September Surprise

September has got to be one of the very best months of the year. Strung upon its golden chain of days like sparkling charms, are the birthdays of Dan, and three of our sons, Ethan, Greg, and Shane, and of our first grandchild, Jaxon. With all the cake and ice cream this calls for, one might think it's a terrible time to begin a whole new way of eating. But I say, along with my super secret society of supporters, that it's a great time to start a fresh approach to nourishment. I'm blending elements from several books together to come up with what I hope works best for me. I will let you know how it goes! Wish me luck.

Shane had the worst birthday of his life last week, but in typical Washburn fashion, he was able to laugh about it. He spent the day driving from one clinic to another, getting his mission medical papers filled out. At one clinic, he received an MMR and a TDAP vaccination, and was sent to another for a hepatitis immunization. . There was some confusion on which vaccine to give him, and he was given the wrong one, B instead of A! The first clinic called him and told him of the other clinic's error, and instructed him to return, assuring him that he'd receive the correct vaccine free of charge. But when he arrived at the second clinic for the second time that day, they wouldn't give him the vaccine, and said they didn't know anything about it being given for free, either. In the midst of all this running between clinics, he also went to his dentist's office to get a form filled out, but the office was closed. We called the dentist, a friend, and he told Shane to come right over to his home and he'd fill it out for him, which he did.

Next morning, the first clinic called to say Shane could pick up his papers. When I told the nurse that he'd been unable to get the vaccine the evening before, she called the clinic in a bit of a huff, I suspect, and they called us right away to apologize for the previous day's events. As it turns out, Shane won't be able to get the correct vaccine for 4-6 weeks, but he can still turn his papers in without it. And, ta-da, he turned them in yesterday at church. Now he's working on getting an appointment for an interview with the stake president. Go Shane go! No, don't go! Yes, do go, but your Mom is going to miss you soooo much.

We didn't get to do the shopping we'd planned to do what with all the hither-and-thithering, so Shane's birthday dinner and cake were delayed until Saturday. Finally, we got it altogether, and he was semi-properly honored. His gift is still pending, because I thought it best if he chose it himself. It'll be a camera to take with him on his mission. And thus we see that September's surprises begin to unfold. He may even have his mission call before the end of the month, and I may have lost a few pounds to boot!