October 2013

The month of October has brought some challenges to the Kindem household. Paul tore his ACL and meniscus in his left knee for the second time. The meniscus tear was called a bucket handle tear because one side of the meniscus had flipped over to the center of the knee. This type of tear can cause serious damage to the cartilage in the knee and therefore had to be operated on immediately. This was a very unwelcomed injury and Paul really wasn’t sure how he was going to get by after surgery, but the O’Brien-Kindem families reassured him that they would be there to help him recover and to make sure the household kept on track. There is truly no replacement for having a good family and good friends.

Paul had surgery on October 15th and everything went smoothly. Paul’s left knee had a new ACL which was created from his patella tendon and the meniscus was flipped back into place. Some of the meniscus had to be removed, but the surgeon believes there is still ample cartilage between the bones that Paul should not have any problems for quite some time. Paul’s right knee was also scoped, where the surgeon found a Cyclops (ball of scar tissue) on the base of his ACL graft (replaced in ’98), and a small tear on his meniscus. Paul noticed an immediate improvement in his right knee, which was a much welcomed feeling.

The first few days were very challenging because Paul was stuck on the couch, so that he could rest, ice, elevate, and deal with the pain. John and Larkin were not happy that daddy couldn’t eat with them at the table; walk with them outside; read them books in their bedroom before bedtime; etc… But each day that has passed has gotten a little easier as Paul begins to heal and becomes slightly more mobile and John and Larkin get used to the new routines. Paul’s parents stayed at Paul’s house for the first two weeks and were incredibly helpful and great with the kids. Thank you Nana and Bapa!

Some of this initial stress was alleviated by Pete and Sase because they took Reagan to their house for the first four nights. Reagan is 14 months old and requires a lot of attention, so this was hugely helpful. Reagan went to a daycare facility that Sase works at on two different occasions and loved being with all the other kids. Most of these kids were older and Reagan kept right up with them. She sat right in her place at circle time, held hands with the other children while walking around the room, sat nicely while eating her meals, and played well with the toys and other kids when it was time to do so. Needless to say all the other teachers fell in love with her and want her to join them again sometime soon. Reagan also had fun with her two older cousins, and Sase even took Reagan out for shoe shopping and to run errands. Thank you Raleigh Kindems!

JOHN got a haircut!! After much debate, Paul decided to take John and Larkin to get haircuts on October 12th. John had his very first haircut on Jamie’s lap when he was 18 months old, but outside of trimming his bangs from time to time he has had no “real” haircut since birth. It was hard to cut John’s hair because he had unique natural highlights and long running curls in the back. Paul took them to a place called, “the barbershop.” The barbershop is a fairly new place in town that serves hard shell peanuts in the waiting area and has a TV in each cubicle, and only costs $11. John and Larkin ate thru a whole bag of peanuts and then watched cartoons while getting their haircuts. Both were excellent patrons and listened extremely well to their stylist Marsha. Nice job John and Larkin. John was super happy about his haircut and both John and Larkin looked great afterwards.

The following Monday when Paul took John and Larkin to daycare, John walked into the room with his head held high and a new twinkle in his eye. He walked over to his teacher and didn’t say anything and just stared up at her, as if waiting for her to notice something new about him. After 10 seconds or so, Mrs. Penny looked down at John and said, “John you got a haircut… Oh my, I might cry.” While Paul stood there watching John and Larkin walk around their room showing off their new doo’s to their teachers and classmates, it donned on Paul how quickly John and Larkin are growing up. He is shocked at their ability to express themselves through words, actions, and body language. Parenting is extremely challenging, but it is also very rewarding and seeing the two of them strut around their classroom that morning was a very, very enjoyable moment for Paul.

John and Larkin made daddy extra proud one evening at dinner. Barry and Kennette stayed over a couple of nights during the month while they were on their way back home from a vacation in Ireland. Barry made one of his famous homemade spaghetti sauces with Italian sausage for all of us and right after the food had been served to everyone, John looked up at Barry and said, “Uncle Barry, thank you for the food”, then Larkin followed his lead and said, “thank you for the food Uncle Barry.” This made daddy immediately tear up with pride. All of his please and thank you lessons had finally paid off in spades. Way to go J and L!

The month ended as it usually does on Halloween. Reagan wore a Hershey Kiss outfit that Aunt Sase had saved. John wanted to be a fireman and Larkin wanted to be a “lady person.” I mean seriously, a lady person. Who even thinks of that? John said he wanted to be a fireman so he could help people and Larkin wanted to be a lady person to save people. Paul almost dropped the ball on John’s fireman outfit. Maybe it was because of the surgery, but we didn’t realize that John didn’t have a costume until October 30th. We immediately called or visited all the different costume stores, but no fireman outfit could be found. Paul texted Kat that afternoon asking her for help and she came to the rescue. Kathryn found some great designs on Pinterest, then went to old navy and Michael’s after work, and made John a swanky fireman outfit. Way to go Ki! Pete and Sase did have their annual Halloween party where Pete does a pig pickin’ and lots of neighbors and family and friends gather for a fun night. John and Larkin didn’t trick or treat this year because they were having too much fun at the party, but that cut down on the pieces of candy, so Paul wasn’t too upset. Maybe next year.

.