Sea Turtles and Hopping Races

Just had a divine weekend - such gorgeous huge blue skies...so we've had lots of outdoor activities and Tara's done heaps of walking - including 500 metres each way on the pier out to sea (at the Spit) - pic here taken from the pier. Look how crystal clear the water is - last weekend we saw a sea turtle - sooooo beautiful!

Tara's refusing to use her crutches as much as possible. Keeps leaving them in the car when we drop her off at school. And apparently she never asks for help, even when she's climbing the stairs. And altho' it's not the most sensible thing for her to not be using her crutches, it works so well for her - the determination to go it alone.

But even when she doesn't ask for help - her friends are sooooo intuitive and helpful and just lovely. Like on Saturday - the twins had a friend over and we went to the beach - and Tone and the girls were having races down the dune...but Tara was coming last because she was having to hop without LouLou on. And then their friend said "let's all race on one leg down the dune" - so they did which was just sooooo thoughtful, and she was even sweet enough to try climb back up the dune on one leg...but that's something that only Tara seems to manage at this stage!


It'll definitely be SO exciting once Tara's got the swimming leg from Lizzie Loo and friends - our appointment with the prosthetist is for August 1. Can't wait! We're also gonna discuss getting a leg that'll allow her to wear a rollerblade or iceskating boot - because she's desperate to try those things for the first time ever now that she no longer has a brace...but with LouLou it's kinda impossible because we'd never be able to bend the foot in there. Yikes. Real feet and legs really are miraculous creations! Photo here shows LouLou up close - you can see how it's just a piece of velcro that holds LL up (which is why she sometimes falls off at the most inopportune moments!).

Cassie's learning about the skeleton this term and informed us that girls have 207 bones (I think she said 207) - anyway - Tara was a little upset when we realised that she has 207 minus all the bones in her left foot and ankle since they're no longer there. So we decided she can just say she has 207 bones and not get too technical about it. She's funny tho' - she's realised that for some people her op was a big thing - so there's this toy she really, really wants and she keeps saying to us with a total put-on diva accent "I deserve it, after all the pain I've suffered..." - but she's acting and her eyes are totally laughing as she says it. And when I say to her "what pain?", she can only remember one incident in hospital (when she came off the morphine at the same time she had terrible constipation). So now she's trying to save for the toy instead, one dollar at a time - giving Daddy back massages (she's SO strong with her elbow-massage!).

And to be fair to Tara - she's so not a diva - right now her life is filled with 'firsts' - and each one excites her like she's just walked on the moon. She's so appreciative of each new experience - and calls our attention to it - "look, look - my first time eating an ice-cream while I'm walking" etc.

We let the twins have a first together - walking to the shop around the corner on their own (but I followed behind without them knowing...until I was caught) - and it was so sweet - they were totally holding hands and telling each other how glad they are to be twins. All 3 girls did so FAB at school today - they were awarded a book each for reading & raising funds during the May Readathon. And this evening I've just read the school's weekly newspaper - which has a beautifully written paragraph by the headmaster about Tara including this: "Tara has shown an exemplary mix of courage and a down-to-earth spiritedness since the amputation of one of her legs..." Such wonderful words for a kid to hear her headmaster say. She's a very, very lucky girl to have had such an amazing support system around her - from friends and family to school and hospital staff. And even from people who don't even know her (yet)!

Thanks for the gorgeous birthday wishes! And thanks Alex for the marshmellow cake! Lots of photos today of the birthday weekend - the water was just so stunning, like an aquarium just bursting with fish. (The rocky outcrop in the back is where they're building a ship on the jetty that'll be used in films to appear to be a ship at sea...when meanwhile everyone's safe on the jetty.)