Zack, like all my older kids, has been counting down the days till he could get a debit card. We make the kids wait till they are 13. Zack turned 13 on a Thursday and on Saturday we were at the bank getting an account (after eating ice cream cake for breakfast!)! He was so excited. After opening up his account we went out to lunch. It was so fun getting to hang out with Zack!
This winter has been incredibly cold, and with so many nearby lakes and ponds, we live in the perfect spot for a little broom ball game—a mix of ice hockey, brooms, and regular shoes. One Saturday morning, the youth decided to get together and enjoy some time on the ice. Andrew and Zack were having an absolute blast, really getting into the game, when Andrew was checked by Bro. F and landed hard on the ice. The problem was, it happened so quickly that Andrew didn’t have time to brace his fall, so the check ended up breaking his fall. It was immediately clear that the concussions he’d had in the past were affecting him again. Bro. F reached out, and Christopher went over to check on Andrew.
It became obvious that Andrew had a concussion. He was supposed to compete in the Districts swim meet, but after failing his concussion test, he was benched for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, the season was nearly over, and he only missed one regular meet and the Districts competition.
Unfortunately, the hits just keep coming for Andrew. On Wednesday, he came home from school saying he didn’t feel well, and that was the last time we saw him for more than a few minutes over the next three days. Today is Sunday, and he’s still not at 75%. I’m not expecting him to return to school on Monday, but fingers crossed for Tuesday!
All Zack wanted to do to celebrate his birthday was have a funky monkey hangout. No big party, just a handful of guys over to play video games and chill. He had very detailed ideas about how his night was going to go. He wanted a "Zack's favorite foods" dinner (chicken malensas, cream corn, orange rolls, and chocolate ice cream cake), lots of soda and hang out snacks, and just play video games all night. Jesse is still recovering from breaking his leg so their hangout was on the main floor - with no stairs involved. Calvin and Garrett came too. They played guitars, piano, video games, and just had a blast. I could hear them laughing from upstairs. It was an awesome way to celebrate Zack!
