Well today we prepare bring some delicious treats for Todd’s consumption! He has not been into his choices lately, spits almost everything out (but he has had his first taste of the Suriname dish POM, Mary and I ate that quite a few times, love love love it. It is kinda like a flavorful baked polenta dish)! I am always looking for his triggers. We hope that Simone, his speech pathologist, gives him the green light for the next level……Soft yet solid. I will bring some chocolate mousse in hopes that he finds that delightful, and some savory treats as well. We spent the last few days working, massaging, and reading. His sister sent us an architecture magazine and I swear Todd is so into it we read it from one end to the other… lingering on every detail, he never takes his eyes off the pages…….except to allow me to turn them. We gave Barney the run through of our likes and dislikes through the pages, especially this connectors on this one table! Can’t wait to show Johnny. We are working away on our own little projects and each day we try to find something new for us all to do. This week Barney and I are laughing a lot more, this is a good thing. There was a great moment yesterday when Barney and I were on each side of Todd cracking up………the best medicine for our Todd is to be surrounded by laughter and good conversation. These seem to be consistently his favorite moments…… and very little around here is consistent. I have no news yet this week on how the doctors feel about the progress but I do see signs of tests being done and one medication was switched off the IV and is now being administered orally (over the weekend)……… this is a step in the right direction. We still wait for him to emerge from this drug induced fog, his adjustment is slooooow going, but he stays awake longer, pays more attention…….so I believe we just may be making our way there. We have been saving all the cards as they came in this week, for today! Mostly these days he keeps his words to himself, with one exception when he talks on the phone to Barney. We can’t figure that one at, but Todd likes to keep us guessing.

On Thursday Barney (I hope to join him) plans to take the train to Rotterdam to visit The Kunsthal to see the Jean Tinguely retrospective before it closes this week. In order for me to join him we must leave early enough to make it back to the hospital in time. The show is called Everything That Moves. He is a Swiss sculptor known for his kinetic art, it would rock Todd’s world to take him to the exhibit, next best thing is to go see it and bring as much back as we can …..hopefully a catalog for his collection at home. This is the first book he loaned me when we met…… Jean Tinguely: A Magic Stronger Than Death. We have always been inspired to share, learn, and stimulate each other creatively and intellectually…but the title of this book now really seems to resonate doesn’t it? It makes me think a lot about where we started and where we are going.

Today we celebrate the miracle of Todd! Thanks to the dedication of our wonderful doctors and nurses, we have Todd with us. At the hospital I am constantly reminded, that despite these challenging times, we are indeed quite lucky. There are many other families around us that can’t say the same. What a complicated arena!

………..so instead of focusing on what we are missing out on ( like the event with John Law et all in Alameda on Saturday!!!) we get to think about the best thing of all that sweet Todd is still with us! How amazing and wonderful is that! Now that is something worth celebrating………. His mother is thinking about snow and giving birth to such a great guy, he was a baby first, his father too was there, probably even reminiscing at some of those days in between ( I am sure he was a challenge)! So once we do get home we will have a lot of celebrating to catch up on!

We are just content to be together, no matter where we are!

p.s. There were no chipmunks…………not a single one.