The girls were thrilled to be at home this year for Halloween. Harper and Avery appreciated and furthermore liked my attempts for the Halloween scavenger hunt last year in Asheville for Halloween. While Emerson appreciated the gesture, it didn’t make up from her missing out on the neighborhood activities.
This year we arranged for families to gather in our cul-de-sac at 5:00. So many families wanted to gather—we ordered 26 pizzas and all were accounted for!
The kid group pictures shows just how many elementary and pre-school age students we have in the neighborhood…CRAZY. And there were probably a few more missing,
Here are the 5th grade girls….
And Harper and Zara….
The girls were on a mission to see how much candy they could get. Many families left candy on tables so their whole families could trick or treat together or hang out with the adults. The kids liked the ability to take more than a few or select their own candy and not having to walk up the long driveways of some of the houses was an added bonus.
I walked with the girls and as usual always enjoy the extra exercise on Halloween night!
The girls had a great time trick-or-treating. The sugar rush Sunday and Monday and Tuesday was real with little monitoring of how much was being eaten. Tuesday evening we gathered up the candy and put it away for future enjoyment.
Similar to two years ago when we were on our annual beach vacation in TopSail, NC, Justin and I started thinking why not go away for a vacation just the two of us to celebrate our anniversary. After a generous offer from our friends to stay in their home in Utah and my parents yes to watching the girls, Justin and I booked our Utah vacation.
With COVID, we purchased fully refundable tickets, and up until about two weeks prior to our departure, we were concerned the trip wasn’t going to happen due to the horrible air quality. Thankfully, things started looking up and the weather forecast couldn’t have been more perfect.
We took the 7:30 a.m. direct flight, which meant we arrived at 10:30 local time, giving us almost a full day! We were concerned about flying with COVID; however, we felt fairly safe with the masking requirements. The flight only served snacks and not a full meal which also minimized the time that passengers had their masks off.
We rented a car and were talked into upgrading to a Subara Outback which I am so grateful we did as the car barely had enough pick-up going up the mountains. I think the crazy high rental price kept me from renting something with even more horsepower.
We hiked, ate, and enjoyed quiet mornings without lunch packing or breakfast making for a party of five.
Hikes:
Heber Valley Overlook: We were looking for a local shorter hike since it was late in the afternoon as we did this the day we arrived. We also wanted a short hike to get us acclimated with the altitude. By the time we got in our car to drive the 10 minutes for the hike, it started raining and was windy! We waited it out a few, put on my awful orange raincoat, and explored for an hour.
Brighton Resort Trail to Lake Catherine: I didn’t anticipate the drive to the hike would be so terrifying. I was so glad once we made it to the parking lot. I felt myself moving my body in the car as a way to steer the car from the passenger seat.
The hike itself was amazing. Pure uphill for at least 30 minutes of a steep incline and then a steady incline the remainder of the ascent. We climbed over 140 flights of stairs on the way up and the entire descent, we clocked 3 sets of stairs. We passed some other hikers; however, overall, this was a quieter trail. We enjoyed lunch on a rock on the way down. A spectacular hike!
Phosphate Trail Loop: After the scary cliff driving yesterday coupled with wanting to be dressed in real clothes when we went to Park City later in the day, we decided to do a trail closer to home. At only 10 minutes away in Midway, it seemed like the perfect choice. It was a common trail for bikers and the first few minutes of the hike we were concerned, we were going to be spending the entire hike letting bikers pass by. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case and after us thinking we may have selected too easy of a trail, we enjoyed a beautiful peaceful challenging continuous 2.5 hour hike on the mountain with the sun shining bright. We started the hike wearing a winter hat and by the end of the hike, I was wearing a tank top and hoping my sun screen was working!
Bryce Canyon National Park: Queens Garden to Navajo Loop thru Wall Street and Upper Rim Trail: When we knew it was a possiblility we would be coming to Utah in September, I looked up hotels in Zion. Availability was limited; however, I found one. Not knowing the exact dates when we would be traveling I did not book it. When we finally did book our Utah trip, the Zion idea escaped my thoughts until two weeks prior to our departure, when I was beginning to think why not go to Zion, despite it being a 4.5 hour drive each way. I hit the jackpot when I found a room at Flannigan’s Inn in Springdale, which was less than a 10-minute walk to the entrance of Zion National Park. Once we had the room at Zion and would be making the drive, I thought it made sense to also go to Bryce Canyon National Park, which was about an hour and a half away from Zion.
