Time flies

I had almost forgotten about blogging. Almost. I have a few dedicated friends who blog almost daily, and I am amazed and confounded at their abilities. As I crawl into bed, with hardly the energy necessary to turn off the light, or make sure the various children's lights are off or on, and doors are open or closed, etc., etc., I wonder to myself how they do it. And I mean, how they do it all- wife, mother, caretaker, friend, employer/employee, and, yes, familial blogger extraordinaire. My hat's off to all of you.  I, on the other hand, have not made blogging a priority, but I hope, with this post, to change my ways. The fact that I haven't memorialized anything here in over a year is scary, I mean when I am old, where will I go to recall these thoughts. Frankly, I should be taken out and flogged. But, wait for it, I do have an excuse....

I HAVE BEEN BUSY!

What, you didn't hear? I can't imagine... Ok, enough with the sarcasm, but really, this blogging thing has not been a priority. I have been busy. I have been busy attending school functions, assisting in homeschooling my two older children, trying to keep my youngest child well, somewhat socialized, and totally isolated from the public, working- did I mention working?- cleaning house, doing laundry, cooking, trying to find time to sleep. The Fortner household has been less than idle. Let me catch you up....

The last year has been a roller coaster for us all. With the H1N1 flu making its appearance on the scene in April/May 2009, and no apparent vaccine on board by the start of school, Dan and I weren't sure what we were going to do. We knew that it was imperative that Mac didn't get the flu, or really any serious respiratory illness; yet, our ability to keep him somewhat isolated had changed dramatically from the year before when he was barely mobile. Now, we had to contend with him touching everything, coming into contact with everything, in addition to the biggers. It had been an ongoing project all summer. I do believe that we single handedly increased the stock price of every manufacturer of hand sanitizer. So, armed with the statistics, observations from one of the most well respected infectious disease specialists in the Southeast, instructions from Mac's ENT, we set off on a LONG journey to keep our kids well, for a year.

Those of you who have small children understand the daunting task that we were facing. Almost every surface in every environment presented a potential hazard. The shopping carts, the playground, the grocery store, the gas station, the mall, the movie theatre, the restaurants, our friends homes, church, etc... We armed everyone with their own personal bottles of hand sanitizer, used clorox wipes like they were going out of style and didn't take the kids into any public places.  Oh, did I mention that this was in June and July of 2009- school hadn't even started yet.  Our kids, our friends, and some of our family thought we were crazy. I mean, absolutely, certifiably, needed to be put in a rubber room, CRAZY.... They were right, but we were too.

August rolled around, and the long promised vaccine was still not available. We scoured the country trying to find just one dose available for Mac- nothing, nada, zip.  We again consulted with our physicians, and our dr. friends. The infectious disease doctor friend of ours, said that there hadn't been any reported cases of the flu in our area, and we might want to send the kids (Finn and Sarah Ryann) on to school until we saw how this pandemic was going to play out. We thought, we read, we prayed and we decided. We decided to send the kids to school and see if we could make it until a vaccine arrived. Sarah Ryann started school first. Day after day we held our breath, quietly asked if anyone had been absent, talked to her teacher and the school officials about our concerns, reminded her to use her hand sanitizer. Week 1, no problems. Week 2, no problems. The following week Finn started school. Being 4, getting him to use hand sanitzier every time he touched something that someone else may have touched was a bit more difficult. by the end of the first full week of school there was one reported case of H1N1 at Finn's school, but not in his classroom.

The day after receiving this report both of our kids were withdrawn from school. I must take a moment to praise both of the kids' schools and teachers for their complete understanding of our situation, and their willingness to assist us in trying to homeschool our kids. So, by Labor Day weekend, both kids were out of school, at least for the Fall semester, and Dan's primary job as caretaker, just became caretaker/school teacher. This quickly morphed into a primary profession of keeping everyone from going crazy.  Not having homeschooled before, we were completely unprepared. We tapped into the extraordinary assistance of some dear friends who are incredibly talented and dedicated homeschool teachers. With their help, God's grace, and lots of TLC we made it through. Everyone got vaccinated, and Sarah Ryann went back to school after Christmas. Mac and Finn had a good time bonding without their Sissy, but they were thrilled to see her every afternoon. Sarah Ryann, our social butterfly, was very excited to be back at school, but was still very conscientious about germs. I fear we have created germaphobes in our children. If that's the worst that we do, I think we'll be alright. All in all, the last year was incredibly trying, sad, difficult, heartbreaking, and incredibly wonderful. We came to know our children's sweet spirits, their precious hearts, and their love probably more than we would have otherwise, and we are all better for our experience. We have learned to love what really matters- each other. That, my friends, is a priceless gift that we will all continue to treasure.

This Summer Mac was cleared by the ENT with instructions to get out there and build up some immunity. That is exactly what we are doing. One ear infection down.... Mac started preschool at Calvary, Finn started kindergarten at TCPS and Sarah Ryann started 4th grade. My what a difference a year makes.

Thank you Lord for all our blessings. We are so humbled by your grace and mercy.