The Airport

Our big trip is on. I have packed the boys and myself. I wait for Tom. Of course he wants to be early to the airport but waits until the last minute to pack. I load the car with our bags. My sister asked us to pack light so she can fit everything into the car. I have used the boys sport duffels. It does mean we have to carry our bags but they squish so they fit in tight spots. Tom has his roll away bag. I am a little jealous of the wheels, but the decision is already made. I am not going to repack everyone.





Mom and Dad are taking us to the airport so we swing by their house an hour earlier than they expected us. We have sandwiches and a drink. I stick to diet cola. I have brought the pictures from camp to show them. Tom mentions he would like to be at the airport early so we get back in the car with my Dad.





The bridge by the airport is under construction. Traffic has been horrendous recently so I suggest going an alternate way. The traffic turns out to be bad that way also. We get off the freeway and slowly wind our way across town on the city streets. It is one of the less desirable neighborhoods. But at least the traffic is moving, unlike the freeways.





Tom needs his tobacco for the trip. He wants to find a mini mart before we get to the airport. Finally he sees one he feels looks safe enough to stop, no bars on the windows. The biker dudes in the parking lot look innocent enough.



After stocking up on the tobacco products, he is content. We reach the airport and unload. Dad hugs us all and wishes us a good trip. We enter through the glass doors. Tom is pulling his bag easily while we lug ours over our shoulders. I can see already I should have repacked into the roll aways. Especially, when we get to the check in and find we are so early they are not even open yet for another 45 minutes. We are stuck wih the bags.





Tom heads to a restaurant and gets a drink. I leave our bags with him and take the children shopping. My nephew is having a birthday party while we are visiting, so I want to pick up a gift. He is an avid reader so we stop at the book store to see what is available. The boys need books to read themselves for the trip. They find books and I get a gift card. The card had a picture of Mt. Hood on it which I liked. My nephew can save it as a souvenir after the money is gone.





I had bought the boys flip flops to travel. Security makes you remove your shoes so everyone travels in easy to remove shoes or sandals these days. Riley likes his, but Trevor is already complaining about his feet hurting. The piece between his toes is uncomfortable. I am not going to travel successfully with the boys if their feet are not comfortable. We stop at the Nike store in the airport concourse in hopes Trevor can find some comfortable shoes. I have my doubts whether we can find something. I ask the sales clerk for the widest shoes they have in Trevor's size 12. He has a couple to choose from. Trevor finds a pair he likes and $130 later he is now comfortably shod for the trip. He has brought his old shoes but they are with his father in the bar and they are his only pair of shoes, so I don't mind too much having to buy another pair. Having a spare set is a good thing. He needs a spare set for school. They are the most expensive shoes though he has ever owned, by far. He is very pleased.





We head back to Tom having killed the 45 minutes. Taking our bags we head to check in and try to get our seats. Tom and I discuss who is in charge, I gracefully allow him to take over. Much easier than arguing. There are no seats available for us all to sit together. Tom asks for more leg room and gets the woman to up grade the seat space for free. It is normally a $50 upgrade, but she takes pity on us when Tom plays the sick child card. We will each take a child so the boys can't sit together, which would be a bad idea anyway. They will spend enough time in the back seat of the car together.


We decide to check our bags. They are just too much hastle to carry. I wish again we had done our roll aways. Riley's pills though stay in the backpack I have as carry on. Riley has the computers in his back pack. Everything else is replaceable if lost. We then head to security and get through it quickly. I go first and Tom brings up the rear. Riley and Trevor join me. I hear Tom conversing with the security guard after the x-ray machine. Tom calls out to Trevor that he has forgotten something really important.





Trevor goes back to the security guard who is holding Trevor's boarding pass. Trevor had left it in the bottom of his bucket after putting his shoes back on. Tom's conversation with the security guard was when the guard asked aloud who's boarding pass it was. Tom had piped up he would bet $1000 the name was Trevor McGuigan. Trevor looked very sheepish.





We have a lot of time on our hands. The red eye flight is not until 10:30 pm. It is only 8:00 pm. Tom says he knows a good restaurant, but it is on a different concourse. Gustavs is a German restaurant with sports TVs, which is Tom's criteria for a good restaurant. The boys order burgers and Tom and I get lentil soup. After eating, Riley's phone alarm goes off. It is time for his pills. Tom looks around and sees a store that has yogurt and races across the concourse to get the yogurt before the place closes at 9:00pm. The gate has started to come down, but the clerk allows Tom to get the yogurt.





It is not Riley's favorite brand but he gives it a try. He tries it and gages. He finally chokes his pills down with some of our soup. I am grateful he is now doing the fewer pills, even if they are bigger.





We head back to our gate and wait to load. Our seats are in the front, I want to load last and Tom wants to stand in line, get on early. By the time they call our row we are last. Its a win win. I get to sit next to Riley and Tom sits next to Trevor. There are mini TVs at every seat. I purchase the movie for Riley and me, Clash of the Titans. Riley is giddy at being able to finally see that movie he has wanted to see in forever. We start the movie at 11:00 pm. It lasts almost 3 hours. Riley curls up against me and tries to sleep. I flip through finding that purchasing the movie allows me to see the other available movies, a double feature. I watch Invictus. I see no point in trying to sleep when I know I wont.





As the sun comes up I finally feel tired and catch a quick nap. The flight attendants come by with orange juice and coffee. We land an hour later. I call Jen. Its 6:45 in the morning and I can tell I woke her. I tell her we will see her in an hour.