We stopped at the Visitors Center to ask some questions about our hike. We forgo the free shuttle and instead walked the 1.2 miles to our starting point, which the park ranger said would be quicker than riding the shuttle. Since the park is a bowl known for its hoodoos, you actually can’t see the park until you literally walk right up to it. Walking up to it was breathtaking. Our hike was basically all downhill at first and we were beginning to wonder if we were going to gain any elevation. We did the latter half of the hike an not only did we gain elevation, but we climbed Wall Street, which was A LOT of stairs. A great workout, hike, and view. Amazing place!
Zion: Riverside Walk to the Narrows
Kayenta Trail to Emerald Pools (Upper, Middle, and Lower)
West Rim Trail thru Walters Wiggles to Scouts Lookout
We came up with our hiking route the night prior in our hotel room and we hiked 10 amazing challenging miles. We saw views and sights that were extraordinary, and I just truly couldn’t believe we were where we were. I felt so fortunate and blessed. Hiking I felt great knowing my body was in great shape and that health and fitness is a priority for me and it enables me to challenge myself. Seeing a beautiful view is amazing but there is nothing better than working for my view!
Had we planned more in advance, we would have had even more time so we could have rented boots and polls and done the narrows. We could have done that, but I was concerned if we went that route, we wouldn’t be able to complete any more hikes. We started our journey early, took the free shuttle to Stop 9, the last stop at Zion and did the Riverwalk to the Narrows. Although we weren’t doing The Narrows, I wanted to at least be able to see the beginning. If we ever go back, we will for sure do the Narrows! We did the Upper, Lower, and Middle Emerald Pools via the Kayenta path. Personally, I did not think the pools were as amazing as the views during the hike to get to the pools. The hike was great and challenging! Temperatures were rising quickly, the sun beating down on us, and I stripped down to my tank top. We brought some cheese, salami, and crackers with us that we had purchased at Hoodoos Market by our hotel, Flannigan’s Inn. We stopped a few times at the restrooms and for a water refill. We had a limited amount of time so we weren’t sure how far we would get with on the West Rim Trail to Walters Wiggles and Scouts Lookout, but we hustled, and we made it to the top in just shy of an hour. The top was extraordinary. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do Walter’s Wiggles due to my fear of heights, but I did and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We did not attempt Angels Landings. From where I was standing, the beginning didn’t look that scary, although I am sure it was. We were short on time if we wanted to not be driving home in any dark (which I didn’t) so we did not even attempt it. We truly were just happy that we made it to Scout’s Landing in an hour. We made the descent in 30 minutes. We logged 10 miles in the 5 hours we were in Zion. Another day in Zion would have been amazing but I am so happy we got to experience it.
Food:
Breakfast: In Midway, breakfast was always at home. We had gone to the local store Rally’s the first day and picked up some breakfast and lunch items. Breakfast alternated between sunny side up eggs and fruit and Greek yogurt and fruit. Our leisurely coffee was in the cards every morning and we enjoyed drinking our coffee and not having to make breakfast for anyone but ourselves!
Lola’s Kitchen: Lola’s was in Midway and it was an order at the counter place. Great vibe and quick; we were able to eat outside for lunch the day we arrived. Justin ordered a hot sandwich and fries, and I had the steak salad. The salad was okay…I was honestly expecting a little better, but it wasn’t bad. I would eat there again if I wanted something quick and that outdoor vibe. Lola’s was on the main strip in Midway, which was a 7-minute drive from Pat and Bill’s…always good to support the local places.
Midway Mercantile: This too was in Midway and it came recommended by Pat and Bill. We had dinner reservations and I’m glad as the place was busy! We started with the bacon wrapped dates. They were superb! I can still taste the bacon and goat cheese…yum, yum, yum! I ordered a green and ferro salad with salmon, dressing on the side. Good ingredients, yummy, but a salad with dressing on the side isn’t going to create an award-winning dinner experience for me. I wanted greens and protein though and Midway Mercantile certainly delivered. Justin got a pasta dish with pork tenderloin and bacon…it was very good. The balsamic reduction was probably a little too much for an entire dish…still good though!
