LaSalle Family Christmas

Holidays have always been something of a challenge in our relationship simply because our families live in opposite corners of the state.  And being the ones in the middle of it all, we've always been the ones left to travel.

Christmas Eve is a big deal in Rich's family - dinner, church, presents.  For my family, it's always been Christmas Day.  Our compromise for many years was to spend Christmas Eve in Erie with Rich's family, eat breakfast early on Christmas morning and then get on the road.  We'd make a quick stop at our apartment to unpack and repack, exchange gifts, then get back in the car so that we could make Christmas dinner at my folk's place (they very graciously started waiting until after dinner to open presents).

When kids entered the picture, that changed.  Now, Christmas morning is always in our home.  And until last year, we alternated between families and holidays.  Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with mine one year, switching for the next.  

But, I think it's important to spend the holidays with family and to share in family traditions.  Now that the kids are a little older and travel so much better, we're willing to get out on the road twice for Christmas.  

So of course, LaSalle Family Christmas, hosted by my nephew Ricky and his wife Kathy, is one of my favorite memories in 2011.  I have so few opportunities throughout the year to see all my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews at the same time, but LaSalle Family Christmas gives that to me.  We had only one holdout this year - my niece Darlene (though I totally understand) who spent her night watching the Flyers play in some ridiculously expensive seat her boss gave her as a birthday present. 

Still, there were nearly 30 of us there.  And I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Broad Street Run

The Broad Street Run was, by far, the coolest road race I've entered.  It's a ten-mile point to point run, beginning at Central High School and ending at the Philadelphia Naval Yard.  After two or three rolling miles, it's a gradual decent to the finish line and it's considered one of the fastest ten-mile courses in the country.

Because this is a HUGE race (roughly 30,000 runners), everyone is asked to seed themselves by their expected finish time and runners are assigned to various corrals accordingly... I think this is a fantastic idea as you have only runners of similar skill around you, virtually eliminating the need to weave in and out past slower runners at the start.   I anticipated a 9:30 pace and was therefore assigned the 1:35:00 to 1:40:00 corral.

I don't cry often, but can clearly remember two instances this year, one in April, the other here on Broad Street.

This is the first race I've ever run alone and as I sat in my corral at the starting line, I looked across the street at the Albert Einstein Medical Center.  I'm not sure why, but as I was sitting there, it struck me that not only was this the place where I was born but it was also the place where my father died last year.  And so I cried.   

Then, I ran. 

The race started, corral by corral, right on time though it took nearly 15 minutes for my corral to get the command to start. As we crossed the start line and had a chance to glance down Broad Street for the first time, the sight was amazing.  Probably ten thousand runners ahead of me as far as I could see.  Spectators all along the race course.  City Hall roughly six miles away, but straight ahead.  It was simply awesome.  The run into Center City, then down toward the sports stadiums, and then finally to the Naval Yard was everything I hoped it would be.  Challenging.  Exciting.  Fun.

I felt really good coming down the final stretch and was pleased with the run... I finished less than three minutes off my goal time (which I thought was pretty good considering the terrible cramp I had in mile seven).

And vowed that I'd be back to run it again next year.

Matt's first roller coaster ride

I love roller coasters.  And amusement parks.

For most of the last six years, when we have gone to an amusement park, we've been left to ride the ridiculous kiddie rides that turn in circles and bore me to tears.  But this was the year I expected things to change.  Matt's tall enough to ride at least some of the coasters in any park we've been to.

So, just where was his first roller coaster ride?  Idlewild and Soak Zone.

I practically forced Matt onto Rollo Coaster - a 1938 coaster built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  It's not a big coaster at all... the biggest hill is just over 25 feet. But at the time, it was the biggest hill on the biggest coaster Matt had ever been on.  As I suspected, Matt was laughing so hard and smiling so wide by the time we'd made it to the bottom of that first hill, I was sure I had a new-found roller coaster enthusiast.  We rode three more times that day and started a summer of roller coaster adventures: Lakemont Park, Delgrosso's, Knoebels, Hershey Park.  It was so much fun!!!

