You Gotta Bounce

Scott and Susanne were feeling the effects of the craziness that they called life. They were constantly presented with challenges that were a result of Paxton's medical issues. They had learned to manage their new "normal", but at times it was still overwhelming. It was difficult for them to always put on a smiling face and just deal with the hand they were dealt. Putting on a show for others was sometimes exhausting. Everyone always wanted to hear them say that they were ok because they didn't know how to react to any other answer. Just like in the movie "Bounce", people want you to just bounce back from traumatic events. They want you to live knowing that it will eventually get better. They are uncomfortable with just letting you feel your true feelings. They want you to bounce back from the sadness, bounce back from the trauma, bounce back from the life changing event that occurred, not realizing that it's not that easy. What you've been through has changed you forever. Things are no longer the same as they were before. It would be more accurate to say that it felt like you were bouncing. Gwyneth Paltrow's character couldn't have said it better, "So that's what I've been doing all this time...bouncing. It's like crashing except you get to do it over and over again."

Scott and Susanne felt blessed to have Paxton in their lives, but they hated that he hadn't scratched the surface of what he would face in life. Scott was taken aback to see how little progress Paxton had made over the last few months. His overall strength and development was still around a four-month-old level. He had some head control, but no core strength. He wasn't anywhere near being able to sit up on his own. It appeared that they were currently in a rut. Luckily, Susanne had some new skills to work on with Paxton. She took some time showing Scott some of these techniques. They were hopeful that he would turn the corner sometime soon. It just made it difficult with Susanne traveling back and forth as well as Paxton having another surgery coming up. Unfortunately, 2011 had not yet been as boring as they had hoped it would be.