Current Oyster and Fish: This was rated the 3rd restaurant out of over 900 in the Salt Lake City area. I had to give my credit card info to secure the reservation, so my expectations were very high. The drive to the restaurant in Salt Lake took us close to an hour and a half. In hindsight, we went the long way! We had a chance to see the city. I had thought we would walk around; however, the city is much more spread out than I was expecting and while we could have walked, it wouldn’t have been the city walking experience that I was looking for. Instead, we drove around, we saw The Capital, the Mormon Temple (which was under scaffolding), the Mormon Temple Office (which was a huge skyscraper) and many other signs for corporate banking. We arrived at the restaurant early so we did a brief walk before seeing if we could get seated slightly early. We were very hungry after eating a small wrap for lunch around noon and nothing since. We shared the crab cake, burrata, and caesar salad for appetizers. Burrata was good, the other two were okay. Justin ordered the shrimp and grits while I had the cod. They were very into presentation, which was good, but I expected the food to wow me. It was good, but not the wow factor. It was pricey too!
501 on Main: After our hike Saturday, we went back to Park City, where we were planning on spending the rest of our day. Park City was such a cute place and we enjoyed going into some of the shops and browsing. For lunch, we had a few lunch spots in mind…granted it was almost 3:00 so this was really going to be a combined lunch and dinner. A few of the places had waits so we put our names down and figured we would eat at whichever one was available first as our stomachs were growling. We ate outside at 501 Main where we were the only straight couple. I was beginning to think we picked the wrong place, but it turns out this was one of my favorite meals. We both ordered the bison burgers; mine with the beet and goat cheese side salad. The beet salad was amazing! A lot of people were ordering the larger version. We ordered our burgers medium, and they were more on the well side. I never eat the bun of a burger; however, this bun was a thin homemade ciabatta bun and it was superb. I know I was hungry, but I ate every last bite of both the salad and burger and was making my wow noises that I frequently make when I really enjoy a dish.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop: I stopped in here to see what goodies may be worth getting to bring back home for the girls. I found some chocolate covered oreos and while I was in there, I decided to get a small scoop of chocolate ice cream; it was delicious.
Distillery: This was one of the places we had our names on the wait list. We decided to go there for one drink. Justin ordered a whiskey; I ordered a hazy IPA. Cool spot.
Spotted Dog Café: This restaurant was part of the hotel. There were many other restaurants to choose from in Springdale; however, with this being the #3 rated restaurant out of 21 in Springdale, I went with this one. Reservations were limited a few weeks ago so I took the 8:15 time slot. With the drive and our days activities, turs out that was the perfect time. Justin was expecting a hole in the wall place as he hadn’t looked up any reviews on that place. It didn’t disappoint. I had blackened ahi tuna with a risotto cake and spaghetti squash. Justin had a garlic pasta dish with shrimp. We shared the spinach artichoke dip for appetizer. Delicious dinner and good service.
Hoodoos Market: The market right next to our lodge in Zion. We got our salami, cheese, and crackers here and we each got a scope of ice cream after our 10-mile hike…me the chocolate, Justin the huckleberry. While not as good as the chocolate ice cream in Park City, it was good and a well-deserved treat after our 10-mile hike.
Café Galleria: After hiking in Zion all day, we were famished by the time we got back to Midway. Since it was already 7:20 by the time we drove into Midway, we decided to go somewhere where we could eat outside. Like many other restaurants in the country right now, they didn’t have enough servers to seat all their tables. We each ordered a small salad to start…Justin the caeser and me the pear and goat cheese. We split the pesto chicken pizza. Both were very good and I would definitely recommend. For some reason we ordered dessert…perhaps it was because it was our anniversary, perhaps it was because we hiked 10 miles. Not sure, but I do know that when our server said dessert, I didn’t hesitate. We ordered the tira-mi-su, which historically I haven’t like but have grown to like more over the years. Justin had a few bites and I ended up eating mostly all of it myself. It was good; however, I do regret ordering dessert. A piece of chocolate at home likely would have done the trick.
Filler-Up Coffee Station: We visited here the morning we were leaving to get some coffee for Pat and Bill. Such a cute local place. The cashier offered me a sample of their ice cream to try. Holy sample…she practically gave me a size small! Justin and I also ordered a coffee. Kind of wish we had found this place sooner!
Red Iguana2: This place was very highly rated and has won a ton of awards and even been featured on Diners, Drives, and Drivethrus. Being only 15 minutes from the airport, this was our last meal before heading home. I had carnitas, Justin a burrito with salsa verde. It was good, but I don’t think either us had the dish that made all the hype.
