Thankfully, I can now get back to blogging. I have been avoiding blogging because I was afraid I would slip out the "secret!". Auntie is sooooo excited! Ma is counting down the time until we go!
For Auntie:
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
We’re going off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're not going alone. And you know what you know.
And we are the people who are deciding where to go.
We’ll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some we will say, "We don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your flipflops full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
(say goodbye to Glencoe)
It's going to be sunny there
with clean, breezy air.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You deserve to be happy too.
We are on our way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You are joining the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
The NICU meant we got all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And we needed your help
Or we would be left in the lurch.
Xander was born
with an unpleasant bump.
And the thing was,
His mommy was in a deep slump.
And when your sister is in a slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Because un-slumping yourself
is not so easily done.
And we came to a place where the streets were not marked.
Some windows were lighted. But mostly they're darked.
We needed our Auntie to help us to know how to begin!
Do we dare get excited? Ma might go to the Looney bin.
Do we dare hope? Who will keep Ma with a good stock of Gin?
And IF we went on, should we turn left or right...
Who would do laundry? Or get Timmy’s each night?
Or do all the work that Ma left behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid we did find,
for a very busy Mommy to take a break and unwind.
We got so confused
When we started the NICU race
We all went down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and you stayed with Ma in Ronald McDonald’s space,
Cause we were headed for the most exciting place.
So…we were
Waiting for ventilators to go
or monitors to come, or doctors to go
or health to come, or the time to go
or feeding to come, or the tears to go
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for his lungs to just fricken grow.
Everyone was just waiting.
And when we were there, there was a very good chance
We would see things that scare us right out of our pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that would scare us but we had to go on.
Yup!
Thanks to you!
Somehow we managed to escape
all that waiting and staying.
Let’s celebrate!
We are off to find the bright places
where sunshine is playing.
We’ll be flip-flopping,
From April 24th till May 1st!
Be ready for anything under the sky.
Because you're in charge of a cute little guy!
Oh, the places we are going to go!
I packed for us, even the teething ring.
Ma used her points. Don’t fret about a thing.
Take a deep breath and try not to go beserk,
The doctors have said you can leave with a shirk
And Crystal and Kim know to take care of the work.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
But they are going to try
So, quickly say a goodbye.
It will be hard for them to fill in for you
Because you are who you are
But we will be back the next week
When you give all their work a once-over critique.
On you will go
though you might need to use the phone
On you will go
though you never have flown
Onward up many
A new adventure to seek,
though your arms may get sore
and your umbrella may leak.
You’re feeling mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You are all mixed up
But you need to get ready to go.
Woohoo! A vacation, say I love you dear Brad.
He has known for a while and he is happy, not sad.
We have bags to pack
and try to remember that
Life's a great balancing act.
I promised Xander that his Auntie will take him to see
Shamu the whale, a hotel room, an airplane and a palm tree
And that he could watch you wrestle an ape.
Close your mouth, it is suddenly agape.
Please don’t forget to pack a swimsuit and short shorts
We want to say thank you for all your support.
Pay it forward is the theme for today,
Good things come back around and this is how we repay.
And will you be back?
Yes! You will, indeed!
And will we have fun?
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
AUNTIE, GET PACKING!
So...
There is no time to waste
be your name Carrie or Xander or Nan
we leave the Tuesday after OSCE at noon,
And we’re on a short time span.
We're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your Florida vacation is waiting.
So...get on your way!
---Dr. Ma
