Hi All –
I want to share with you a story
written by our daughter-in-law, Kelly, who is married to our youngest son, Dave. This story is about our 3-year old
granddaughter, Katelyn, and her struggle to grow out of the need for pacifiers.
Life for Katelyn and her family has
been seriously disrupted as she has a serious medical condition known as
Aplastic Anemia which she has been fighting since Thanksgiving. Soon she will be undergoing a bone
marrow transplant at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
Peace!
Kevin
The following story took place on
Thursday, 8/28, the evening before Katelyn's 3rd birthday. I am including every
sweet detail, to share with all of you what a beautifully creative and kind
spirit Katelyn has. Enjoy!!
We were outside on the swingset,
having our nightly playtime, when Katelyn started talking about her
"pacies" (pacifiers). She told me she was ready to give her pacies to
all the babies, and that it was time to put them in a special box. (note: we
have been setting the stage for this for months, gently reminding her that
being 3 means being a big girl and giving her pacies to all the babies who need
them)..... so having Katelyn bring this topic up independently was a welcome
surprise to me! After a private conversation with Dave, which included a
concrete promise of "once those things are gone, we're in this until its
over," we braced ourselves for a potentially sleepless night (or week) and
got out the supplies. Every paci in the house went into a small white box, which
Katelyn delicately decorated with stickers. She put so much thought into each
one, and gave sweet commentary through the whole process about how happy the
babies will be when they get their present. Once she was finished decorating,
we taped the box closed, tied it with ribbon, added a label, and said goodbye.
Katelyn carried her gift to the mailbox, where she carefully placed it inside
and closed the door. We waved to the box and ran back home, where Katelyn was
beside herself with pride and excitement! I couldn't believe how smoothly it
all went....
And then it was bedtime.....
Now anyone who has known Katelyn for
her 3 years of life knows that this kid had a serious paci addiction. I knew it
couldn't be that easy!! As soon as her head hit the pillow, she sat up and
shouted "Mommy wait! I don't want to be a big girl anymore! I NEED my
pacies back!!!!" I reminded her of her big decision and we discussed each
step of the process. She seemed concerned that the pacies were still outside,
so I told her they had already been delivered by the mailman. Thanks to
smartphones, I was able to quickly google "babies with pacifiers" and
showed her the slideshow of all the babies who were happily enjoying
"her" pacies. Seeing the pictures did the trick - Katelyn laid down
and talked for a good 15 more minutes about the babies. It took her a while to
settle down, but eventually we had a successful night.
3 days later and we still have to
talk through the complete play by play at each nap and bedtime, complete with
the google pictures, but overall I am extremely relieved by how well this
process went and so proud of Katelyn for her bravery. Her kind spirit and
interest in giving to others allowed her to find joy in this milestone, and she
turned 3 as a big girl with a plastic-free smile!! :)
Stay tuned for birthday details!! Love to all!!
