The Green that Screams Too Much Algae

I am going to attempt to write this blog lying down on my back. This requires me to not look at the keyboard at all. I have this memory of typing class in the 10th grade, having a typing quiz with my eyes closed. It requires a high amount of concentration right now. I do think this is good for my brain though - almost like a brain exercise. Like how people say that as you get on in years you should do crossword puzzles. My grandma can pull out some serious vocabulary with crossword puzzles, she's a brainiac. I am on a bit of rabbit trail... let's get back to point. The reason I am lying down is because I whacked out my back yesterday morning. If I were in the States, I would cruise on over to my chiropractor to help out the healing. They do have chiropractors here, but do you know what they call them? Bone Setters. Can you imagine? Now, I am a big fan of trying/experiencing something first before having an opinion. But come on, the name alone makes me want to steer clear of such activities which include my spinal cord. So, all that to say, I am healing the old fashioned way... lying down.

I would like to visit the topic of last week - Thursday, Friday and Saturday to be exact. Let's start with Thursday. We headed down the mountain to visit our friends, the Malsteads. They are one of the couples that started Freedom Firm. They were spending their mid-term break at a friend's house. Anyway, we were to spend the day there and then the next day drive to Jungle Retreat. We got there - it was hot, hot, hot. We were looking forward to a nice refreshing swim in the pool, and then we looked at the pool – it was seriously green. Not the green that screams to much chlorine, but the green that screams too much algae. This pool did not have any sort of filtration system, so Greg and Mala just freshened it up a bit by running the hose into it every day and cleaning it out with a badminton racket. The kids didn’t care and I just pretended I was swimming in a lake during mayfly and pollen season.

A few hours later, James fell really bad on his arm. So bad, that I was wondering if we should drive back up to Ooty to get an x-ray. But by the time we would have gotten back up there, the diagnostics clinic would have been closed. So, we made a sling out of Jovie’s blanket and put him to bed. The next morning, he was doing somewhat better - nursing it quite a bit, but carrying on like normal. We also found out the next morning that an elephant had been on the porch of the house. (More their trunks, not so much their whole body.) Can you believe it – an elephant!? We saw the tracks and everything. Ani also lost her first tooth that morning. (It was an eventful 24 hours...) Mala gave it good twist and a yank and out it fell - congratulations Ani.

We packed up Friday morning and drove on to Jungle Retreat. We got checked in, were warned about the 4 types of poisonous snakes on the premises and were asked to stay on the trails for safety. We did a bit of swimming in their gorgeous pool, ate some yummy food, had a shower with really great water pressure and got a very nice sleep. The people that were staying next to us were from England, but live in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. They had two young boys, Spike and Jed. When I was tucking James into bed that night, he asked if he could go visit the boys in Bahrain. It's still hard to believe that right now we are raising our kids in a place where that question would even been raised and that James would even have “Bahrain” in his vocabulary.

We had a good morning of swimming on Saturday and checked out by noon. On our way home our “little engine that could” got a bit tired, overheated, and stalled three times on the way up the mountain - requiring twice for us to sit it out for 20-30 minutes. That made me feel really special toward our car/van/can. Jayson went to cool down the engine and he proceeded to tell me to get out of my seat. I then watched him pull out our seats to reveal the motor. I was awestruck. I did not know that I had been sitting on our engine all this time. He then said, “The front of our car is flat... Where did you think the engine was?” Smart Alec. I guess I never really thought about it. Anyway, we finally chugged home.

James’ arm was still really bugging him, so I decided to take him to get an x-ray. Nice little place. We got into the office and the technician had James jump on a wobbly stool and snap goes the x-ray. That was it. After a bit, the technician brought it out to us to say “by god, he has a broken arm”. Good grief. I am not getting mother of the year award. Two days with a broken arm... I called my friend Angie, trying to figure out what to do next and asking her if I am still able to be James’ mother. So, after talking me down from the ledge, she told me to go to the orthopedic. So, James and I were on our way, got to the office and the doorman said that he was on holiday. I called the doctor who gave us our rabies shots to figure out where to go next and when I told him that the orthopedic was not here, he said “oh no”. Not super comforting. So, he told me to go to the street that we were on, look left for the red cross hospital sign and go to that hospital. We got to the the little hospital and after reasonable deduction, went to the general surgeon. (The other choices were a psychiatrist and a OBGYN.) We waited a bit, saw the surgeon, and after many looks at the x-ray, he told us it was not broken but a contusion. A contusion? A contusion? I guess I haven’t heard that word since my days of watching Little House on the Prairie. He said it with such gusto, that my only option was to be fully on board with the diagnosis. James got rigged up with a sling, got some medications and went home. That was that. A bit anti-climatic, but I am okay with that.

In the midst of hurt arms and our little engine that could... it was really nice to get a way, spend time with friends, relax as a family and create memories. Thanks for hanging with that story of our weekend.