I Just Want You to Know (5 page)

By lunchtime, we’d had enough and we headed to the parking lot. Back in the van, we stripped wet clothes off the kids and put on dry outfits from the stash in the van. Jon took his wet shirt off and
thought he had an extra clean one. But when he pulled it out of his backpack, he discovered something had spilled on it. We distributed the lunches and took off for the long drive home—with Jon driving shirtless.

Just outside of Washington, I yelled at Jon to stop. “Look! There’s an organic grocery store.” I was always searching for organic foods and there weren’t organic stores near us. The kids were dry and happy and Jon was fine with stopping. I think the fact that there was a Starbucks across the street didn’t hurt either.

“Go in and see what you can find,” he said. “When you get back, I’ll throw my jacket on and run across the street and get us each a coffee.” The rain had subsided a bit, but I was still wet and the coffee sounded good (but when doesn’t it sound good to me?).

“I’ll be right back!” I was only in the store ten minutes, but as I came out the door I could see it was raining harder. On my way to the van, I noticed something disturbing; no one was in the driver’s seat! My first thought was that Jon was in the back with the kids, but as I rounded the corner I saw Jon standing in the parking lot, drenched! He had a horrified expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look!” he said and opened the van door.

The smell hit before I saw it. Vomit. Vomit on Alexis who was in her seat and crying hysterically. Vomit on her car seat. Chunks dripping onto the floor mats.

The smell was overpowering. So was the sound. All of the kids were wailing because it smelled so bad.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” said Jon.

More important, he didn’t know what to do. He was paralyzed.

I grabbed Alexis and handed her to Jon. “Use the rain to wash her off.” He started stripping off her clothes. I reached under the seat for the lemon-scented wipes and tried to clean up her car seat. I wanted to take it apart but couldn’t because we were hours from home and she still had to ride in it.

Vomit was in every crack and crevice. The kids screamed and gagged. The heat and humidity combined with the putrid smell made me nauseous. We couldn’t open the windows because of the rain. I was worried more kids would start throwing up, so I handed them the only thing I had. “Hold the wipe up to your nose and breathe through it.” I hoped the lemon scent would somehow mask the smell, but if it didn’t, at least it would give them something to do.

As Jon stood in the rain, Alexis wearing only a diaper, sniffled in his arms. We were out of outfits, so we wrapped her in a blanket before putting her in her seat. Dripping wet once again, Jon and I got back into the van and looked at each other helplessly.

The kids fell asleep on the way home. I don’t know who was more ecstatic to pull into the driveway, Jon or I. Despite all our planning and preparation, we couldn’t have predicted the things that went wrong that day.

Had we known before we started, we never would have continued with the trip. But looking back, I am glad we had that experience. In some warped way, that horrendous day at the zoo gave us the confidence to attempt more outings. Though it was one of our worst trips ever, Jon and I agreed that if we could handle that we could handle anything.

By the time July rolled around, we were getting more adventurous. Grandmom turned sixty and we took Cara, Mady, Leah, and Joel to her surprise party. After that we had promised the kids another outing, but it was too hot to take the bus very far. We needed a backup plan or Mady and Cara would be the ones melting down. We needed to go somewhere that didn’t cost a lot of money and that we could handle logistically. That place was Chocolate World.

Chocolate World is Hershey’s visitor center, and only a fifteen-minute drive from our house. They had shops and a factory tour—the perfect place to take the kids. Jon and I began thinking logistics.
We wouldn’t be able to take strollers because of the stairs. The babies could walk, but they had a tendency to roam, especially Alexis and Joel. We needed to find another adult to go with us. A phone call later, our friends Karl and Kristen agreed to come along. We made plans to leave our house at 6:00 p.m.

At 5:15, the skies darkened and it looked like rain. We loaded the kids into the bus early, which turned out to be a wise decision. While we waited for Karl and Kristen, it started storming wildly, complete with hail. Jon and the kids looked out the van windows as I prayed we would be safe. From the car, we watched as the lights in the neighborhood flashed and then went out. Without electricity, we couldn’t do anything at home, so when Karl and Kristen arrived we proceeded as planned.

I’m so glad we did! The kids had a great time. They were yelling with glee at the talking cows. And because they walked, we didn’t draw too much attention (though Jon says he saw people counting). It felt so “normal” to ride the rides together as a family.

After Chocolate World, we went to an ice cream shop the kids call the Purple Place. This was a big step for an all-natural organic momma whose idea of a sugary treat was an animal cracker! We fed the kids vanilla soft serve. It was so cute to see the little kids saying “bite-bite” when they wanted more.

By the time we got home three and a half hours later, the power was still out. Jon grabbed a flashlight and together we gave the kids sponge baths on the dining room table. I washed and passed them to Jon who dried and dressed them. The kids were sugared up, so they just chased each other in the dark.

