Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Before Luna, There was Midnight

My 4-year-old was drawing in a notebook and she left it on Malkolm's bed. I quickly flipped through, recognizing it as a notebook Malkolm has used in the past.

I found a partial story Malkolm wrote. When I asked him about it I was surprised to hear that it was the beginning of "Luna" ... before it was Luna!

I included it below:
Midnight
The moonlight gleamed through the window on to the little 4-year-old girl named Rebecca. A small, but curious sound made her jerk awake. Slowly and sleepily, she arose from bed. "What was that?" she wondered. She grabbed her glasses and put them on.
Thought this might be interesting for those of you who have read "Luna." I know when I write -- even these blog posts, that sometimes it starts out as one thing and ends up as something completely different. As a word nerd myself, I kind of got a kick out of seeing the beginnings of a story that ended up as a very different story.

Update on Malkolm
We had another good day today, but tonight Malkolm said he has a feeling in his heart that he didn't have before the surgery. He said it's throbbing sometimes and he can feel it all the way to his spine. I think it seems to happen when the ibuprofin wears off, so I'm guessing it's just the surgery healing and we just need to make sure we stick to the 6-8 hour meds schedule. Muscle cut off doesn't heal overnight, eh?

We will ask when we go to our next appointment in Atlanta next week.

I have started to work some a little with Ebay sales, and I think this is probably the first time in my life when I just don't want to work. At all. Just want to hang out with the kids and struggle with the housework. Just be. Not feeling at the top of my game by any means.

But the important thing is that Malkolm continues to improve. He is not running or anything yet, but he's up a lot at the computer, or sitting on the couch. We went to church on Sunday too and he seemed to handle it well. He inspires me in so many ways.

I'm still a bit worried about Malia. Actually, worried is probably too strong of a word, but concerned is the only other word that comes to mind right now and I know that's too strong as well. The thing is, I'm feeling like she needs more than I am giving her. She is definitely cuddling more now -- she never used to want to cuddle, even when she was a baby, she was just always pushing away. Now she will sit on my lap when we're watching TV, or come to me in my office and fall asleep on me as I sing to her.

Malia played a lot with Maina today. It seems Malia has found her niche there, knowing that she is making a difference, and seeing Maina light up when she calls to her. Maina was also following her around the house like a shadow. Everywhere Malia was, Maina wasn't too far behind.

Malia is just old enough to be independent and just young enough not to be independent, so she really does get stuck in the middle -- so just to see her play so much with Maina today was really very cool. I hope this continues -- there was a joy in Malia that I haven't seen there for a while.

Sia was playing hide and seek with the girls tonight, and Maina was his hiding partner. Every time Malia called to Maina, Maina would give away their position, because she was just so excited to hear from her big sis. Gosh, I love that. And Malia really felt special. That was the best part.

Ok, well. I think I'm going to call it a night.

-Jennifer

:)

3 comments:

  1. Great to read that Malkolm continues to make very good progress.

    Re Malia, my parental instinct tells me she just wants reassurance. Obviously you have ALL been through a HUGE change in recent weeks and I'm guessing she's a bit (more than a bit!?) scared, wondering how all this affects her & the ones she loves, where she fits in to all this. She just wants to be reassured - hence the cuddling, checking out where you are. Still waters run deep, as my mother used to say.

    In a quite different context, when my son was having some problems when he was young, his younger sister would come to me, sit down, snuggle up, ask a few questions, and then reassure ME (!) everything was ok - not just about her big brother but things were good between her and me. She was 6 or 7 going on 36 or 37.

    Of course, this is all obvious to an experienced Mom like you. But perhaps it doesn't hurt to hear it from someone else, a reassurance that it's ok. And it sounds like Malia is finding plenty of warmth, comfort & love in her family. Just apply more of the same ;)

    Oh, as it's quite ok not to want to work for now. More important matters rightly claim you, family & yourself to attend to. eBay will still be there when you're ready to return ;)

    Hope I haven't intruded too much.

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  2. No you are definitely not intruding. I think you hit the nail on the head. And it is always helps to hear from other moms -- logic isn't always the first thing on the plate for me and a little reassurance goes a long way, for sure. THANK YOU!

    -Jennifer "feeling a little better" P.

    :)

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  3. er, i'm a dad - in case there's any gender confusion here ;)

    cheers, Brent

    ReplyDelete