The weather was amazing…we could not have asked for more perfect weather. The only bad weather was for about an hour the first day we got there just before our hike and on the ride home from Zion. The temperature in the car drop from high 80’s to high 50’s in the matter of minutes. The sky next to us looked ominous, the wind was blowing, and the tumbleweed was spinning in circles. It looked like mini twisters. We had thought about stopping, problem was the nearest town was 30 miles away. So we silently prayed and continued driving. Fortunately, the storm kept moving and away from us, though we were probably right next to it for close to 45 minutes.
As for driving, it was scary! Not into town, but just about everything else. Perhaps if we rented a car with a little more horsepower or perhaps if I lived in the area and was more accustomed to it, but seriously I was constantly praying almost every time we were in the car. We drove to Springdale through Zion…a 30 minute drive of amazingness and holy shit moments at the same time. Not having to drive the same way to go home to Midway from Springdale was a blessing.
The drive to Bryce Canyon took us through Provo, where Bringham Young is located. I’m glad I can see we saw some of the buildings of Bringham Young. It was early Sunday morning when we drove through and we saw a number of students dressed up on their way to church.
The people we encountered were a mix of locals and tourists. In some areas, everyone is masked up and in others Justin and I were unicorns wearing masks in public. It really is crazy the different mentalities that everyone has when it comes to COVID and mask wearing.
We had an amazing trip and I feel so fortunate to have experienced another vacation with Justin celebrating our anniversary. My parents watched the girls…they were in good hands albeit spoiled, but that is what grandparents do! We made the most out of our 6 days. I’m grateful for the experience, for Pat and Bill’s hospitality, for my parents taking care of the girls, for the financial means to do such trip, and my forever date who is my partner in this amazing journey called life.
My sweet precious daughters. When I first decided to create this blog in 2012 and decided to keep it a secret until you were older, I knew this was going to be my greatest gift to you. I loved every moment of being a mom from the moment I was pregnant, to the moment that motherhood meant becoming a mom to two babies at once and then adding a third baby girl to the mix not even two years later. The moments, the experiences, the feelings, the smells, the tastes…all of it was so vivid and beautiful and I never wanted to forget a moment. I knew the details would fade over time and I always wanted to remember. More importantly, I wanted you to know how I felt being your mom and re-live the moments again.
The last few years there have been questions about what a certain event was like or what your first word was, and honestly I can’t remember some of the details like I thought I would. Every time I am asked, I think to myself I can’t wait until I share this gift that I have been working on in secret all these years.
I had a rough timeline of how long I would blog and I feel that we have reached that milestone. I’ll still continue to write or document in some capacity as you get older, but for now it’s time that themaddlife.com be a part of history you can enjoy.
I love you with all my heart and I truly hope that you cherish this priceless gift and these moments and memories forever remain close to your hearts.
This year the Foundation Fighting Blindness Vision Walk was again virtually. I decided it was time to share Avery’s story with some of the other neighborhood moms. The support was amazing…having received support from all, from joining us in the walk, to donating generously, to joining us in an evening “afterparty”.
When I told Avery I had shared her story, she naturally asked to read it. While I knew she needed to read it, I was a little concerned about her knowing how I felt early on. I shouldn’t have been. Avery slowly and carefully read her story and when she was done, she looked up at me and said so graciously and matter of factly, “Mom, I love my story.” It was so heartwarming. Later in the evening, I asked her what she meant by that. She said not only did she love what I wrote, but she truly loved her story because it was her life. Its been a few weeks since that moment and I think of it often.
Below is Avery’s story:
Avery was born alongside Emerson at 37 weeks, both weighing a healthy 6 pounds 7 oz. Avery rarely opened her eyes her first three weeks and when she finally did, we noticed spots. Several doctor visits later, she was diagnosed with congenital cataracts. Avery had surgery at 5 and 7 weeks old to remove the cataracts, one eye at a time. Surgery went well; we began daily eye patching and she began wearing specialized contacts made for kids without a lens. When Avery turned three months, she started rolling her eyes. I remember it vividly thinking what in the heck is she doing, not realizing at the time that she had no control over it. Back to the ophthalmologist we went and after seeing a specialist, Avery was diagnosed with nystagmus, an involuntary eye movement.
During the course of the next few years, we visited many specialists, traveling to various states to figure out the cause of Avery’s nystagmus because nystagmus is actually a symptom of many other underlying conditions. Avery was diagnosed with a number of other symptoms in addition to the cataracts and nystagmus to include microphthalmia (small eyes), small optic nerves, and low vision. She had bloodwork, genetic testing, and we seemed to be ruling out certain eye conditions, but not necessarily narrowing in on one.