Tom wants to know where we are meeting, I say downstairs outside baggage claim. We are hungry and Tom needs his coffee. There are lines everywhere. Its New York. I hate waiting in lines. I go to stand in line for coffee and a muffin and Tom heads to baggage claim. He calls my cell to tell me there is a donut shop downstairs with no line, but I already have his coffee and committed to this line. It does go quickly and I am able to join the boys and him at the carousel just in time to catch our bags.





It is warm outside. An indication of how hot it will be later.


Jen arrives in her legacy station wagon to pick us up. All the luggage fits. But it probably would have fit if we had used roll aways. Leason learned.

pick up

I was so antsy to find out how camp went, I was up early and headed up to the mountain by 8:00 am to find my boys. Pick up was between 10 and 12. I had not taken the directions with me. The car had to go into the shop for an oil change. I had removed the directions so I wouldn't lose them and had forgotten to return them to the car. After dog legging some country roads, I called Tom. "

Help, I need to know where the camp is from where I am." I found the camp soon after that. It is down in a valley by the river with no cell service. Tom had no idea if I had found the place and kept sending me messages to call him back which I could not do until after we left the camp area. I saw all the missed calls at that time. I had Riley call his Dad back, since that is really who he wanted to hear from.



When I got to camp, an hour early, they had not had their closing fire side ceremony. I got checked in as authorized pick up, with my own wrist band with the boys names on it for security. Then I went looking for the boys.I located them at their tree top cabins packing and cleaning up. Well the other cabin mates were cleaning, my boys were outside hanging out with their new friends. Everyone started telling me about the boys adventures during the week all at once. It is one of the advantages to coming early, they want to share and the story is fresh and new to them. They haven't yet told it over and over again.

I told the boys they could stay for fireside. I checked out their cabins. Wow, bathrooms in the cabins, carpet and dry wall, mudroom in the front with wrap around bench and hooks to hang coats and towels, enough room for everyone. It looked really clean and nice. Not the primitive conditions my boys had had at previous camps. It wasn't a dark damp space with beat up bunks. Decks connected the cabins. The cabins were on stilts on the side of a hill high above the forest floor, like a tree house, overlooking a wooded paradise. It was definitely a step up.



Since I was early I was able to avoid the lines again. While the boys said their farewells to friends and ran around looking for lost camera and t shirts, I got the bags and unused medicine, then I joined the fire side. They sang songs and the staff talked about how special the campers were and how much they look forward to seeing everyone next year. One councilor started to choke up with tears.

A councilor I stood next to, in the back, out of the way, told me about two boys who met at camp and did their bone marrow together so they could be at the hospital together.

Trevor's cabin councilor told me about Trevor trekking across to the other side of camp to the showers then coming back for his towel, then coming back for his soap. I laughed, it was so classic Trevor.

The pool was freezing and un heated. Trevor passed the swim test. They had to jump in the water and swim the pool length and then float for a minute. Riley wouldn't jump in. His is excuse was the doctor said no jumping or diving. Really, Riley just doesn't like pools that much. Cold water pools are the worst. They had several water balloon fights. Trevor said they got the little kids really good, then the girls attacked back in revenge.

One boy in Riley's cabin brought a book. As soon as he was done with it or when he didn't want it, Riley read it. They had FBT time which was Flat bunk time, rest for the councilors and the kids. That was the time they were supposed to write home or read quietly or nap. Trevor said his councilor let the kids play cards during that time.

The boys had nick names T man and Scorpion. They had picked their own names. Riley said he really made a good friend with a boy nick named Road Runner. Another boy told me how much he thought T man was a wild thing and so much fun. The councilors passed out black river rocks and talked about how old rocks are and to notice the flaws included in their smooth beauty. The flaws only added to the interest of the rock and did not detract from its natural beauty. We were to carry the rocks with us to remember the experiences had at camp and the friends made. The memories will last like the rock. I got teary eyed. The councilor next to me gave me a hug. I held my rock all the way home, rubbing its smooth surface.

I now have that rock in my purse. I will keep it there to hold and remember that it is old and beautiful forever. It is a wonderful destresser and focus tool.



Once we got in the car home, the boys immediately started singing camp songs. "You can do Camp, UCANDU Camp" over and over again. Other songs rang out. I smiled. We called Tom so he could hear their voices for himself and know they were alive and well and happy.

I sent them right to showers and bed once we were home. They didn't even argue. The cat that hadn't made an appearance all week settled on Trevor's pillow right above his head and slept also.

camp drop off

Riley stood in the parking lot looking at the arriving campers. He said he was trying to pick out the sick ones. He couldn't tell. I told him some had probably finished their treatments or were siblings or like him, in between. There were a few obvious ones; A girl on crutches, another family unloading a wheel chair. The addition of healthy siblings makes the camp seem normal.

One of the things I noticed at the camp was rather than young high school councilors for the cabins, the councilors were grown adults. Riley's councilor had the nick name Viking, was six foot tall, and probably weighing 210 pounds, sporting a beautiful full grown red beard. He looked at least 28 years old. Trevor's councilor was a wirey young man also in his 20's. Trevor probably out weighed him by 30 pounds. The boys stay in different cabins due to their age difference. Probably just as well as they would fight if sharing the same space.

We were early so the check in process wasn't quite ready for us. There were two decorated golf carts in the gravel parking lot to help carry bags. They also had big garden carts. The boys loaded a garden cart, but then a golf cart drive took pity of me and loaded the bags into his back flatbed. The boys returned the cart and off we went down the path in the woods, to a wood lodge tucked back in the trees.

The boys were given colored wrist bands like you get in the hospital. Riley's was red and Trevor's was blue. Their councilor's had matching colors. I could see it was a very slick way of quickly identifying everyone. The next line was paperwork. Ours was in order. I just had to fill out one for who would be picking up the children at the end, and a behavior form that we all signed saying that if the boys misbehave they know I will be called to pick them up. It was similar to the one at school, listing the rules and order of punishments, pretty much standard procedure.

The next table had nurses. They took the bags of medication. I had brought one for emergencies that we had never used, the epi pin, constipation and nausea meds, that kind of stuff. I had also brought his regular meds, of course. One nurse worked with me. She sorted through them all individually. She said they had most of the emergency meds I had brought already on sight, but she would keep the bag just in case. She wrote comments on the side of a sheet of paper that listed Riley's regular meds and how much and how often and what part of the day they were to be administered. She even took note that he wanted yogurt with them so he could swallow the pills. I had sent a little extra on all the meds as back up, but I could tell she had it all under control. She was meticulous in the details.

I also mentioned if Riley wanted to use his Retinol more often on his skin, morning and night rather than just nights, he was welcome to do that. I told Riley it was at his discretion. The nurse was comfortable with the arrangement. They like to encourage the children to feel responsible even though the nurses keep ultimate control.

The next table was their camp T shirts and baseball caps. They were white with camp UCANDU and a cute camper design. Once through these tables, we went outside where there was water and crackers waiting served by an elderly volunteer, a grandmother, petite and sweet. At that point we had to wait for the rest of the campers to be checked in. The boys councilors where going to take them to see their cabins. The gear had already been delivered directly to the cabins from the parking lot. The golf cart drivers had camper names on a list with their assigned cabin number and had stuck duck tape on the bags with those numbers, so he knew where to deliver everything.

Being early helped avoid much of the lines. The nurses took the longest, as you can imagine. But the whole system was very well organized and efficient. From checking all emergency numbers and the medications, to making sure the children were comfortable and happy, the staff was cheerful and accommodating. Perhaps that is why I have not stressed as much as Tom. Had he been there to see it he would have felt much more comfortable this week. It was almost like dropping the children off at a hospital resort. Primitive since children like camping atmosphere, a theme hospital.

I have heard nothing from them all week. I pick the boys up tomorrow morning. I will probably be early again. I want to hear all about it. Yesterday I was so focused on the numbers that I didn't ask the nurse that called how things were going. She probably wouldn't have known anyway or just fed me platitudes. I look forward to juicy stinky hugs tomorrow first thing.

numbers

Riley had his blood drawn at camp. The doctor's nurse called with the results. He didn't need us to come in to talk. That must mean the numbers were unexceptional. Tom was disappointed in them. His response was "sh#&". They are kind of the marginal that we were afraid of.

Platelets 62,000 up a little from 53,000
White cells 2.4 down from 2.7
ANC 1100
Hemoglobin 10.4 up "Yeah" low normal range
Reticulacites or new cells 1.7 up a little


New appointment July 22 for next blood draw

Since we haven't heard from camp, I assume everything is going well. Tom wanted me to call and ask, but I have a rule. If you call and ask you are sure to achieve the nightmare you are trying to avoid. Its like checking in on the babysitter while on a date. They will call if they need to. I did confirm with the camp the day before that the blood draw was scheduled and the nurse said yes and she would call me back with the results. Which she did, after conferring with the doctor, so she could answer my questions fully.

I have been enjoying the freedom. I went up to Longview to see some friends. We played and watched chick movies. I had no children or dog or pet or husband with me. It was all girls. It was a nice estrogen high. I brought a girlfriend back with me. Her family joined us for a barbecue. It was nice to have company. What was also nice was knowing the house was fairly presentable without having to do a massive clean up before hand.

Tom and I are all a twitch though over wanting to know how camp is going. I told the councilors Trevor was the go to guy for all gross and disgusting things. Trevor chimed in that he had won the cricket spitting contest last year at camp. He grinned ear to ear with pride. I did too for that matter. He is willing to put himself out there and embarrass himself to make people happy and laugh. He has the biggest heart.

I handed Riley a small bottle of sanitizer as I left the camp. He tucked it into his pocket and gave me one of those half hugs you get from teens, only one arm and a small quick clench at that. He said he was really looking forward to the climbing wall. Ack, I am glad I am not there watching. That is almost up there with the plane ride. He at least wears a harness so he can't get too hurt.

I was glad to see the weather cooperate and the sun come out and warm us up. Hopefully they got to swim. I sent them both with new , in the box, goggles. I can only hope they fit. At least the boys will be rinsed off in a pool, if they are not showering. I am told 120 children were participating. I made a donation, since the camp was free for the boys.

Without Children

The house is so quiet. I made Flank steaks for dinner at 5:30. By 6:30 we were upstairs in bed reading books. Tom is reading an Austrian Political Economist. He has been studying his work for months now. Ludwig Von Mises was a prolific writer and quite interesting. Tom has been plowing through these 600 page text books with the TV on Bloomberg watching the world news. He loves to multi task.

When he plays poker on line, sometimes he will play more than one table at a time. I have seen him play three tables at once. In tournaments though he can only do one table at a time. He has been consistently a top 100 finisher out of fields 1400. He is practicing for his dream of participating in one of those million dollar pots. It is fun entertainment and often it is only at fake play money sights, though he says they don't bet the same with play money as the real sights. He has set himself an allowance for the gaming which works for both of us, but I still like the nights when he picks up a book rather than the computer.

As Tom reads , he quotes the author to me when something really interesting appears in the text. We may discuss the concept. Well, he'll talk about it and I'll listen mostly. Since I don't have my nose in an economic text book, it is a little harder for me to contribute to the conversation. Thank goodness for my economics degree over 20 years ago or I wouldn't be able to converse at all. I am slogging through a another book he gave me to read. A small treatise on the gold standard. I'll read some then put it down for something else that is a little more fun.

I just started the new book "The Girl who kicked the hornets nest" I had ordered it from Barns and Noble to be sent as soon as it went to press. that was back in May. I was so excited to get it then it has taken this long to open the book. It is the third and last book in a series. It drops me right back into the characters lives as I had left them when book two ended. Escapism at its best. I do need to get through it because I have many family who are reading the series, but I am the only one with book three. I was the only one willing to pay hard bound price for the third book when it came out. So I have to get through it so I can share it. I think we might bring it with us on our trip. Tom read one and two also.

Tom is an avid reader. It is one of the things I find attractive about him. We sit and read our respective books. This night the house is so quiet otherwise, I wonder if the TV is on just to make noise. Usually it is going so Trevor can't hear us clearly. In the next room, the walls are uninsulated, he tells us he can hear everything we do, and don't we think it might cause him development issues? I hear my alarm go off on my cell phone downstairs. It's the reminder that Riley needs to take his 9:00 pills before bed. We get to ignore it tonight.

We are getting so old, at 9:30 Tom turns the TV off with the remote and rolls over to sleep. I remember when it was normal to stay up past 11:00 pm. We still do sometimes, but Tom gets up at 5:00 am every day for work. As Tom reaches for his bed side light to turn it off, Tom asks me if I am worried. My response is to say that I know there is a Doctor on sight, and multiple nurses. I have met the doctor who is attending the camp, in one of our clinic visits. I am confident that Riley is in good hands turn off my light and sleep. Not keeping one ear open for the children, I sleep soundly for once.

Chores

The boys are gone for the week. I got up and jogged/walked with a friend then came home and mowed the lawn. Every three or four days it must be mowed. I gave it some weed and feed so it has been very happily growing. With the push mower you really have to stay on top of it. The sun was out for a brief time and I wanted to take advantage of the dry spell.

Once the lawn was mowed and the border grass and weeds pulled, I felt I could go tackle the inside. For once I will get my chores done and they will stay done. I wont come back to the kitchen to find spilled hot cocoa on the counters just minutes after wiping them down. I vacuumed the whole house. My girlfriend who had loaned me her dog for the week came by to retrieve him. Bucky was so sad to see him go. I just feel like I can get some control over the house now without the boys underfoot. I wish I had more time.

I have booked myself up with things to do also. So I really have to squeeze every once out of the days. I am going to transfer photos to my new computer tomorrow. I am also going to see a friend who is in town visiting. Some how I have to continue sorting and organizing. I would also like to finish the floors. But there just isn't enough time for that this week. I might fix some unfinished projects that I already have started though. that would be good.

fathers day up date

After dropping the boys at camp, I drove to town to meet up with my sisters. We were going out to dinner, just the three of us . We had bought cards for our dads that are with us, the significant others that fill the role for those that have gone before us. They are as special to us as our missing Dads, even more so because they are so precious.

At the end of dinner we found our meal had been paid for. We spent many minutes discussing who could have done that special deed. It was a wonderfully sentimental night.

Fathers Day

Tom woke me twice this morning asking what time I was leaving with the boys for camp. The first time was 6:45. We don't need to go until 11:00 am. I got the hint and got the boys up to present their gifts to their dad. I had hidden them under the bed the night before.

Riley had picked out a suit jacket for his dad. Tom had mentioned he wanted another one. Trevor had purchased a Oregon State designed bowl at school during the art sale. He also had a book on "Thrill Rides" in hopes of inspiring Tom to take him while we are back East this summer. I doubt we will, Riley cant take any G forces.

We all had picked out cards. Mine was a sentimental card. Riley's was musical. Trevor had tried to draw a hand holding up the number one finger, you know, "Go Beavs", in his card. But the way the drawing came out it looked more like he was flipping his dad off. Tom laughed hardest over that card. He said it was a keeper.

Now the boys are doing their last minute adjustments before we hit the road for camp. Tom said he would drive the boys if it weren't father's day, hmmm. Its the US Open last day. We spent all day yesterday watching it also. So the kids and I are off to camp, then I am joining my sisters for a sentimental dinner after seeing my step dad and mom for cocktails. I am guessing Tom is looking forward to having the house to himself. He seems awful cheerful at the thought of being left at home with the TV remote. I told him he was included in our dinner if he would like to come, he declined.

The boys are excited. By mid week the weather is supposed to clear up. I hope it does.
Tom commented on all the gear they are taking, wondering if it will be this bad when we go to New York. I pointed out that half the bags were sleeping bags. The weather should be nicer so we can pack lighter. The boys wont need ski jackets for the cold raining evenings. Its be in the mid 50's every night, and its mid June.

I just remind myself of the rainy summers in 1992, the floods in 1995 and 1997. We have seen this before. so much for Global Warming. There is still snow falling on Mt. Hood. Its glacier is growing. The US Open has even been cool and overcast, in Pebble Beach California this year. Perfect golfing weather, not too hot, not too cold. The Golfers are in long sleeved sweaters. I have seen a couple of outfits that might look very good on Tom.

Camp

The boys go to American Cancer Camp this week. Doctors and nurses come from Dornbechers. They have the records of the sick children attending, at the camp. They draw blood and administer medications. Riley would not be going to camp if it weren't for this program. The medical staff know the issues these children have and accommodate for their needs.

Trevor was invited as a sibling guest. Both boys have been going to camp every year since cub scouts in first grade. They did day camp and then graduated to overnight the next year. Then the lengths of the overnights got longer until they were gone a week. I went one year to the overnight on the sub at OMSI, and the overnight at the zoo. What I didn't do was the longer than one night stays. I just like my hot showers and real bathrooms too much.

There was a mom who liked to go. She was another den leader and quite capable. I would give her my seven seat mini van for the trip with my blessing. I did not mind being without a car for a week if the alternative was camping with 200 stinky boys for a week.

My week was bliss, freedom and peace. I did miss the boys at the end of the week. I was excited to hear their adventures when they got back. I anticipate the same experience this time. I am a little more stressed though. I worry Riley wont drink enough fluids or remember to take his pills. I am grateful for the staff. I am relying on them to remind Riley.

I will talk to Trevor about saying only the right things at all times. Some of these children, boys and girls, will be bald from their treatments or in wheel chairs from missing limbs or weakness. The brochure shows a pool and an indoor four wall climbing wall. It also showed some very sick children have a wonderful summer camp experience.

All the children on the 10th floor at Dornbechers get invited. It is one of those benefits to being on the 10th floor, Hemoglobin and Cancer. At Dornbecher's the sign shows a pink starfish for the department. The dermatologist is on the 7th floor which is frogs. A kangaroo shows the location of the elevators. They try to make the place as child friendly as possible.
In the clinic, a TV plays G rated movies all day, in the waiting room. I anticipate this camp to be of a similar vein. As fun and friendly as possible under the circumstances.

I wonder how primitive the cabins are and what the shower accommodations are like. I am assuming unlike the boys other camps, they encourage bathing and cleanliness. Riley would come home in the same cloths he left in a week earlier, or if he changed, the cloths in the bag would stand by themselves with the filth. Riley needs to keep a certain level of cleanliness now. I will send him with toothpaste and soap, in hopes. Of course when I drop Riley off, I will discuss it with the staff. I think I might make a list for his file of the medication schedule and needs. I am sure other parents will do the same.

While the boys are gone I am going to try motivating and getting Trevor's room cleaned up. I am also going to see a few friends. It is much more freeing to tell friends I am not bringing my children with me when I come to visit. Its kind of like not bringing your dog on a trip. You don't have to go check on them to see what they are up to or if they are making a mess. Trips are the one time I do let the boys play on line or computer games. That way they are quiet and not making messes.

I think Riley will like being at camp. He wont be the odd protected sick child there. He will be with other kids even sicker than he is,. It will be "normal". Not only that, but I love the idea of camp yet knowing he is under full supervision of nursing staff. Tom and I feel so much more comfortable when we are at the hospital. If something were to happen the staff is available immediately to respond. The doctor had to sign off on Riley's ability to go to camp , which makes me feel even better. If the doctor thinks he is healthy enough to participate, then who am I to worry.

Well, as a mom its my job to worry. I have to be so careful not to make Riley even more paranoid than he already is. It is hard to wait this time out, when we know with Bone Marrow Transplant, all this would be past us and Riley could get on with his life as if nothing happened. He could play contact sports again. I don't think he will do football again, having lost a season. It is hard to play catch up, but we'll see. At least he can ride a bike and play golf on a busy day. He can learn to drive a car and not worry about surviving a fender bender. I have reached a point where I realize life moves on. Riley cannot be bubble boy. He can't live this way forever.

The doctor says Riley has some resistance. Be germ phobic but don't lock yourself away. I would like to go up to the mountains again. I know the boys love sledding if not getting back to skiing. Snow shoeing might be fun to try. All this is on hold until Riley is fixed. Camp will give the boys a feeling of that freedom again. The ability to do fun aggressive activities that are so important for their courage. Riley is looking forward to the climbing wall. There would be no way I would let him do that now. I know the camp will be well supervised. If they don't think Riley should do it, they wont let him. They will know his case.

From what I understand each nurse that attends will be assigned specific children. They will have consulted with the doctor about those children. They will know the dangers and the limitations. They will know the medications and when to administer them. i am handing the boys over to a capable crew to have a wonderful week of total play.

Waa

The boys and I had bible study this morning. Then the boy next door dropped by with his x box Halo game. I am so tired of the violence, and coming right after bible study was more than I could endure. I told the boys "No you can not play Halo." This game is all about army men with serious weapons shooting other army men with serious weapons.

When they play it they yell at each other, and fight when one gets shot by friendly fire, so to speak. I dislike it in my house and I put my foot down. I told the boys to play something else. They claimed not to have another multi player game. I said tough, go play a board game. I am the mom and I think the game is violent.

The boys didn't want to go to the store with me. I knew it was so they could play the game while I was out. I don't mind the racing games or Mario games. But the realistic humanoid figures that attack each other and blow each other up, no wonder students don't have a clue how to behave in society and school. They are visually inundated with violence for hours playing games. How will the world ever have peace when our children are taught violence so early.

They whine and complain claiming the games aren't violent at all. I tell them to put in a game that doesn't have guns. They claim those are all broken. Too bad. I have little sympathy. They have plenty of games they just don't want to play the non violent ones.
I don't think my girlfriends with daughters have this problem. They get to fight over whether their daughter is old enough to go to the mall with a friend unsupervised. I can't even interest my boys in going to the mall. They want to watch violence on TV.

Tom wont help very much. He bought half the violent games we have in the house. At least when I am in charge I can make the rules. This summer there will be no violent games while I am in charge. Thank goodness most of our summer activities involve being away from computer games and TV. I think I will just have the games disappear. The boys probably wont know the difference since they don't do a very good job taking care of their electronic toys. They don't put them back in the boxes and many have gotten scratched. I like the board games and reading and bionicles. Perhaps with the electronic games missing they will revert back to the games I approve.

Feet

Today was all about Trevor's feet. He needed football cleats for his camp this week. I read somewhere that letting your children go barefoot was good for their development. Their feet would develop naturally and not suffer from pains of conformity to poorly fit shoes. I kept their shoes to a minimum growing up. Trevor still runs barefoot regularly. Both boys have widely spaced toes as a result of that freedom.



We stopped at the outlet store to try on Adidas. We picked out a pair of cleats and Trevor takes his shoes off. No socks, we are going shoe shopping and he didn't put socks on today. I ask if they have football socks, but they only have regular crew socks. I have to buy a six pack so I don't feel badly about Trevor trying on shoes with stinky feet. The large size sock is a 6to 12 size. Trevor can barely get the socks on due to his sweaty feet.



Trevor wants a 13 size but it left over an inch of room in the front. I made him squeeze into a 12. The length was good, but the sides of the cleats looked ready to split the seams. I asked the clerk if they had wider sizes. They did not. I told the boys we would try the Nike store. The clerk said Nike would be even narrower. I had thought that they might be, that was why I tried Adidas first. All those skinny light track runners have small light feet. The clerk suggested I check out Dicks sporting goods. It used to be GI Joes in the day. They tend to have a wider selection, figuratively and literally.



I was on the way to see my mother in law for lunch with the boys. There was a Dicks in the area, I was told. We had to have lunch first. The boys can only take so much shopping before they need sustinance. When we got to GI Joes we found the place out of business, but a Big Five was in the next mall. They had Nike and Adidas brands, but they also had other brands. I ask which is the widest that you have. I was told I was a little early in the season but Eastern was a brand that tended to be a bit wider and was in stock.



The twelve was a perfect fit. It probably wont last the season since Trevor will have a growth spurt in the next 6 months, probably before summer is out, which will put him out of the 12 perfect fit. But at least now I have a wide sized brand to turn to for the next size without having to try every shoe in the store, and every store in the area. I had no idea the shoes he had on today were Eastern to begin with. No wonder they fit.



Now all we have to do is get him the pants since the Junior league did have his adult size. I am hopeful they might have something at the camp since it is at the high school being taught by the high school coach and some of the team players. I used to laugh internally at moms discussing the difficulty of getting shoes and clothing for their children once they reach that certain size. Shopping was so easy for me. Now I understand. There is that day when your children reach a size that is not carried at the local Fred Meyer or Walmart. You have to go searching. There are no deals any more. It is work dragging your child around to various stores unsuccessfully.



I told my boys I was supposed to have girls. We would be doing ballet and dance instead of football. They would like shopping. How I ended up with boys I don't know. I read all the books on how to procreate girls, and still I have boys. In a weak moment, Tom even gave me the opportunity to have another child and I turned him down afraid I would have another boy. I told him if he would guarantee a girl I would do it, but he told me he would make no guarantees. So I have my boys. They are noisy and smelly and messy, but I wouldn't trade them for anything, even if I do have to start shopping at the Big and Tall stores for men, dragging them along with me.



Tom will soon have to stand on the stairs when he gets mad at the boys so he can look down on them from above. Or he catches them sitting, while he stands above them. Tom knows all the tricks of intimidation, and looks forward to using them as needed on his teen age sons. I told my boys to marry orphans so I can get my daughter without any in law sharing.



The key though in the meantime to shopping with boys is bribery. We had Carmel apples at a chocolate store between shoes stores. I figured that the apple part was half healthy. At another store we bought somewhat unnecessary under armour tops. Anything to keep those boys engaged and happy long enough to achieve my errand of finding Trevor cleats that fit. By the time the day was over the boys were exhausted and done shopping and my wallet was much lighter. We achieved our goal though, so I count it as a successful day.

Evolution

If you have followed the recent science news, you know that scientist have created life. Not just cloning, they have created an independent DNA strand. This new life survived. DNA the strand of life that is unique and distinctive in each of us.

Tom and I are fascinated with this creation. In school the Theory of evolution is not taught as a theory. It is not called "Theory". It is called just "evolution". We discuss the implications after dinner. The argument has been that if not evolution then God created life. An either or argument. Now the door is open for more choices. Aliens? Meteors from other planets? A time loop? The theories could be endless and limited only by our imagination.

We have made life. The argument for Evolution is that there was no interference in the creation of life. Lightning struck and green scum grew. From that scum came amoebas and then the oceans grew varieties of life. Some crawled out on the shores and developed on land. Until eventually time passes and brings us to intelligent humans. No interference of higher intelligence from slime to man.

The Bible says God created the earth and all on it, including man. It's in Genesis. Now scientists have created life in that independent strand of life DNA. This is bigger than cloning, which is duplicating what is already here. To make something unique and new that did not ever exist before is fascinating. It opens all sorts of questions. It is no longer either evolution or God. Now there is interference to be considered.

Did you ever wonder about the amazing differences between whales and elephants. Sharks and lions, each predators in their own environment. Did we develop from monkey's or some one's petri dish. Where did God come from?

Science fiction has often mirrored the future. What if this is a giant matrix and we are in a giant computer playing some game. Star Trek had an episode where highly intelligent brains put Captain Kirk through tests so they could watch his reactions and study him. If we can create life, Do we get to do it over and over again. Tom suggests it is like a ride, Total Recall. We paid a token to be a middle class family. If we had paid less for our ride we would have been reborn in Pakistan or some third world country.

Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Depending how you lived this life lets you move up the evolutionary scale, or not. you could be reborn a worm. Who tweaked the DNA? Would you want to live forever? In talking to really old people, they are content to be ready to go. They have outlived their friends. their bodies are failing them. They can't do the things they used to do and they don't like it. Do we get another trip? Can the DNA be changed to get better results.

As scientists start to identify each strand of DNA they get that much closer to being able to adjust it. Bone marrow transplant is amazing in that the stem cells of a stranger are injected into the body of a sick person. They naturally know how to find the marrow area they are supposed to go to and reproduce, like salmon going upstream, but they weren't born there. What is the sent that draws them to the right place.

I see a future where scientists will be able to tweak the DNA strand of diseases and the whole body will clone the change and the disease will disappear. No surgery or chemotherapy necessary. Insurance wont cancel or refuse to carry someone because of a pre existing condition. Will we grow old at all? Robert Heinlein wrote a series of books about a man Lazareth Long. He didn't age. He lived centuries. He saw space exploration. Are we now at that birth?

It wont be overnight. It probably took 50 years to find the way to make DNA from scratch.
Our children may see cures of cancer as old people, if they are lucky. But we are intelligent people. We will keep up the explorations. I just hope political interferences doesn't slow us down. I am a science fiction buff because the writers have imagination to see the future before it happens. If you pick the optimistic view points, we will solve our problems and explore the universe. We already have unmanned probes exploring for us. Imagine sending out DNA as a seed. Did someone do it to us? We now know its possible, we did it ourselves.

Promotion

Riley opted not to go to his Promotion from eighth grade to high school this last week. I told him it was like a graduation. Tom didn't care. He said the big ones were high school and college of course. The only one I did attend of mine was eighth grade.

I had a cream colored dress and my hair up in a bun, all dressed up. In Public school , the kids are told they can dress up, no spaghetti strap or inappropriate attire. Some do, most of the girls. The boys, again some do. There are a few that do not. Riley knew there would be a crowd of people. It was more than a crowd. I am told the place was packed, standing room only by the time everyone got in. Figure 180 plus students graduating, excuse me, promoting, each student has two parents and then all the extras, siblings and grand parents and close friends. You can imagine the crowd.

I haven't particularly liked graduations anyway. Its selfish really, you have to sit through every name called in the class. Riley comes toward the back, so you would have to wait awhile. I went to my sister in laws graduation for her masters in college. There were 450 graduating that day. She was a B. Riley was about a 7 months old. I pinched him so he would cry and I could get up and leave. We went to play outside in a courtyard for the next two hours that ceremony took. The family gathering afterwards was much more fun.

For my high school graduation, my Paternal Grand mother signed up for a trip to China and asked if I would like to go with her. Yes? It was not a hard decision. But the flight left before graduation. I barely knew any one in my graduating class of 425. That is considered small in the city these days. Coming from a private grade school of a class of 25 students, and then that was split into two groups of 13 for each teacher. To have over 30 students in every class had been overwhelming for me in high school. I put high school behind me.

College was Whitman. A beautiful school in Walla Walla. In the middle of the rolling wheat fields of Eastern Washington. An intimate setting. I also requested an older dorm with two rooms. I liked the idea of a little privacy. The freshman dorms only had one room for two roommates. I was assigned a room mate. She became one of my dearest life long friends.

I would like my boys to attend a smaller college. At least Riley. I think he would flourish in that atmosphere. Trevor, I haven't made up my mind about yet. He makes friends easily, but is not the best of students. He is going to college. We will have to wait and see which one.
Tom is such a Beaver fan, he is indoctrinating the boys. I think though Riley will want to pick his own road.

The Principal called after the Promotion ceremony was over. It was after 9:00 pm. She wanted to know if she could drop by and drop off Riley's diploma. I had already
put the boys to bed, so I suggested another day when she was free. Friday worked. The tutor would also be there. I thought that would be nice. Friday, she calls and says she is on her way. It worked well since Trevor had missed the bus and wanted me to pick him up after school. With the tutor here I couldn't leave until after she was done. The Principal said she could bring Trevor home. She and the Vice Principal drove Trevor home. They came in with brownies and the diploma in a black folder. Inside, there was a school photo of Riley on one side and the certificate on the other. Riley was pleased by the attention.

Trevor had also brought home their year books. Riley was in a couple of photos from earlier in the year. Trevor had taken both books around to have signed. It was lovely. Having worked on year books myself for the boys in elementary school, I know how much work it is. I also know they have to be submitted at least two months in advance to be done by their due date. I was glad Riley was in a couple pictures. Trevor had some great shots himself. He loves to dress up for spirit days, so he had a hilarious photo as a sports fan with a Beaver claw and all dressed in Orange.

The school year is now over. We play out the summer. Tom and I are both waiting impatiently for Riley's next set of numbers. A nurse from Dornbechers called to tell me she could draw the numbers at camp so Riley wouldn't have to be pulled early for his appointment. He could stay at camp the whole week. I loved that. I dread the sitting at home with no plans. I want those boys busy this summer.

Little people

I can tell what summer will be like when we are in town. I have a house full of children running and playing. Rule is that when Tom is home they can't play at our house. I am borrowing a friend's dog for the week. She is on a trip so her dog has come to play with mine. They are good friends and have played before. Everyone has playmates today, the children and the dog.


I love having the young ones over. They are so cute. My boys know they have to play age appropriate games around the young ones. No violence, no Halo, Nascar makes the cut and so does Mario Party.


