Crazy River

I am listening to the fireworks on the beach as I write this. I guess they must be legal in South Carolina because every night we hear fireworks. Sometimes we can see them well from the window; other times, we just hear them. Marcie was better today and we were able to spend some time on the beach and at the pool. Charlie only wants to be on the beach and eat seafood...I swear, he and one of my brothers have got to be cut from the same cloth. Marcie really only wants to be at the pool because the ocean is "too loud." Kyle enjoys both, and Joanna is happy anywhere. There is another pool here and it's a large oval about 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep, with a current running through it. You may only ride in inner tubes supplied by the resort and you float around it. It's called the Lazy River, though, Charlie is calling it the "crazy river." Whenever we are not on the beach, he spends most of his time on the crazy river. I am enjoying that, too, but have to stay at the pool with the other 3.

Marcie has taught herself how to dive and Joanna is working on her swimming. She's come a long way and is doing amazingly well for never having had lessons. Kyle is a regular little fish and has taught himself how to swim underwater. Marcie has made a few new friends at the pool but got her feelings hurt tonight when one of the kids apparently asked about her dad. I don't know what Marcie said, but the little girl looked up and shouted over to me, "do these kids have a father?" She didn't wait long enough for me to answer, so I didn't. It was sad, though, because Marcie was clearly hurt. I have warned the kids that folks will have questions and I always explain that some families have 2 parents and some have 1 parent. It has never seemed to bother Marcie before but I guess the fact that the little girl yelled across the pool was upsetting to Marcie. She was fine after I said we could go to Friendly's.

We got to Friendly's and Charlie said he preferred to eat at the steak and seafood restaurant across the street but Marcie really wanted ice cream. Since I had promised the kids we would go there, that's what we did. Kyle, however, had been complaining about his stomach hurting for about 20 minutes and it wasn't getting better. His blood sugar was a little high and I had given him some insulin. I really expected that his stomach would feel better after the insulin started working, but he kept complaining. He also felt hot to me and he was begging to go to bed. I started worrying that he was coming down with the GI bug, too, so I just suggested to the kids that we get McDonalds food and eat at the condo. (We were still waiting to be seated at Friendly's). I think they were worried about Kyle, too, so everyone agreed to go home. By the time we got there, Kyle was in tears and said his legs hurt, so I gave everyone else their food and told them to eat. I hurried and got Kyle's pajamas on him, gave him some motrin because he felt like he might have a fever and gave him some orange drink....oh, and some maalox to see if that would help him a little. He had fallen asleep for a few minutes in the car, and after he took his medicine, he fell asleep on the bed for a few minutes. The next thing I knew, he was up and asking for a popsicle. He said his stomach felt much better and he wanted his supper. Miraculous recovery, or perhaps the wonder of motrin and a 5 minute catnap. Actually, I think it was those prayers for wellness that I was praying on the way home and while dressing him for bed. He is sleeping now with a good blood sugar and no evidence of anymore belly pain.

I still have sand in my ears so I'm going to shower now before bed. I'm not entirely sure how it got there but guess it was when a wave broke right at my head. Guess I could have worse troubles this evening!