Early on, Justin and I were an emotional roller coaster thinking our daughter could be blind and not knowing at the time what that meant or what her future would look like. While we continued to see specialists and search for answers, we became involved with the Foundation Fighting Blindness, not knowing what our little girl’s future held and wanting to do something. Our first Vison Walk was when Avery and Emerson were 9 months old. Justin and I did the 3-mile loop in Reston while pushing the double stroller.
Avery is now 9 and thriving. I wish I knew then what I knew now. Avery would have challenges just like every other kid, but she wouldn’t let her vision limit or define her. Avery dances, does gymnastics, rides bikes, played soccer, and even played softball for a season. She is smart, funny, always making new friends, and will talk your ear off given the chance.
We still have not been able to pinpoint an actual diagnosis; however, it isn’t something that pre-occupies us anymore. We continue to participate annually in the Foundation Fighting Blindness Vision Walk and to date we have done so fairly quietly.
Avery sees the world differently than most people. While that reality was initially devastating, it turned out to be a blessing. Avery taught me to see beauty where I didn’t know it even existed. She taught me to be more in tune with all my other senses…to appreciate the details, to feel, to truly smell the roses. Avery taught me to open my heart and my mind wider than I ever knew possible.
**Coincidentally a few days before the Vision Walk, Avery had her 6-month regular ophthalmologist visit and Dr. Seidman believes with a prescription change (increasing Avery’s bi-focal from a +2 to a +4 and decreasing her distance power from a +23 to a +21, Avery may be able to see even a few lines better than she is now, which by the way was 20/125 with both eyes! We are in the process of getting her new glasses now!
Robetha. The name of Avery’s blue robe…the one she has worn on a daily basis since receiving it nearly three years ago. Clothes off, untied, like she owns the place…that is how she wears it. Around the house, to the dinner table, and then thrown on her bedroom floor when not in use.
Going three years strong, with a goal of seeing Avery into old age!
It’s been nice having a break from writing any blogs the past few months. Easter was the first time I felt like I really missed it. Justin took out his big camera and took more pictures Easter than he had in a very long time! The pictures were fantastic. Seeing all the great pictures and not having a blog post to post them made me feel like I was missing writing. But then I thought about the technical difficulties the new blog format causes me when I upload pictures, and I all of a sudden wasn’t in a rush to write a post. I shared this with Justin in the hopes that in the next month or so we can look at the site together and figure out if the challenges are truly with the new software or if the challenges are attributed to the user herself!
Justin received a stuffed animal dog from his mom…neither us can recall exact time frame of when he received it from his mom, but we are thinking sometime in his early 20’s. It’s a grey dog intended to be a Weimaraner, but not sure that is truly what it is, but it is cute and flimsy. In our condo, it sat in our bedroom closet on a shelf and when we moved to our house, its home remained the same shelf in our new bedroom closet. The girls knew it was a gift from Justin’s mom, grandma Brenda, and that is why it remained so special to Justin. One day, Harper was having a hard time, so Justin let Harper borrow the dog. This happened several more times and finally Justin gave it to Harper, roughly three years ago. She began sleeping with the dog. At some point, she decided to name the dog….her name for the dog…Brenda. She believed it to be fitting and an easy choice….this way she would always remember Brenda.
Roughly 18 months ago, Justin’s aunt Rita (Brenda’s older sister) who Justin also considered to be more like his Grandma than his aunt, gave him three stuffed bears. She collected stuffed bears and was starting to clean out her house (something that seems to be increasingly common as people age) and she wanted each grandchild, great grandchild, nephews, nieces, great nephews, and great nieces to have one. Harper’s green stuffed bear became a fixture in her bed to keep Brenda company. And when it came to naming her stuffed bear, that too was easy for Harper….Rita of course.
So, each night for the last few years Harper sleeps with Brenda and Rita. Often when we tuck Harper in, we often tuck Brenda and Rita in too.
Last year when no one was getting haircuts due to COVID, Justin’s hair began to grow. Ironically when he got it cut in January a few months prior to COVID, Joe didn’t cut that much off. I remember Justin walking in the house and thinking, “did Joe even cut your hair?”
How ironic that when his hair was already at his longest, he wouldn’t be able to cut it anytime soon! While I did cut the girls hair last summer, and actually did a good job, cutting curly hair was not in the cards for him or for me! So he began to let it grow. And every month that passed, his hair obviously grew longer to the point that growing his hair became a project. It didn’t make sense to cut it before going to Asheville and then by then the new goal became the end of the year. By then, he was so close to a year so a year became the new goal. It was a fun project for sure and one that I’m not sure he will ever do again.
