Sam

We are on our annual getaway up in Laurium. On our way up, we made a sudden stop so Sam could get out of the car. He thought he was going to throw up. He and I stood in some weeds along the highway while he had a panic attack. I was completely baffled. He has been doing so well lately. I had no idea what was troubling him. TJ has been rather emotional the past few days, as school has ended and he's been dealing with saying good bye to his friends and his school. I wondered if perhaps that was bothering Sam, too?

This morning, Sam was giving Bill a hard time and just being grumpy and mean. Then he came and found me and started talking. I finally figured it out. Sam knew we planned to visit the Quincy Mine. He is afraid. He was terrified of our tour of the Delaware Mine last year and it caught us by surprise at the time. Afterwards, he kept talking about it and seemed to enjoy the memories, so I thought he'd be okay with trying another mine. 

He and I talked it over and we are still going to go to the mine. He can do the tour above ground and ride the cog train. He and I can skip the underground portion of the tour if he wants. I'm hoping he will be able to enjoy the rest of the tour if he knows he can opt out of the 'scary' part. 

Sam perked up considerably after our chat. His day got even better when he discovered numerous box fans in the bedroom closets. He carefully arranged them throughout the second story of the house we rent. I woke up from an afternoon nap and laughed when I discovered four box fans and two ceiling fans running. The old Sam was back. 

We took the boys on a drive this afternoon and stumbled across McLain State Park, which we had never heard of before. The boys had a great time throwing rocks in Lake Superior and Sam collected several 'lucky sticks' to bring back with us.