The little things…

There are little things about life with Nathan that keep things interesting. Little things that I would’ve never in a million years imagined having to do but nowadays are second nature. Little things that have become inside jokes to us because if only people knew…

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So here are a few of them…

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* Nathan can’t really chew hard stuff, and we’re not so together that we always have soft or blended food for him…so we utilize our portable blender….called daddy or mommy’s mouth…and we pre-chew for him. So say we are somewhere where we can’t find something suitable for Nathan..we order something regular, chew it, and then stuff it in his mouth. It’s kinda funny when your kids looks at your mouth to ask for food, not at his plate 😉

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* We’re always talking about buying stock with napkin companies….Half of what goes into Nathan’s mouth dribbles out. So we make napkin bibs and cross our fingers that the napkins catch most of it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve changed diapers and found beans or pieces of chicken or lots of other stuff hiding in there.

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* Belle and Nathan are a great cleaning team, especially when Nathan is in his Pony gait trainer. Because he is leaning forward, he has extra difficulty swallowing…so he drools like crazy. So wherever we go, Nathan drools up the floor, and Belle crawls after him, cleaning it all up. Hey maybe we can rent them out as a cleaning team for supplemental income.

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* Did you know of the new delicacy called floatie water? Since we are never together enough to have a Nathan approved zippie cup with us, when we are out and about we give him water from whatever cups are available. About 80% dribbles down his mouth, but at least we get some in, right! If he’s just had a bite to eat, and we give him water, since he doesn’t swallow well, much of what is in his mouth dribbles INTO the cup…making Floatie Water! I can’t tell you how many times I have mistakenly grabbed Nathan’s cup and ended up swallowing food chunks 🙂

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In a past life I would’ve thought of these things as just horribly gross! But now, today…I find them comical. Nathan makes life interesting and entertaining! We’ve had to get over ourselves so much, in so many ways. And frankly, I like it! I like being able to laugh at stuff that in the past would’ve seemed insurmountable.

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More and more I am seeing past the “differences” and simply accepting the whole Nathan package, including the drool, the floppy head, the spastic limbs. More and more I see past the physical and into the soul of that child. And more and more I am grateful to have the opportunity to share this life with him! It’s like that onion, so many layers to peel, and the deeper I delve into it, the richer and more beautiful and delicious it becomes!

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So now that I’ve aired some of our dirty laundry, what’s yours?