I remember that I also tried to talk Cathy onto the ride but she just wouldn't do it.  While I trust something like a roller coaster will go well for Matt even if he thinks he doesn't want to do it, when Cathy says "No", she means it. 

It was such great fun to experience Matt's first roller coaster ride with him, to hear him laugh and beg to do it again.  That's a moment I wouldn't trade for anything.

Discharge

Cathy was first referred to Neurology when she was four months old.  Her seizures began a month later and we were soon making all too frequent trips to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  As she got older, as she continued to develop and thrive, the frequency of our visits lessened.

Our neurologist was the perfect doctor for us - we first met Dr. Clancy when Cathy was about six months old.  While everyone asked questions about Cathy, he's the first doctor that asked me how I was doing and it was clear that he really wanted to know.  I was instantly at ease with him.  When we needed to transfer Cathy's care (we spent two years with the most fantastic fellow, though as she narrowed her area of emphasis, she stopped seeing patients in the general neurology clinic), there was never a question as to who I wanted her to see.

In February, Cathy could run and jump.  She could carry on a conversation, she was 18 months off her anticonvulsant with no sign of relapse.  I shared with Rich on that last drive to Philadelphia that I wanted to discuss the possibility of bringing her in only once a year.  Knowing that Cathy would be starting school in the fall, the last thing I wanted to do was pull her out twice a year for doctor's visits, no matter how much I loved our doctor.

Instead, he brought it up first.  He told us that there was every reason to believe that Cathy's seizures were a part of her past.  He told us he would always be Cathy's neurologist, that we should not hesitate to call if we needed anything, but there was no reason for us to continue to drive so far just to tell him how great our little girl was doing.

He gave us his email address, told us that he'd love to see Cathy socially when we are visiting family in the city (which I will happily do) and then he sent us on our way.

I couldn't have asked for a better visit or a better outcome for my little girl.    

Cathy scores... twice!

The U5 soccer league plays without goalies.  Three on three.  It's like watching a swarm of insects.  They follow the ball wherever it is.  Passing is at a minimum.  Scoring is pretty high.

We offered Cathy the chance to play in fall of 2010 but she did not want to; she was more than content to sit on the sidelines cheering on her big brother.  But come spring she was ready.

She's never been the fastest kid on a team or the most aggressive.  In fact, she's pretty timid about making a move to take the ball away from anyone.  But Cathy was more than happy to be part of a team and that was enough for all of us.

Knowing her personality and playing style, there was nothing more exciting than watching Cathy break away with the ball, run toward the goal and score.  I practically ran out onto the field to celebrate with her... instead she ran straight to me and jumped into my arms.  It was awesome.  I could not have been more excited or more proud than I was in that moment... or so I thought.  Before the game was over, she put the ball into the net a second time.

These two goals are the only ones she's scored in two seasons of soccer and I am convinced that she'll decide one day soon that soccer really isn't for her.  But for a day, Cathy was a super star!  And it was, by far, one of my favorite days of the year.

Presque Isle

If you followed the blog through the summer, you probably remember Even bad days sometimes end well.  Knowing that this is the day that Rich passed out in the latter portion of the Presque Isle Half Marathon, I imagine you are thinking 'How can this be one of her favorite memories of the year'?  And quite honestly, I wouldn't blame you for that.

While the incident itself isn't a highlight, it's an unforgettable moment in time.

There's much about the day I would just as soon forget, but it's Matt's reaction to his father's hospitalization that puts it on the list.  He was concerned about his dad, he wanted to go to the hospital and spend time with him, he wanted to see that his daddy was ok.  

Back then I wrote "Of all the images I have from the weekend, here's the one that I hope will always stick with me: Matt curled up in bed next to Rich, head on his shoulder and watching TV.  Matt is still always affectionate with me, but not often with Rich and there was just something so sweet in that moment."

Even now, I can close my eyes and picture it.  And it's still one of the sweetest moments I can recall.

Happy Holidays!

As part of our effort to go green this year, we're not planning to send Christmas cards if we have an electronic way to wish you a Merry Christmas.

If I followed the directions correctly, I should have embedded the Smilebox we created in lieu of a card. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Holidays!

This slideshow made with Smilebox