Sunday, October 13, 2019
Today we had a family day. Family day for us generally means my significant other, Donald; our seven-year-old, Mika; and me. Our two older children are grown and although our older daughter would love to tag along many times, her work schedule does not permit it.
We have been working to do more family activities even before my terminal diagnosis because I had been sick so long before my cancer was found. I was on bed rest for most of the year preceding the cancer discovery, so Donald and Mika did a lot of activities together and, when I felt better this past summer, Mika and I did activities since her dad was working.
Donald and Mika loaded my wheelchair on the back of the truck, and we drove to Denver for the Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo. I love expos and Mika likes them if there are lots of kid-friendly activities. Donald does not usually like expos. We all went to Colorado Springs ComicCon in August and he hated it. Next year Mika and I are going alone. However, going to the Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo was Donald’s idea so we agreed.
The Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo had remote control cars, model kits for military vehicles, gaming supplies, model trains, and quite a bit more. Because the theme of the show was so broad, there were booths that interested each of us. They even had a decent kid’s activity area; however, Mika was not feeling that kid’s section because she had already found the one area that made the drive worth it to her.
Mika loves LEGOs. She plays with them for hours each week. We have so many LEGOs at home, her dad wants me to quit buying her sets. For the record, during the past year I have only bought the 2018 and 2019 LEGO advent calendars and one set for last Christmas. The rest of the sets from the past year were other Christmas and birthday gifts.
The Denver LEGO User Group had set up a massive display of completed kits and original dioramas approximately 40 feet long. There was a town with a light-rail train circling around it. The group had a large diorama set on the planet Hoth from Star Wars. There was even a Taj Mahal. The displays were very impressive.
Mika did like the displays; however, it was the 20-foot section of loose blocks set up for children to play with that captured her attention. Mika spent more than half the time we were at the expo at those LEGO building tables. She challenged one of the adults to a Minecraft building contest and persuaded another adult, Todd, to build creatures from Bionicle/Hero Factory parts. Todd even played a silly, seven-year-old’s idea attack game with the creatures they made.
Mika had a blast and we had to almost drag her away to leave. We stopped by a hobby shop Donald frequents when he goes to Denver and ate at a nearby restaurant. A good time was had by all.
My piece of advice to you is to find those activities you can all find some pleasure in and be willing to compromise. Donald has never had the endurance I have for these types of activities. When we go to an amusement park, I want to be there when it opens and when it closes; Donald does a few hours and wants to go home. If it had been just Mika and me at the expo, we would have stayed a couple more hours. Since Donald was with us, we stayed about three hours, long enough for us to have a good time yet not so long that it ruined the day for Donald.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Today we had a family day. Family day for us generally means my significant other, Donald; our seven-year-old, Mika; and me. Our two older children are grown and although our older daughter would love to tag along many times, her work schedule does not permit it.
We have been working to do more family activities even before my terminal diagnosis because I had been sick so long before my cancer was found. I was on bed rest for most of the year preceding the cancer discovery, so Donald and Mika did a lot of activities together and, when I felt better this past summer, Mika and I did activities since her dad was working.
Donald and Mika loaded my wheelchair on the back of the truck, and we drove to Denver for the Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo. I love expos and Mika likes them if there are lots of kid-friendly activities. Donald does not usually like expos. We all went to Colorado Springs ComicCon in August and he hated it. Next year Mika and I are going alone. However, going to the Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo was Donald’s idea so we agreed.
The Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo had remote control cars, model kits for military vehicles, gaming supplies, model trains, and quite a bit more. Because the theme of the show was so broad, there were booths that interested each of us. They even had a decent kid’s activity area; however, Mika was not feeling that kid’s section because she had already found the one area that made the drive worth it to her.
Mika loves LEGOs. She plays with them for hours each week. We have so many LEGOs at home, her dad wants me to quit buying her sets. For the record, during the past year I have only bought the 2018 and 2019 LEGO advent calendars and one set for last Christmas. The rest of the sets from the past year were other Christmas and birthday gifts.
The Denver LEGO User Group had set up a massive display of completed kits and original dioramas approximately 40 feet long. There was a town with a light-rail train circling around it. The group had a large diorama set on the planet Hoth from Star Wars. There was even a Taj Mahal. The displays were very impressive.
Mika did like the displays; however, it was the 20-foot section of loose blocks set up for children to play with that captured her attention. Mika spent more than half the time we were at the expo at those LEGO building tables. She challenged one of the adults to a Minecraft building contest and persuaded another adult, Todd, to build creatures from Bionicle/Hero Factory parts. Todd even played a silly, seven-year-old’s idea attack game with the creatures they made.
Mika had a blast and we had to almost drag her away to leave. We stopped by a hobby shop Donald frequents when he goes to Denver and ate at a nearby restaurant. A good time was had by all.
My piece of advice to you is to find those activities you can all find some pleasure in and be willing to compromise. Donald has never had the endurance I have for these types of activities. When we go to an amusement park, I want to be there when it opens and when it closes; Donald does a few hours and wants to go home. If it had been just Mika and me at the expo, we would have stayed a couple more hours. Since Donald was with us, we stayed about three hours, long enough for us to have a good time yet not so long that it ruined the day for Donald.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.