of the accident just slipped by there, didn’t it! I just realized it a minute ago… Sunday was the day. Cooper and I were with Jenna, at least for the morning. Anyway, I’m in the middle of applying to be a Child Advocate volunteer and I just remembered it as I was filling out the application…
Took Cooper again, and had a lot of fun. At least he did. 
Actually it is extremely satisfying to have Cooper and Jenna together. She has missed out on him so much that the normally precious moments every “normal” parent so deeply appreciates and cherishes, are a thousand times more precious for Jenna, and myself as the person who kind of has to remember them for her. But just walking around a grocery store with Cooper waving his little styrofoam play sword ($2 at the dollar store, go figure) and just being “Cooper,” and having Jenna there to watch and absorb it, is something akin to bliss.
We got there in the middle of the afternoon and drove up to our hotel in DuQuoin, IL, about 20 miles up the road from Carbondale. This was due to Carbondale being booked for something at SIU most likely. We just stopped in to check into the room and so Jenna could go to the bathroom, and asked at the front desk for a good local restaurant to try as a break from the whole chain restaurant (Cooper loves happy meals) thing. Anyway it was a nice little place in downtown DuQuoin, which itself was a nice little old-style downtowny area. I forgot my camera otherwise I’d post pics.
Saturday we had breakfast at the free continental thing at the hotel and then went to the “Castle Park,” which is becoming a regular tradition for us, spending the balance of the day there. Dinner was at the local MickyD’s, where Cooper enjoys the play area. In case I haven’t mentioned it in the last five seconds, that kid is EXTREMELY social!
Sunday we left a bit early so that Cooper and I could meet up with a friend in Terre Haute and meet his six -year-old son, and get a little tour of the town. It was a nice little tour and some interesting possibilities were talked about. Thanks again Jaime!
Unfortunately Jenna has already lost her new $250 glasses, but we are hoping they will turn up asap. We wont be able to visit again for a few weeks due to financial constraints, but are looking forward to it whenever it might happen. Jenna did very well this time, and Cooper is very much looking forward to going back, as am I.
Drove down with Jenna’s parents and Cooper for a few-hours day visit on Easter sunday. Hunted eggs, and Cooper ran around the “Castle Park” with yet more new friends. That kid is EXTREMELY social, and loves to play with other kids. I may have told this story on here before but back when he was about 3 years old, my mom took him to a take-out Mexican restaurant to pick up some food. As she went up to the counter to order and pay, he finds another family, grabs a chair from another table, slides it over and sits down with them, just chatting it up like nobody’s business. I wish I was that non-shy when I was his age!
Anyway Jenna was fine, she is really doing well. We are still working on getting her to be more independent in preparation for her coming home. She is supposed to do her own laundry, etc. (I may have mentioned this before.)
Going back this weekend for another visit, with Cooper. Was going to go the weekend following this one but Cooper has an all-day field trip that friday and that would mean we’d get there at night and he’d be exhausted. This way we get there in the early afternoon and can enjoy the rest of the day together. Downside is that the next visit will be at a greater interval away due to financial constraints mostly.
Brought Cooper with me again, and of course we spent most of our time at the “Castle Park.” We also brought Jenna her new glasses so she can actually see now (I tried them on and man she must be BLIND without them, although she is not one to complain, about that anyway). I got ridiculously sick, had a fever for two days running, cold sweats, etc.
We are going back the weekend of the 24th. I was planning on going back the weekend of the 17th but the inlaws want to take Cooper to Birmingham that weekend for a party, so we bumped the Jenna visit to the next one.
Jenna herself is doing really great. It was so awesome to have Cooper with us, as we got to be our little family unit all weekend. As I have mentioned before, that is what I lament the most, that Jenna doesn’t get to be with Cooper and vice versa. Anyway, more later…
Cake 1:
Cake 2:
I got to go get Jenna and bring her back here for five days, for Cooper’s birthday, which we just celebrated with family on the day itself. Then we had another party the following weekend for his little friends at chunky cheese’s. Cooper had a great time and so did Jenna while she was here. The first cake was a prototype for the second, larger one. Cooper wanted carrot cake with a spongebob on a blue background. Im a DIY kinda guy so I took a shot (or two) at it myself rather than spend $$ at a bakery…
On a more heavy topic, I saw a news report the other night about a family who’s little daughter’s life was saved because they had heard about Natasha Richardson’s death, and the circumstances around it. What happened was, the father was hitting golf balls and accidentally beaned his little daughter in the temple. The little girl was fine for a day or two, but then started complaining about a headache i think the second night at bedtime. The mom had seen the Richardson story on TV and decided to play it safe by going to the emergency room. The girl was rushed into brain surgery where a slow-bleed subdural hematoma was patched up and the little girl’s life was saved, literally at the last moment. If they hadn’t brought her in on complaint of that headache, she never would have woken up the next morning.
All I can say to all that is, the Richardson family can take a small bit of comfort in that Natasha’s death, and the media coverage of it, absolutely and concretely saved that little girl’s life. Nothing more to say about that beyond the obvious (wipes tear)…
