Oh – the sun is shining today – the birds are chirping, the sun feels warm…but it’s a trick! It’s 20 degrees. It’s the middle of March, but this year in Minnesota, that doesn’t mean a thing but snow and ice and freezing cold weather. Last year was a totally different story: we played horseshoes for the first time on March 11. We had 6 record high temperatures; it was 80 on St Patrick’s Day! At this time last year, my garden was cleaned up, turned over, and planted with cold weather crops like kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, and lettuce.
Today, the garden is covered under a foot of snow…and there is more coming!
I am so over this winter!
And I’m so over being on lock-down.
People often ask “what is lock-down?” And to that I will answer: torture! (But I know it’s the best thing for Jax, so that makes it somewhat bearable.) This has been the worst cold and flu season in a very long time, so we’ve been extra cautious. Jax has met his cousins twice. He doesn’t go anywhere but the doctor. No Target, no grocery stores, no nothing. When his grandma or grandpa come here, they wash their hands the second they walk in the door; we disinfect immediately when they leave. When I had a cold this winter, I wore a mask for 15 days straight. We have taken every single precaution we could to keep Jax healthy.
But now, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to switch from “better safe than sorry” to “let’s see how he does.” It’s time to break free from lock-down!
Jax’s first real party will be this weekend! Grandpa Mike (my dad) is turning 60 years old! My family is somewhat famous for our “wailers” and this will be the first wailer since the night before my mom died. (For those of you who don’t know the story, my mom requested a “living wake” and asked us to throw a huge party for her while she was still alive. Mom wasn’t responsive, but I know she felt all of the love from people who came to say goodbye that night. She died the next morning; she always did love a good party!)
OMG – we are bringing Jax to a house full of people!
I’m nervous and scared. We’ve been trained since the day he was born to keep him away from germs. Hand sanitizer is a way of life for us. Whoa.
We’ll be safe. We won’t be passing him around. We won’t let people touch him. We will have a bottle of sanitizer near him at all times. (People, please, if you are sick, do not come near us!!!!)
But we’ll also have fun! Jax is going to love meeting the rest of his family: his great aunts and uncles, his second cousins, his great-grandpa (hopefully), his friends, and people who have been rooting for him since he was born. I hope my dad is ok with being upstaged on his birthday…because I just have a feeling that Jax might steal the show! 🙂
And then, we’ll wait and see if he gets sick. And if he does get sick, how he handles it. Will we have to break out the oxygen again? Will we take a trip to the ER? Oh God – this is scary! But at some point, we have to do it. We have to let Jax (and ourselves) out!
Freedom, here we come! We can’t wait!
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An Early Start 
DARLING photo!! That hair makes me grin from ear to ear!! He is SO precious I can’t wait till we all get the “go ahead” to love him up!!!
Tell your Dad happy birthday and enjoy your big adventure out as a family!!! If it makes you feel any better it is always scary when they get sick that first time, whether they are preemies or not.
Have a great time!!
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It is Janelle Wallace up above. Sorry, I haven’t posted on this site before.
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Thanks, Janelle! We are so excited for this summer when the risk of sickness is lower and we can have our friends over!
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So much to think about for Baby Jax…you really have to do the thinking. I was at your Mom’s Wailer and the Dolney’s really do know how to have a party.
You take such good care of that little guy and he knows it.
Love and hugs from our home to yours…………………………
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It’s true – we really do know how to party! 🙂 Thanks for coming to mom’s party. I know it meant a lot to her to have you there!
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Omg he is just so darn cute!!!!
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I am sure it is very scary. I can’t imagine. I know how paranoid I was taking my newborn babies out for the first times….and they were full-term healthy babies. However, I know Jax is going to defy all odds just has he has done since the moment he was born. He is going to do great. Your Mom and father-in-law will be looking out for him and make sure of it!! Have a great time at the party. Teach him a thing or two about how a real party goes….he already has the hair down. That’s a start!
Blessings,
Kelley
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Thanks, Kelley! I’m hoping Jax’s guardian angels look out for him this weekend. I’m so scared – is it too soon? We won’t know until we give it a shot.
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Thanks, Mal! That’s what I thought when I saw the picture of your little one with spaghetti all over her face! 🙂
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Ahh, that first moment of real exposure is a scary one! We did that last Christmas, during Jack’s 2nd winter of lockdown. (We are on our 3rd winter now and are still very, very cautious, but not as locked down.) We took him to our big family Christmas Eve event..and like you, no one touched him but he was still able to see everyone. We brought his pack n play, so he could play and see what was happening, without us having to hold him the whole time. It went well and, luckily, he didn’t get sick. Hope it goes well for you all too! Can’t wait to hear about it 🙂
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Thanks, Heather! I’m so scared that we’re pushing it too soon, but we won’t know until we try. His pediatrician has already given us the go ahead for “modified lock-down”, so we figure this is a good place to start. Good idea bringing the pack and play – I’ll do that, too! I don’t think there will ever be a day when we are *not* caution! It’s just so much a part of our lives now!
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