I would have 3 children. Two girls and a boy, just as my mother had. I foolishly thought that I got to decide these things when I became a mother. When I became a woman, I decided I would also have a wonderful career alongside these 3 perfect children. I foolishly thought I could do it all. As I lay here in bed recovering from a very simple surgery that had lasting effects on my ability to have more children, there is a photo in my direct line of sight. Its a black and white photo that I cherish. It is from a vacation we took before Emma was even 1 year old. We went to Colorado for a week in the summer to escape the heat of Texas, and the busyness of life. On our way home we stopped in Dumas, TX for a picture. There are not that many people who have the honor of having a last name like Dumas. It is often mispronounced, I'm sure my husband was teased terribly as a child, and I'm certain my daughters will hate it when they hit the 'tween years. But I married into this name. It came with the man I love so I like it. Just before you get to Dumas, Texas, there is a sign that reads "Dumas 4" indicating that you are just 4 miles from the thriving metropolis of Dumas, Texas (population 13,747, a quarter the size of the college I went to). I made my husband and my two daughters (and even my cousin Caitlin who came with us on this trip) get out and take a picture with this sign. At the last second, as the baby was crying and the toddler was whining, I just looked up and snapped one last photo of this sign. I eventually had a black and white made of it and I've always loved it but the "4" part of "Dumas 4" never meant much to me. I always planned that our family would be a family of 5 eventually. Today though, it reminds me that when I snapped that photo, on the side of the highway, in 100 degree heat, God knew I would need a sign. Dumas 4. It is, and always was, His plan for my life. I'm thankful for my sign. I needed a sign. I'd like to have that sign. I wonder what the fine is for stealing a sign that reads "Dumas 4." It might be worth it.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

DO WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR PROMISE?

Of course when a child is going through something as horrible as resetting a broken bone, a parent promises to make it better. The doctor assured us that Brooke would not remember a thing from the "procedure." As they were putting an IV in her arm, she was upset and crying. She looked at us and said, "I want a puppy." John said, "Done. We'll get a puppy." The doctor looked at me and said, "Its ok, she won't remember." She did though. From the moment her eyes opened after they were done she reminded us that she was getting a puppy! John kept saying, "No, that was the medicine making you THINK we said that!" She just said, "Nope, you said it. I remember." So on Sunday we fulfilled our promise. Anything to make her feel better and lift her spirits. Her name is Sally. She's a hybrid (fancy name for mutt). She's half Pug, half Bassett Hound, a Pugett. She's adorable and she makes Brooke happy. She's very high maintenance so I hope it was worth it!
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Sunday, March 18, 2007

NOT SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Birthdays are a big deal in our house. I love to buy and wrap gifts. I always try to wrap them early and set them out so that everyone has a reminder of the big day coming. This week it was Brooke’s birthday. Her birthday fell on spring break this year so we had to plan her party a few weeks after her actual birthday so I was determined to make her “real” birthday a big day! The only thing she asked for was a pair of shoes called “Healies.” They are really cool shoes with wheels in the bottom so you can “skate” around. So like a “good” mom, I got them for her. So she woke up on her birthday and went straight to the gifts. She opened the “Healies” first! We put them on and she tried to learn but it was hard and she got tired very quickly. At that point, I noticed that her cheeks were flushed. So, I took her temp and she had fever. Bummer. Fever on her birthday. As the hours went on, her fever went up and up. She barely got off the sofa so I knew something was wrong. I took her to the doctor and sure enough, she had strep throat. The doctor said, “She must have a high pain tolerance, she has raging strep throat.” Poor thing. So we headed home, on her birthday, with strep throat. By the next morning she was feeling much better so she put on her new “Healies” and practiced until she got it. She was so excited when John came home that they went outside so that she could show him. She did great. She could take a few steps and roll just like the kids she had seen do it. I was inside cooking dinner when all of the sudden John came barreling through the door carrying Brooke. “She broke her arm Ali!” I have to admit, I thought he might be over reacting until I saw her wrist. My stomach turned. It was obviously broken, bad. So the Dumas family sprang into action and we rushed to the Emergency Room. It seemed like we were waiting forever so John just walked up to the nurse’s station, still cradling Brooke in his arms, and just stood there until they took a look at her. She wasn’t even crying, she just had her head buried in John’s chest with an occasional tear rolling down. Again, my girl has a high pain tolerance. I’m sure they thought she was not injured too badly because she wasn’t screaming in pain but as soon as they looked at it, they sent us back to a room. Sure enough, it was broken. The ER doc called in an orthopedist to talk with us about the “procedure.” It sounded awful but they assured us she would be sedated and not remember (or feel) anything. So after a few hours, they sedated her and reset the bone. They wrapped it up in a cast and bandage and sent us home with plenty of pain killers. We try to make their birthdays so great they will remember them when they grow up. This birthday was not great, but she will definitely remember it for many years to come!
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Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Lobsters

I’m fairly certain that I have seen every single episode of “Friends.” It started in college when my roommates would all get together on Thursday nights to watch the show together. I still enjoy the reruns shown in syndication several times a day if I happen to catch them. Like many from my generation, quotes from the show enter my vocabulary when least expected. My very favorite was spoken by the prophetic Phoebe. When Ross and Rachel finally got back together (for the 2nd time, or maybe the 3rd) she just smiled and said, “He’s her lobster!” You see, supposedly, lobsters mate for life. I don’t care if it’s true or not. I love the thought of two little lobsters holding claws and staying together forever. I believe nothing can get between these two lobsters because they are always holding claws. I didn’t see it on the Discovery Channel but I’m just sure they don’t let anything get between them. If a predator comes, I bet they scamper away together. If and when they have baby lobsters, I bet they just run around their parent lobsters, but never come between them. That’s how my husband and I see our marriage. We’ve got our claws clamped firmly to each other. We even affectionately call each other “lobster.” Just like the lobsters, we will be together for life.
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