Baltimore and another Round at KKI

As much as traveling back from the east coast can be a pain (our girl is an amazing traveller, but she normally demands a lot of attention on flight, plus wheelchair things can get a little stressful depending on how familiar the flight crew is--or isn't--with wheelers), there is one thing I absolutely adore about returning to the west coast from the east:  the first few mornings of jet lag.  I was up at 5am today feeling totally refreshed and ready to tackle the mountain of stuff-to-be-done-post-vacation. I always tell myself that I'll continue to wake up that early, because I feel so productive when I do...normally, this doesn't last too many days post-vacation. [Though last year, I made myself get up around 5 every day to dissertate before Sav woke up...I've had trouble maintaining this schedule since finishing up]  But this morning, I'm awake, enjoying a second cup of coffee, and writing while the next load of laundry finishes drying.

We had a great trip back to Baltimore.  Savannah was especially excited to go to "the Duck" (we stay at a Homewood Suites--their "mascot" is the duck).  In between medical appointments and therapy for Jason, we went to the aquarium (three times!), Baltimore's awesome children's museum, took walks along the harbor, visited with friends and family, and I ventured into a paddle boat (something I thought I'd never do again after my last attempt to do so ended up with me paddling in circles in the middle of a lake).

We travelled on July 4, so Savannah was suitably patriotic for the flight.

Playing Go Fish on the plane

Octonauts...there were LOTS of octonauts on this trip....

Snack time, J sleeping in the background (unfortunately, Savannah seems to have inherited my inability to sleep on a plane...J has no such problem)

Resting following our first aquarium visit

Running around in the hotel courtyard

Lovely girl

Sunset walk around the harbor (it was very humid last week, but it wasn't as hot as it has been in previous years)

Port Discovery Children's Museum

Play Date

Watching the aftermath of a big thunderstorm...Savannah was entranced by the weather (our CA girl is not accustomed to thunder and lightning)

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum

Loved the model trains

Loved the rides more...

Outside the aquarium

Photos by Savannah

Adventures in paddleboating...also known as that time, I had to do all the work to paddle us around the inner harbor while Savannah yelled at me to "go faster"

I underestimated how much work it would take to move one of these things around in the water...

So, that was the vacation side of things.  Of course, we were also there for Jason to see his doctors and PTs again.  His doctor was really happy with the progress and gains he's made this year (built up a lot of muscle, legs are not atrophying, which is normally what happens post-SCI, but J has been working hard to prevent that, and he's got a smidge more feeling back on the right side...not enough to be re-classified, but a gain is a gain).  He also learned some new exercises to try out at home. It was good to spend the third anniversary of the accident in such an optimistic, encouraging place.  

Standing Frame Exercises

FES Bike...which we're now trying to get for the house (I'm sufficiently recovered from fighting with insurance for the stander...)

This go round we took Savannah with us to the hospital most days.  They have a playroom for children 4 and over (so this year was the first time she could go)--Savannah LOVED this.  All sorts of new toys to play with.  KKI really does a great job of making a facility that takes care of the whole family.  They recognize that an SCI doesn't just impact the person injured, but is felt by the whole family.  Savannah enjoyed getting special treatment, and hanging out with other children who also have family members impact by SCI (or some other neurological injury/condition).  Jason and I have talked a lot about how much we want Savannah to be exposed to in terms of hospitals, injuries, etc.  She's certainly spent more time in medical facilities than most 4 year olds, and KKI, even though it is a cheerful place, requires you to deal with and witness difficult things.  There are lots of patients there with significant medical issues, and we've struggled with how much of this Savannah should see (would she understand and, more importantly, would she be able to respond in a way that does not hurt/offend the patient and/or their family)  But it's made Savannah incredibly empathetic.  She does ask questions, and we take the approach of answering everything she asks as honestly as we can, but she also knows that people are different.  That everyone can do different things.  She's comfortable around wheelchairs, and feeding tubes, and walkers, and all sorts of other medical equipment.  And she rarely hesitates to talk with and interact with patients, particularly if they are children.  As a parent, you constantly second-guess yourself, so I know we will probably continue to re-visit this issue, but so far, so good.

And, completely unrelated to the above, we came home yesterday and picked up the new car!  Jason was super excited, though he's not been able to drive it yet.  We're headed in this morning to work out the hand control situation and hopefully will have those installed by the end of the week.  In the meantime, I've enjoyed driving it :)

Hope everyone is having a great summer so far.  

Love you all,

Ashley

Adrift.

Well, it is done.  The dissertation is completed--revised, formatted, and fully signed off on.  I've been eagerly awaiting this day (it's been a week or two, actually, since all was completed) for quite some time.  I imagined I would feel an overwhelming sense of relief...and I suppose I did...though it was exhaustion catching up with me more than anything else :)

Finishing this Ph.D. has been rather anti-climactic.  At Berkeley, there is no dissertation defense.  Your committee members sign off on a sheet of paper....and then you're done.

It's more than a little odd to have a seven year graduate school career end with a few signatures.

I finished my job at the teaching center last week and now find myself with a lot of time on my hands.  For the past four years, free time such as this would have been used to dissertate.  Now that there is no more dissertation, I find myself a bit adrift.  I don't know what to do.  So...I've cleaned closets, and dressers, and pantries.  I've begun sketching out plans for next year's classes (though I can't do too much of this until my teaching schedule is 100% finalized and I attend teacher training at the end of the month).  I've made my own laundry detergent.  Gone through all of my academic books and sold all the ones I didn't enjoy reading the first time around.  I've read a couple of books.  I did take a full day off and go to the spa (something I promised myself I would do post-diss)...it was fantastic.  Thankfully, we're headed off to Baltimore on Friday (J is doing a week of PT at Johns Hopkins and getting his annual check-up with the SCI doctors...and we'll be celebrating three years since the accident).  

Anyways, if any of you have more time on your hands than you know what to do with (or are looking for ways to procrastinate)....here's the link to my dissertation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ODolx5K6jpUDF1Q1d2UWJuc1E/edit?usp=sharing

It's about theatres, civil society, and Calvinists in 18th-century Edinburgh and Geneva.  I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out.

I'm leaving you with a few more photos from graduation.  Enjoy!