It's the Climb...

http://youtu.be/gerI0VK8oeM

I can't believe I just referenced a Miley Cyrus song...

Anyway, never grow up!

Some Buzzfeed Lists are Entertaining AND Informative...

     The only two items on this list I would disagree with are 7 and 20.

Rink Rats

     I was apprehensive when my doctors approved me to ice skate a few months ago, based on the fear that if (more like when) I fell down, it would hurt my still-not-as-strong-as-it-could-be upper body as I braced my fall and subsequently got myself back up.  But my son's ice skating birthday party gave me a chance to face this fear and skate with him for the first time ever.

Six Going on Seven

     Imagine that you just turned six years old.  Your dad has been dragging a tube around everywhere he goes in the house for over a year.  Whenever he leaves the house, he carries a noisy backpack.  The tube goes in his nose and it helps him breathe.  You know he goes to the doctor a lot and needs new lungs.  You're pretty sure Dr. Simon is getting them from Argentina, but when you say that, Dad explains that Dr. Simon is helping, but he isn't getting them from another country.  Almost exactly two weeks after your birthday, that "call" that you've heard Mom and Dad talk so much about comes, apparently-- first your grandmotherly neighbor and, later that day, your actual grandmother, stay with you after Mom and Dad leave.  Dad gave you an extra long hug and seemed like he might cry before he left.  Grandma tries to play video games with you but is really, really bad at them.  Mom didn't come home that night, or the next night, and that was okay, even though you hadn't been away from her for that many nights before.  Grandma lets you have pretty much whatever you want, because Dad's in the hospital getting his new not-from-Argentina lungs, and Grandma usually lets you have whatever you want even when it isn't a special circumstance.

Spider Twins

This is my favorite photo from my son's birthday yesterday. It pretty much sums up why I love having a 7 year old.

Back in the Wild Again...

     My first camping trip since 2012 in three photos:

First bike ride post-transplant.  Pedaling along next to my son was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Walking to places I couldn't make it to before and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Three years was worth the wait.  Thanks new lungs!

King for a Day

     Four square is by far my favorite "playground" game (second only to dodgeball), probably because I am, not to brag, very good at it. I first learned to play at CF camp, and loved the game instantly. Later, in the days when my wife and I would host a summer party for my co-workers each year, we would make a court in our street and all be kids again. Regardless of whether or not a person has never played or is an old pro, four square is accessible and fun.