The road to Texas is paved with beer, bbq and gas station burritos

I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m up way too early, so I thought I should do something more productive than reading random posts on Facebook and write a blog post.

They tried to act like they wouldn't
 miss each other at camp drop off

My little girl is finally on her way home and she’s flying for the first time—yes, flying on a plane, 30,000 feet in the air-- without her Mama. She’s 13, so I guess it’s time to let her spread her wings a little more but I’ll be glad when she’s on the ground and back in our home.

It’s been a crazy summer this year, full of the usual drama and even fuller of new experiences that make me rethink almost everything I thought was true about myself.

Some good, some bad, but all those experience have made us all grow as a family, in a good way.

Being away from the children for almost four weeks was almost too much for me to handle as a mother.   It was hard hearing those little voices on the other side of the phone and hearing the words, “I miss you” and “I want to come home” and having to just say “I love you” and not jump in the car to go see them.

There were times when I didn’t think I would ever catch my breath or stop feeling so sad. But they are back with me now and I guess we all have grown in our ways from that experience.

Once the kids got home, we all packed up and drove to Texas—and yes “all” includes my dear hubby who is happy to stay parked in Savannah.

Robby has never been to Texas with me before and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I gave him front row tickets to a part of my life that he has never seen.  But in true Robby fashion, he embraced the adventure and kept me laughing the entire trip.

Had to introduce Robby to Tractor Supply.

Something happens to me every time I get to Texas. No matter how long I’ve been gone, I seem to slide into this rhythm and relax a little. I get to really relax—my mom does all the shopping, cooking and cleaning and my dad takes the children and keeps them occupied with some of the weirdest babysitting techniques known to man.

My brothers make their way down to Dublin and it’s just like old times. We’re laughing, drinking beer, eating around the table, and telling stories that make my side hurt from laughing.  My kids idolize all of my siblings and can’t get enough of stories from our childhood.

Even though Texas holds some not so good memories, it also holds some of the best memories of my life. 

There are times when I think about moving back—what it would be like to be around my friends and my family instead of the new friends and family I’ve made here in Georgia.

If I’ve learned anything these past years, it’s that I know better than to say “it’s never gonna happen.”

The reason for the trip to Texas was to get Veronica a checkup at the hospital in Dallas with her foot surgeon. When you have something as rare as Arthrogryposis, you find things go better when you have a special doctor for each part of your body affected by the disease.

So, she has a knee guy, a shoe guy and a hand/arm guy. Unfortunately, two of those guys are in Dallas, but it’s worth the trip to get the job fixed right the first time.

Then after four fun filled days in my hometown of Dublin, we returned to the hospital and  dropped off my princess so she could ride a bus to go to summer camp with her other Arthrogryposis buddies at Camp Freedom in the Texas Hill Country for the week.

Love Uncle David and Uncle Luke

She has gone to that camp since she was 6 and she knew almost every kid going—I can’t wait to hear all her stories when she gets back.

And since she’s set for another foot surgery this fall, I have a feeling some of those friendly faces with show up at the hospital to see how she’s doing.

Life is weird. You never know who is going to walk into your life one day and become one of those people that you can’t believe you never met.

I look back one these past several years and wonder how I got to where I am today. I never would have thought I would have the job I have—I said I would never work at a newspaper again.

I never thought I would stay here in Savannah for so long or bring Robby home to Dublin for a visit—I said I would never get married again.

I never thought I would be sitting at home waiting for my little girl to get off a plane by herself and walk herself and her bags to her gate on her own—the doctors told me she would never walk on her own when she was a baby.

My "little" brother Luke

I guess the point is that we never know what tomorrow will bring. It’s easy to say “that will never be me.” But we all learn that it can so easily be you in the blink of an eye.

It takes mere seconds to meet someone that will change your life. It takes just a few more to make friendships and memories to last a lifetime.

But it also takes a lot of work and patience to make those relationships really good and even more to make them last.

I guess the big thing I’ve learned this summer, is that healthy relationships are worth the time and effort in the long run. Everyone gets busy and tired, but some people are still really good at making sure they stay in touch and take the time to make relationships work.

I realized I need to work harder on maintaining my old relationships in Texas. I’ve avoided them because I get so homesick sometimes and I don’t want to admit I miss a crappy little place in the middle of nowhere that serves the best damn gas station burritos in the world.

I realize I’ve been stuck in between Texas and Georgia for a while now—both pulling me in different directions. I’ll never leave Savannah; I’ll never move back to Texas. Why say never? Why not find something in between? Why not make more of an effort to have both?

It’s easier to watch life pass by on Facebook than to make the effort to get up, get out and embrace the people and places that make you happy. It’s hard to get passed the hurt and let people love you and take care of you—it’s hard but it’s not impossible.

