Update/Giving Thanks

Thank you for your prayers. We've had several phone calls and emails indicating that people are praying and we genuinely appreciate it. William has had two really good days with little or no fever and a better appetite. He and I (Lydia) went to the dog park and had breakfast together at a nearby restaurant yesterday, then went swimming and to Barnes and Noble. This is a HUGE improvement! He has been lucky just to get off the couch prior to this.

Today, he is ornery and wants everything his way. For instance, he was planning on having tuna salad on crackers for lunch today. I made the tuna and turned around to get the saltines and they were all gone. When I broke the news to William, he had a complete fit, didn't want it on toast, couldn't think of what else he could eat and so on. As I disciplined him for his terrible attitude, I was beaming inside. Earlier this week, he would have just rolled over and said, "That's okay, just give me whatever," a true sign of how very ill he has been feeing. I even told Paul that I would welcome butting heads with William over something stupid, because it would let me know that he is feeling better. Be careful what you ask for, right? :)

We are still in the waiting game to figure out what exactly is going on and have an appointment scheduled with a specialist on July 12th. But we are encouraged and hopeful and thankful because William is feeling so much better for the time being.

While managing William's illness this week has been fairly all-consuming, we are consciously trying to take a "panoramic" view of the situation. In other words, we are forcing ourselves to see that, while our activities and thoughts are turned more toward William than they normally are, those activities and thoughts are not the whole picture. We still have swimming lessons, trips to the library, more swimming, work, continuing to put away the contents of boxes, getting psyched for Lydia's sister and family to visit after the 4th, getting psyched for Paul's sister and family to visit right after that, and trying to decide whether or not now is the time to buy the mini cooper (Lydia: Well, duh! We're down to one car! Of course it's the right time!) (Paul: Not necessarily. First, we have to configure the cost output ratio as it compares to the savings/income ratio in relation to the intended expenditure ratio for the entire household and the priority factor as it relates to all of the above. Then we have to think about this for a significant period of time while Lydia patiently waits. If Lydia fails to wait patiently, we must reconvene, discuss the matter, stress the importance and moral value of thinking through these things thoughtfully and with patience, and begin the process again.) Uh, yeah, we're having fun with this one...

So again, thank you for your prayers. God is answering, we have more grace, William is rallying, and we are getting closer to knowing what is going on. Thank you.