In Which We Film Some More, And Connor Is Pouty

So this morning was a continuation of the grand filming saga, only this time it was on the army post and with a whole bunch of other people-- basically we were filming one of the  meetings (called a Comprehensive Transition Plan, or CTP meeting) that the training video will be focusing on.  The most basic explanation I can come up with for these meetings is that they're sort of like the adult military version of an IEP meeting-- representatives from each of the areas of a soldier's care get together with the soldier (and his or her family, if relevant) to touch base with each other, discuss where the soldier is now, set goals for the future, and determine how best to get to those goals.  I'd direct you to a neat explanation of this process on the Warrior Transition Battalion website but I can't find one (this is the best I could come up with), which is probably why they're making the video in the first place.  That would make sense.

The film crew is moving on to film some other families at a couple of other locations around the country, and then they've got to edit all that stuff and put it together, so don't expect the video out any time soon.  And it may be pretty dry viewing, as it is a training video.  And also we probably won't play a prominent role in it.  But I'll let you all know when it's released, as several of you have asked.  Just expect a performance (at least on our part) less of the Academy Award-winning caliber and more of the Razzie Award variety.

Anyway, Connor and I arrived sort of at the last minute because we couldn't find our car keys-- they'd been misplaced in the whirlwind of outside filming the day before.  I eventually found them in the garage, sitting on a large pile of wood for the deck we've been in the process of staining.  This was not exactly the first place I thought to look, so it took a while to locate them.  Then the meeting was upstairs, so the key to the stair lift had to be located so that we didn't have to use the alternate method of getting Connor up the stairs-- the BBG (Big Burly Guy) method.  But we managed to squeak in just before filming started.

After we were finished (Jeremy still had filming to do at the gym, but Connor and I got to leave after the meeting was over) the little guy and I headed straight over to occupational therapy, where Connor spent the first half of the session with a huge pouty face on.  It was hilarious-- he wanted to play with his toys, and he was obviously having a good time, but he was still put out about the events of the past two days so he was trying his very best to look like he was miserable.  So basically he'd play with his toys, and every once in a while you'd see a smile creeping up onto his face, but then he'd glance up, see me, and immediately the pouty look would reappear.  He couldn't keep up the charade any more after we pulled out the big guns-- a swing!  That kid loves swings.  So he lightened up and we got to hear a few of those delicious giggles. 

The lack of smiles might also be because the kid's feeling pretty tired right now.  We started his new seizure medication on Tuesday-- it's a drug called Lamictal-- and we haven't begun stepping back any of his other medications.  The side effects in these situations tend to be cumulative, and all three seizure medications he's now on can cause fatigue.  So Connor actually took a two hour nap today, which is all but unheard of in our household now.  I took a nap too-- the last couple of days have been surprisingly tiring. 

I don't think I'm cut out for a film career.

~Jessie