November 2012
At the start of the month, John and Larkin have now been in the new day care for about 2 weeks. Going into it, we knew this month would be difficult for all of us, each in our own way. But, there is nothing we can do besides to take it day by day, and so we do.
John and Larkin have adjusted well to the new daycare. It’s been difficult for them, without question. They ask for their former teacher Latonya often, and their other friends at their old school. Even though they are getting comfortable with their new school, almost every morning, they still ask about Latonya, their other teachers, and their friends, as if they will be headed to see them after breakfast. We all know that they’ll be OK and make the adjustment, but it’s difficult to see them going through yet another unexpected life change. Paul alone has dropped off and picked them up each day, and this will continue for a while. He wants things to stay consistent until they really feel totally comfortable there. Like the amazing, resilient kids that they are, we can tell they’re trying to adjust to this new atmosphere, and all we can do is encourage that.
One Saturday, Kat and Paul took John and Larkin to their friend Eva’s birthday party in Raleigh. It was a great party and John and Larkin had a very good time. They were quite apprehensive at first, but after a little while they really opened up and enjoyed playing with their old friends and seeing Latonya again. Later on in the month they went to another friend, Wyatt’s birthday party with Paul and had a great time there as well.
With John and Larkin’s birthday and then Thanksgiving this month, the kiddos had their fair share of visitors. In addition to the local Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh family that they see often, this month they got to see Uncle Tom, cousins Ben and Alex, and their Uncle Doug and Aunt Nessa. We celebrated John and Larkin’s second birthday with family and close friends. It was a very happy occasion for them, and it’s not a surprise that they were quite spoiled with love and of course lots of gifts. It was an emotional day and parts of it were more difficult to get through than others, such as watching John and Larkin eat their birthday cupcakes. It is a moment from last year’s birthday party that will forever be etched in our minds and watching them enjoy their sugary treats one year later without Jamie there laughing and sitting with them was tough to swallow. Ultimately, it was a great day for John and Larkin, and that was the most we could ask for.
We kept Thanksgiving to immediate family only, and decided to make it a joint O’Brien-Kindem family holiday this year. We didn’t think we needed to divide everyone up and have Paul moving from place to place with three kids. It was a good idea and everyone contributed to the meal, and it really does help to be together and draw strength from one another. Doug, Kat, and Paul missed the dinner and all of the day’s activities due to an unexpected stomach bug. It started Thursday morning and moved on to pretty much everyone in the family over the coming week. It was unfortunate, but maybe now we can definitively say that all other Thanksgivings from now on, have got to be better than this year’s.
This month was a tough one, as are all, but it was also one in which we spent lots of time spent with family, and that really does seem to help.
– Kathryn A. O’Brien