After a lifetime of saying this… sometimes I still can’t believe how fast time goes!
I’ve been wanting to write a little blog note since my last Home Leave but it’s already been 2 weeks since then and still nothing! The big reasons behind wanting to keep it going was because on June 23rd, Charlize went for her follow-up appointment at the Cardiologist after 2 years to see how her little heart was doing. The visit itself is routine, but the event is still one of great importance to us. Thus, it was with heavy heart for me that I could not be there with Chantale to see how our little baby is doing. In fact, I didn’t realize how nervous I actually was until I got the “all clear” signal that morning. As Chantale told me, Charlize was a real trouper and they sent me a scan of the x-ray (which is actually hanging by my desk 🙂 ). What was really nice is that one of the nurses who took such great care of us 4 years ago during the ordeal was able to make a surprise visit to see them. Well, surprise for them because I actually asked her to drop in 🙂
All this leads into June 24th, which was when we all celebrated Charlize’s 4th Birthday! At her request (insistent!), we threw her a Princess Party! Chantale went out of her way to get a ton of Princess decorations including making a cake with them on top! Charlize was very much entranced by it all and the family gathering was wonderful, especially with having James over for it as well. So, we had a lot to celebrate (me being home, Charlize’s strong heart, her birthday, the family) which made the Home Leave that much more special. The next day, we headed over to visit my parents (on the way to dropping James off) which was very emotional for them as well – especially seeing James which was like seeing the ghost of me back almost 30 years ago (which, for my parents, brings to the forefront just how much time has gone by, and how different their lives are today from those days).
To end off the weekend, we went to watch Cars 2 on Sunday which was a very satisfying sequel for us 🙂 The kids especially enjoyed the Toy Story short as it was a nice unexpected surprise to kick off the movie.
Now, you see how a wonderful family weekend like that needed to be noted? 🙂