Dear Reader:

The symbol of a rose….how many fairy tales, legends, and myths all begin with this beautiful symbol? (Today the symbol lives on in “reality” shows…with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.)

You might have observed from the photo (above) that the gift of this special rose sent Eva Cate floating off into her own little happy zone. It took her until intermission to snap back out of it.

Mandy, Eva Cate, and I were at the Disney on Ice (Let’s Celebrate) show Sunday afternoon for its final performance. During one of the celebrations…all the Princesses and their ‘Prince Charmings’ skated out on the ice performing elaborate and breath-taking romantic dance duets.

At the end of this part of the program the famous Disney couples started circling the rink….looking at all the children. (Mandy ordered our tickets back in September and we actually ended up with front row rink seats -to our surprise!- So cool…both figuratively and literally!

As Aladdin and Jasmine skated by ….they slowed down and nodded at Eva Cate in unison…then Jasmine extended the “Princess Rose” to Eva Cate and asked if she would like to keep it…thus becoming a selected member of the Princess Hall of Roses!!!. For the first time in Eva Cate’s life she was a complete mute. Her eyes grew wide and starry. She could only nod. She had been given a Princess Rose by Jasmine!!!!!! (Her favorite princess)

Her eyes stayed glazed over the rest of the night.

Unfortunately for our little boys in the family….everything has not been coming up roses…more like prickly thorns.

Because of Jakie’s recent diagnoses of severe allergic reactions to nuts, eggs, and milk his primary doctor has had to wait until he has completed all the tests to find out the degrees of severity before giving him his one year vaccinations.

He was finally given the okay….as long as he was monitored for reactions and he got his immunizations yesterday….much to Mandy and John’s relief and Jakie’s chagrin. These thorns were definitely a little painful. But the good news is…he had no reactions to the ‘shots’ so he is good to go with all his vaccinations now…he came out smelling like a rose. (And a hungry one…the shots didn’t slow down his appetite for lunch yesterday!)

Little Lachlan has found himself in the briar patch too….his “thorns” yesterday were two tubes in his ears. He is definitely following in his big brother, Rutledge’s footsteps, with the bad ears…Rutledge has suffered from ear infections since soon after birth…and he, too, has to go to MUSC next Monday to get one (that fell out) replaced. The poor Dingle boys and their bad ears.

Mollie picked me up at Mandy and John’s house at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning to help with little Lachlan… getting him ready for his minor “surgery.” Everything went like clockwork until we were called back to get vitals taken….(Lachlan hadn’t had any food/milk since 2:00 am and we thought he would be going right in for the procedure)….instead we had to wait on a  surgery that lasted an hour and a half…while the tubes in children take about ten minutes. Really?

Lachlan was really a champ during the long wait…he did better than I would have…it was after nine o’clock before he got his tubes inserted. He woke up confused, disoriented, and hungry but too sleepy to eat and thoroughly disgusted with the whole procedure. The nurse gave him some Tylenol and he promptly fell asleep in mid-cry. He was out like a light.

During the  high’s and low’s of waiting, waiting, waiting…he showed everyone his two new teeth for Christmas…bottom ones.

Hurry up and wait….hurry up and wait….and then get hooked up.

Rutledge managed a reassuring smile for mom before leaving with the man in the mask…(which he was trying to pull off.)

Lachlan returned (initially upset) but a little Tylenol was all it took for him to give up the fight and finally fall asleep.

Another hour of observation and Lachlan was released from his first “surgery” ….we pray it is his last. I hope Lachlan had wonderful dreams of milk, and milk, and more milk. Deep breath…we are all gearing up for Rutledge for next Monday -unfortunately he knows the “procedure”…sometimes “ignorance is bliss.” But…I have no doubt…he will emerge smelling the roses too!

So until tomorrow…life is a balancing act….the highs and lows teach us different lessons…but mainly to savor the moment when a magical rose comes our way. Sometimes in life that memory is what keeps us forging ahead when the thorns take over our lives temporarily.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh