Dixie And Ike

She got to hold him for a while. Ike was in a good mood, not all that fussy like he’d been the day before, and so they sat there for close to half an hour I’d guess. He’d smile or laugh or try to look backwards out the window. We liked Dixie. She was in town for a traffic safety conference and so on Sunday after it was over, she and her sister in law stopped by.

She brought some pictures of Jesse to share and told us his story of the day he died and we showed pictures of Ike and of his first eight months of his life and of the transplant and everything that followed. She told us her story of moving from South Dakota to Selah and how her daughter was just now 17 and driving and about the tree that they planted at the barren spot where his car crashed.

It was heavy at times but not morbidly so. Mostly we marveled at how total strangers could have that deep a bond. I was told, “That’s some head of hair you’ve got!” by the sister-in-law and that cracked us all up. When it came picture time, the older boy wanted no part of it. He’s been like that lately, shying away from the camera. Fortunately he’s still not above bribery, so I was able to get him to comply with the promise of an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.

Sweetie and I are thinking of renting a trailer and heading out their way for some summer camping later in the year. Right now were looking at ways to get outside our selves for a bit and leave all the stress of home and work and life behind. We’re looking for ways to start taking care of ourselves and if we can do it right, camping might just be the ticket. At least our trip to the ocean seemed to say that. You could feel the stress lighten up a bit and even with forgotten medicine and sick boys I left feeling better than I did arriving.

Next up is our court date this Friday to put Ike’s Trust in place and then School starts for me for me the following Tuesday. In some ways this all feels like the merry-go-round we’ve been going for a ride on might be coming to a stop. At least that’s what I’m hoping for, even if the rest is only temporary.

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