Since we left off, Koby enjoyed his two weeks as an only child/grandchild in Michigan, and the big kids had a great time at camp. We got to see Jer in SE Michigan, Koby had lots of sleepovers at Bubbie and Zaydies and more visits to THE Henry Ford - though the three last visits were to Greenfield Village, which was a change from the first visit to the museum. It was cool - though I think the adults were more into it than the kids.
I got a last minute trip to Cleveland to see Seth, Emily, Mike and Jo and their families. We were trying to figure out a time to meet in Cleveland or maybe Ann Arbor later in the summer, and they said they would discuss it on Sunday in Cleveland. I was like, "wait, what? You'll be together on Sunday in Cleveland? Can I just come?" So I did, and I got to see all their friends and had some really great time with them - especially Seth. Fills my soul.
I played tennis a few times with the person I met at Michigania as well as someone I met in my parents' neighborhood. I never won, but I got closer!
While in Michigan I was able to get a lot done for Sam's BM party/open house there in November. Hired a photographer, planned out some decorations with Paula, figured out table cloths, etc. Super helpful. We're nearly there.
A highlight of the last few weeks was time alone with Matt - for the second time in 12.9 years! He flew in to Michigan on Thursday the 3rd, and I picked him up, and we went straight up north to my brother's house. Friday we spent the day in the Leelanau Peninsula. We did the dunes walk to lake Michigan from the Dunes Climb at Sleeping Bear. We had lunch in Leeland. We did a hike around there. We had a swim and a walk around Sutton's Bay and a lovely dinner in Traverse City. We spoke so much and got so many decisions made and had so many conversations, we nearly ran out. It's amazing to just do what you want to do when you want to do it and not worry about kids and their silly opinions. Saturday we played pickleball and did a long walk at Maplehurst and then spent the afternoon playing Settlers and drinking beer with my brother. Sunday we woke up early for another walk at Maplehurst, this one with Jer, and then we drove back. Matt went to the airport to get Sam. I went to the bus to get Elie.
Sam had a great time at JCC Ranch Camp in Colorado. They said the people were SUPER nice. They loved the camp part, the horse part and just about everything about it. They want to go back, and they're trying to convince Koby to go (but not for the equestrian program).
Elie had a wonderful time at Ramah. He made new friend, tried new things - his favorite thing this year was canoeing (yes!!!). He wants to go back - hopefully they will have enough kids to go for a month next year.
We had a week all together in SE Michigan. Kids went back and forth between grandparents and mostly chilled. We saw wider family (brother and sister in law, cousins) and friends (Flory and Katie in Ann Arbor, Jessica, etc.). Matt worked a lot but also relaxed and spent time with everyone.
Midway through the next week, the kid and I flew to Boston and rented a car. We ended up with a BRAND new Pacifica with 17 miles on it. It was fantastic, because we had FOUR DUFFLE BAGS AND A SUITCASE once Matt joined us, so we could fit it all in the car. We got a CT scan of Koby's leg, visited the doctor (more on that below), saw a few friends and family and also relaxed a lot at Nancy and David's. We had a great half week, and Sunday morning Matt flew out to join us and fly back to London with us on Sunday night.
The flight back to London from Michigan is awful. It's at 6:30pm, so you're not tired. You only get tired when you're landing, so you really don't sleep, and then you arrive in the 6 am range, and you have to stay up all day. It's quite miserable. I wanted to fly back from Boston, because that flight is SO MUCH BETTER (and about $600 cheaper...). It was at 10:50 (and ours was delayed an hour - even better), so you're TIRED. We told the kid they could watch one movie, and when they cleared up from dinner, we would all go to sleep. Koby and Sam slept a little bit. Matt and I slept a bit more than that and Elie slept the whole time until we touched ground. Magic. We arrived around noon, so we just had a half day to stay awake and then we get back to normal (though I was up two nights ago all night, and the boys - and therefore me...- were up ALL last night, so I think we may still be jet lagged...).
On Koby's leg: it was x-rayed in July, and the doc said he saw a fracture. Koby's leg didn't seem fractured to me. He said he couldn't walk, but he wasn't really complaining. It was barely swollen. When I have experienced broken bones, the whole limb hurt, moving it hurt - it just seemed a lot more painful than not being able to walk (only). I asked the doctor if he was SURE it was broken - and he said, "yes - here is the break - a piece is missing off of here." (pointing to an xray). After the CT scan four weeks later, the report said that the potential break was not a break but a nutrient vessel and all is aligned and perfect. I couldn't wait to hear what the doctor said. He said it was very strange, because the radiologist didn't see the break that he saw, and therefore it must have been a growth plate injury. I was like, "um - wait - so this was never broken?" (THREE WEEKS OF CAMPS CANCELLED, NO WATER SPORTS, NO SWIMMING, NO WALKING, NO SWEATING AND A LOT OF INCONVENIENCE FOR NOTHING?????) He said, "well, we knew it was either a growth plate injury (HE HAD NEVER MENTIONED THIS BEFORE) or a break, and the radiologist thinks it wasn't a break, so it must have been a growth plate injury, and the treatment for that is 4 weeks in a cast or boot." Hmmm. I don't feel good about the whole thing, but at least the cast came off. Koby is still limping, but he can walk short distances. So far in our return to London he has walked to the bus or the tube, but he can't make it to school. He has ridden his bike easily, which is good. Hopefully a few weeks, and he will be fine. (I haven't told him that it might not have been broken...so Koby if you're ever reading this, I apologize for keeping that from you. It didn't seem productive to tell you at the time).
Coming back to London is ok. The kids got to see their teachers and classrooms yesterday, and they were SO SO happy to be back with friends and in the school. We are also happy to have our space back. Two months in other people's space is hard. Koby especially is SO SO happy to have his toys and dress up back. I feel a bit mixed, but I'm trying to stay positive.
