Fever and a Friday fill-in

My youngest son experienced febrile seizures last night which is something I had never experienced before, and something I'd rather never see again. Febrile seizures happen when their is a sudden spike of a fever, and while frightening to witness, they are considered fairly harmless. My boy had been running a low-grade fever and experiencing headaches for a couple of days, but the fever really peaked last night to 103. Twitching, eye-rolling, moaning....scary.

Today...normal. Nothing. He wanted to go to the park and play. He's eaten and run around, talked with friends. Little kids' bodies are amazing.

And now for my Friday Fill-In:

1. My blueprint for success includes knowing yourself and what you love and taking it from there.
2. A Snickers Bar offered graciously from my son from his bottomless trick-or-treat bag was the last candy I ate.
3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is coconut oil.
4. Electing the new leader of the free world and knowing he's the right guy can be good therapy.
5. I'd like to tell you about how I lost twenty pounds...but I haven't...yet (see#2).
6. Being a decent and attentive listener is my strongest characteristic.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include going to a double-dutch demo and going to the Y (see#5) and Sunday, I want to drink coffee, play with my family, and maybe visit a friend!

Still Six

He will go swimming no matter the temperature, then roll in the warm sand of the dunes. He plays on a soccer team, and loves to work on the pottery wheel at art class. He is a whiz at navigating through the computer world, and he loves to have control of the TV clicker. He still enjoys watching Curious George.

If he's mad at you, he lets you know. He hits and yells, then dissolves in a puddle of tears. He hugs hard. He collects rocks, sticks, pinecones, acorns, and often offers special ones as gifts to me. He kisses and squeezes his brothers goodnight every night. His lobster print boxers are his favorite underwear. He's trying to learn how to jump rope.

Every morning I wake to him snuggled up next to me, having crept under my covers during the night. He is warm and friendly, compassionate and sensitive. He likes to do science experiments and play on the Wii with his friends. He loves to build with his Legos making space ships with laser guns, then staging great battles between them.

He like to pull pranks on his family with rubber snakes, insects, and rodents. He owns a whoopie cushion and he uses it. When I have not hidden it. He loves to call his Dad at work just to say hello. He often describes himself as shy. He eats spaghetti with abandon, steamed clams, raw carrots, and huge bowls of ice cream.

On Saturday, he will turn seven. But today he is still deliciously six.

The Youngest Boy

He is a barrel of conflicting emotions and expressions. You can never know exactly what's going to emerge, but he is free with his smiles.