Starting over doesn’t mean I have to close the door on the past. Starting over means I get to pick and choose who I want to come along on my second chance at happiness. It means I get decide and I get erase the dreaded “never” with “maybe” or “yes!”

God, you knew this would make me mad at you



Veronica getting ready for ropes course

Things have changed drastically since my last post. While in Texas, I took my daughter to Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children (if you have money then give it to this place) for Camp Just Like Me (also needs money). This a camp sponsored by Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, TX  and is for children with Arthrogryposis (if you have more extra money then give it to this place, too).

To say that Veronica and I love this place is a total understatement. This was our third year as campers and it has changed our lives.

For one week, we get to forget the outside world. Veronica gets a chance to be the “cool kid.” And I get a chance to just be a regular mom with a regular kid. Veronica was able to SCUBA, do a high swing and zip line, watch movies in the private theater, play unlimited air hockey and arcade games, swim, practice her archery, and make friends that will undoubtedly last a lifetime.

The last night of camp Veronica fell on stage during the talent show and broke her left knee and fractured her right leg. I cannot even begin to describe this nightmare.

Veronica getting ready for archery

I sat in the audience and watched the entire scene unfold. When you have a child that is prone to bad falls, you quickly learn that she needs a lot of open space to walk. I guess everyone got caught up in the fun of watching these children shine on stage and forgot to clear the stage.

I knew the set-up on stage was a mistake from the start. I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach that things were getting out of control too quickly. I watched Veronica and her best friend walk too closely to each other and then I did something—I lowered my video camera and watched the horror unfold in slow motion.

The girls fell and Veronica’s legs got pinned underneath her. She began screaming, “Oh my Gosh, oh my gosh!” I don’t remember much after that. I ran onstage and grabbed my little girl and I could tell her little legs were twisted in an unusual shape.

I held her close to my chest and whispered in her ear, “it’s okay baby, Mommy’s got you.” I looked over her shoulder and mouthed the words, “her leg is broken” to the nurse—she nodded in confirmation.

Veronica's SCUBA lesson

All of the sudden I realized that everything was very quiet and everyone was looking at us. The young camp counselors seemed to be in shock. But the parents in the room seemed to know exactly what was going on—this scene was all too familiar to them. We all know what it is like to watch your child fall down and break an arm or a leg or both—their joints are static and it leaves them vulnerable to these types of injuries.

I have been told that I have an amazing ability to appear to be a very composed and rational person despite the fact that my world is constantly throwing me curveballs. For some reason, I was able to keep my composure again despite the anxiety. But for the first time in a long time I wanted to hold my child to my chest and scream at the top of my lungs.

Veronica's first catch

At that moment I hated God. If he had been standing in front of me I would have told him to “fuck off.” I would have asked him, “Is this some sort of sick joke?  Has this child not suffered enough for you?”

But I kept my wits and held in the tears and waited for our ride to yet another emergency room. The camp is in a rural area of Texas, so I had time to calm myself on the 30 minute ride to the ER. 

I kept thinking, “Why is this happening? What will I say to Veronica?”

While Veronica and I were hanging out in the back of the ER waiting to see the doctor, I felt it was time to address the reality of the situation.

“Honey, I’m not sure if your leg is broken, but you have obviously done something bad to your knee.”

She began to cry again. “Mommy, why does bad stuff always happen to me?”

I held back the tears and took a deep breath, “I don’t know, sweetie. But I do know that everything happens for a reason so let’s try to look at this situation and see what God is trying to tell us.”

We sat silent for a moment and then I said, “Sweetheart, you want to know what I think? I think it’s time that you and I come to terms with the fact that you are disabled and that falling and hurting yourself is just going to be a fact of life. But you can’t let this destroy you—you have to find the strength inside yourself to overcome this pain and frustration and become a bright light in a dark world.”

Dinner in the lodge

Veronica sat quietly in her wheelchair for a few moments—she seemed to be soaking in my words. “I guess, but I’m just so tired of all of this. I just want to be normal.”

“I know you do sweetie, but you are not. You are special for a reason and you have to keep on living so you can find out what your purpose is.”

She nodded. “Don’t worry, Mom. Even if I never walk again, I will still be okay because my friends from camp will always like me just the way I am.”

I held in my tears until I got back to Savannah. Robby picked us up at the airport. After he hugged the kids, he turned and looked me in the eyes and hugged me. I cried like a baby. It felt good to let it all out.  He whispered in my ear, “it’s okay baby, I got you.”

Veronica having fun at camp

I’ve learned something from this tragedy—it’s okay to be mad at God. He knows that I am mad at him right now and that I don’t understand why my sweet baby has to have 2 broken legs after she has finally recovered from a very intense foot surgery.

He also knows that one day all of this drama will make sense to me. But until then, I will be mad at the world and he will just have to be understanding of me for a change.