The many looks of Justin’s hair during COVID.
After over a year of no haircut and our first covid vaccine, Justin’s project came to an end!
While I have strived for much of this blog to highlight events, my blog post on the ordinary have been farer and fewer between, especially in recent years. And somehow I neglected to write about a very important part of family. Dinners, homerun dinners! Cooking…I love it, most of the time anyway. Of course we have some weeks where work is extremely busy and we have had pancakes or ordered pizza for dinner, but most evenings we cook. Sometimes I do some preparation on weekends and other times we make a delicious meal that day.
We eat together almost every night as a family and always have, even when the girls were little. For us as working parents, when they were little, we did not get home until after 5:00 and so bedtime was never earlier than 8:30 allowing us to eat as a family. The girls became accustomed to eating together and when we don’t, they generally are disappointed. Even with the girls sports and activities in recent years, we still managed to eat together, even it that meant eating dinner close to 8:00. (Family dinners have been somewhat challenged the past few months as the girls have taken on more sports commitments and there is now generally only one weeknight during the week that we don’t have a commitment if that).
They view pancakes for dinner fun occasionally, but only occasionally as we all take great pride in eating really delicious mouth watering “home run” dinners at least three to four times a week.
Home run dinners started probably around the time Ludmilla was with us and if dinner was so good, I would get up and the girls would take turns throwing me a pitch. I was always trying new recipes and there were a lot of homeruns. The funny thing is that a few years ago, the girls really didn’t eat a lot of the dinners I made, at least the main entrée. So, I would make sure they had some sides…fruit, and usually a starch to go along with the main entrée that they wouldn’t eat. And they too would think dinner was so good even if they weren’t eating the “homerun” portion. I think for them the “homerun” on those days was the camaraderie of us eating together as a family.
There was a time when food presentation was also huge and we would never eat our food hot as Justin and I were often trying to perfect who could plate the meal better and pictures were involved too. The girls even started to get in on the plating of their food.
Trying new recipes has been a constant since Harper was about 15 months and I even began a log by month of many of the exciting meals we ate for dinner. I regularly kept up with it until April 2020…we definitely did a lot of new recipes especially with baking during COVID, but with all the added responsibilities that came with the girls being home all the time, not being able to go out, I somehow stopped logging them. This is something that I commit to getting back to by the Fall when the girls are in school full time again.
Our girls are probably somewhat food snobs with certain things. I hope that they aren’t snobs but that we have helped them create a love for good quality healthy food and to appreciate food and the act of gathering together to eat it with family and friends.
Signing off as I sit here on a Sunday morning smelling the red wined braised beef stew that Justin is preparing for tomorrow’s dinner….it’s a new recipe, but from the decadent aromas, I am pretty certain it will be another home run dinner.
I find that I don’t regularly write about Avery’s vision. That is actually a good thing….her vision has remained stable over the years and actually improved in terms of numbers. She stopped patching 1 year ago and she is grateful for that. She gets her eyes checked every six months. She has been wearing the same glasses and prescription since the end of kindergarten! Her primary glasses are her blue glasses that have a bi-focal. Those have almost no tint so she sometimes wears her purple glasses, which have no bi-focal, but have some tint so are good for when being outside with a little sun or playing and not necessarily reading or doing schoolwork. She also has her sunglasses, which she wears if it is very sunny and bright outside. Her eye pressure has increased slightly over the years so we continue to monitor that. She receives one drop of latanoprost every night in her right eye to help with the eye pressure. She has probably been on that same dose of medication for four to five years now. Her ophthalmologist, Dr. David Seidman, doesn’t regularly provide me with her latest vision numbers, but she most definitely sees the chart at 20/200 or better often seeing things in the 20/150 range.
She is a trooper, she knows she doesn’t see things as others do….sometimes it bothers her….for example when we are looking at deer in the woods of our backyard or there is a person in the distance and she can’t make out who it is when everyone else can, but for the most part, Avery knows and accepts that it is her normal. And as she reminded me the other day when her, I, Emerson and Harper were sitting at the kitchen table looking out the window, it can be a blessing….for she couldn’t see the neighbor’s dog taking a dump. Roses, my friend, roses. Avery continues to see the rose instead of the weed…she truly finds the silver lining with her vision and that is a true blessing.