Surprisingly, I was the one who was calm throughout the ordeal and Jon was the one who was grouchy. For me, it felt like a small victory; I was learning to roll with the situation even when I didn’t have control. Fortunately, the power came on before we put the kids to bed. I fell asleep that night appreciating how we were learning to make it work—even when it didn’t always work the way we wanted
it to. It felt like another baby step into the normal world. The kids weren’t the only ones growing; I was growing too.

Two days later was our favorite summer holiday: the Fourth of July. Jon and I always loved the parade in Wyomissing, and we planned to take the kids. We had them up by 7:00 and eating breakfast by 7:30. By 8:38, we were in the bus and on the road. It felt like quite an accomplishment for two tired parents.

Once there, we met some friends, found a place along the route, and parked the stroller so the little kids would have a good view of the parade. I passed out balloons and flags and was getting ready to sit down when I realized we had a total of six adults.

“Jon, what if we let the kids out of their stroller? We could put one adult in charge of each kid.”

“I don’t know. It’s easier if we just leave them in the stroller.”

“Yes, it’s easier,” I agreed. “But when do we ever do what’s easy?”

Jon agreed. I passed a kid to each set of adult arms. Once the parade started, the little kids quickly learned from Mady and Cara that when candy is thrown your way, you run to pick it up. It made me so happy to see that my babies could experience the parade like normal two-year-olds! I think it also relieved some of my guilt about the sacrifices they had to make because of the size and makeup of our family.

After the parade, we made our way to the picnic area where I spread a blanket and fed them lunch. The kids had peanut butter crackers, cantaloupe, and cheese. They were so sweet as they sat and ate, and I was proud of their behavior. It reassured me to know we could take them out in public without an incident.

That night, we had a picnic dinner at home in our backyard. I put the babies in swimmies and we set up the sprinkler balls. The girls donned their swimsuits and off they went. I must have been tired, because I let the babies get filthy dirty and I never do that. But they loved it! When we were ready to come in, two of them had poopy swimmies, which complicated things a bit, but I washed them all down with utility towels and then sent them upstairs to Daddy for a much-needed bath. Together we got the kids bathed, lotioned, and dressed, and they went to bed with no complaints. We were quite a team!

It was such a fun day. And at the end of it, I felt like we’d accomplished something important. I had been able to have a good time, and I know the kids had a great time too. My organization once again saved us! It got me thinking: I might be up for the organizational challenge of Disney next summer. Nanny Joan and Terry had offered to meet us at Disney to help, and for the first time I thought it might be a good idea.

Obviously, I was growing in confidence. We were also growing as a family, taking steps outside of the house, and exploring new things.

Before we could attempt a trip to Disney, we needed a few more experiences under our belt. We went to the “Purple Place” a few more times and learned that pulling directly up to the deck meant we could unload the kids without needing another adult. Cara and Mady helped Jon with the little kids while I placed the orders.

In mid-July, we attempted the Cocoa Castle, a playground near the recreation center in Hershey. Built over fifteen years ago, the wooden play structure had stairs, slides, bridges, and other games. Using the lesson from the Purple Place, Jon pulled the bus as close to the entrance as possible to drop them off. I was nervous about watching eight kids by myself so I offered to park the car while Jon went in with the kids.

For the most part the kids stayed in a pack, and I snapped pictures as they ran through the playground. Unfortunately, we couldn’t let them play long, maybe twenty minutes, because Jon noticed dark clouds looming. When I tried to herd them into the bus, Collin threw himself on the ground and absolutely refused to go. Oh, it was lovely! But even with the tantrum Jon and I were glad we had taken them, and proud to learn that we could do it on our own.

A few weeks later, we decided to take the family to Friendly’s restaurant in Hershey. By this time our show had been on TV for a while and we were beginning to be recognized more frequently. I learned that if I called ahead, they could put us to one side where we’d cause less attention.

Before we left, Cara packed the comfort bag all by herself and very willingly. She did a great job and it was nice to have an extra set of hands getting things ready.

At the restaurant, we had a little trouble getting the kids out of the bus. Remember the dog licking my ankles and the rude lady? This was the trip. Once inside, I ordered food immediately because I wasn’t sure how the kids would do with the wait. Cara got a hot dog and fries. I ordered three chicken fingers kids’ meals—some with fries and some with broccoli. When the plates arrived I divided it all up and gave the other seven some of everything.

The kids did awesome. Jon sat next to Alexis, with Mady and Aaden across from him. Joel was on the end of the table. I sat with Hannah next to me. Leah was on the other end of the table, and Cara and Collin were across from me. I showed Hannah how to get