The two year old finds me on my computer, the dogs at my feet. He wants the dogs to come play. The dogs have realized I am safe zone. He asks why they wont come with him. I tell him they like the quiet of my special room. The sun comes in the window and they bask in the warmth. he makes a comment that he thinks "she" does want to come, I just have to bring her. I tell the child the dogs are both boy dogs.



"Why?" he asks.



Why are they boys? What to say. I ask, "why are you a boy? "

" Because my brother is a boy."

" What happens if you had been a girl?"

"That's silly, my mom is a girl!"

He asks again "Why are they boys?" full circle. Not my child. I am not going to get into the details with someone else's child, a 2 year old at that, but the conversation makes me smile.

"They just are." I say.

"Oh".That satisfies for the moment. He wonders off. I love having small children around. He leaves the room without the dogs. The dogs sleep on under my feet, protected for the moment.

Friends tell me my boys should play with older children their own age. They do. We have another neighbor boy that comes over and plays hours of Halo on the x-box with my boys. I prefer the days when the little ones are in the house and all the kids have to play nicer games. They play with army men, making forts, and monster bionicles they invent themselves. They use their own imaginations to have wonderful adventures including everyone.

There is a drawback. Plugged into the TV there is no mess. On little people play days, I have little pieces of bionicle all over the house. The play room is a disaster of dumped out toy boxes. But the joy I hear in the shrieks of glee is worth the mess. It is their play game, not spoon fed to them through a machine. It is not viewing violence on TV.

Boys will be boys. They will make guns with sticks and play war. But it is just in their minds and their own thoughts. It is not something they see with the real eye over and over again like the war games on the computer. I'll put up with the mess, and the dogs know to hide under my feet so they don't become targets.

The broken chair

My mom finally asked which chair the children broke. I knew she eventually would. She wouldn't be able to stand not knowing. Most of the furniture in our home came from her at one time or another. She furnished all our houses, my sister and brother and mine. You can hardly tell she gave anything away though.

Its partly because she has a big house and partly because she has been the care giver for the next generation up for many years. She is the only woman on her side of the family of that generation, and closest relative to many elderly cousins. Over time she has stayed in contact and had to assist them as they aged out of their homes. When the relative passes, it has become her job to clean up.


There was 98 year old Aunt Lucy on the east side of town. She was really my Step Dad's Aunt. I am guessing his father's sister, but don't quote me. Doc had 12 siblings I understand. She was a hoarder and survivor of the depression era and the War. She had saved every nylon she ever wore and the leather insoles of her shoes. She couldn't see, was completely blind. But she could count the steps to the local mini mart on her street. Mom had her for dinner one night for her birthday. She complained the food was bland. The woman was so old she had no taste buds left. Due to her strong personality and the assistance of family checking in on her, mom would take her shopping, she was able to stay in her house until the end.

Then there was Margaret Luse. She had a rent controlled apartment in San Fransisco for at least 60 years if not longer. She was smart as a tack. Never married, nor did her brother. He was a merchant marine in WWII. She was a savvy investor also. She grew up in Coos Bay where the original pioneers on my mother's side of the family settled. When Margaret finally gave up that apartment in San Fransisco, I am sure the land lord was thrilled to get it back. Margaret went back to Coos Bay to live. She got herself a house on the beach, but ended up in a retirement home. My parents would make regular trips to visit her. She was a chain smoker at 96. The facility told her there was no smoking in her room so she would hang out all day in a garden room that did allow smoking. They tried to limit her to one carton a day or one cigarette an hour. She told them to .... Well, she was outspoken. At 96 what was she going to do, die? My mom loved Margaret Luse.

What I am trying to say is all our furniture has history. It came from someone in the family. Mom would inherit or take care of the estate for the rest of the family. For the children moving out, she had beds, dressers, tables and chairs, whole kitchen sets available and waiting in the basement or garage, in storage for us. We didn't purchase things for our homes without checking with Gigi first to see if she had one, what ever it was.

So this chair the children broke had history. It was a Windsor rocking chair with a wicker seat. It was in Louisville, Kentucky. It probably came from my Dad's family or the Marquette Hotel which my great grandfather owned and my Dad helped manage when he was in College. My mother rocked us in it when we were born. I had rocked my boys in it when they were born. Perhaps my Dad had been rocked in it when he was little. It was old and the stained arms were worn with the hands of many generations. The chair was stained black, but the stain had faded. It wasn't a fake antique, it was real.

When I heard the crash I knew I would be devastated and would dwell on the loss. I did. I moved the chair to the front porch in pieces. I couldn't bare to throw it away. I would see it every day. Finally one day we were going to have company, so I had to move it to the garage, where it now resides. I know from all my shows that I watch I could have it repaired, but repaired chairs have lost most of their financial value. I would only be repairing it for sentimental value. All four legs broke. Trevor went down so hard that pieces splintered off the top of the back curve also. The wood was brittle.


My mom feels the same pain I do. There is so much sentimental value in that chair. She has offered to have it looked at, to see if it is even reasonable to have it repaired. If the back hadn't broken also, I would be more enthusiastic. I am just unsure if it is wasted effort and money at this point. So I told her I would pull a "Ginger". I would give her the broken chair to do with what she will. If she can get it fixed fantastic. If it can't be fixed, it is her job to throw it away.

Tom calls some of the things we receive "Gigi's treasures". They are beat up or dinged. Ornaments we made as children, dishes with chips, tables with rings in the finish, a dresser with still active wood worms in it from Margaret Luse, or dressers with fragil drawers. She can't just throw these treasures away or donate them. So she passes them on. They are treasures with sentimental value. It is our responsibility now to do with these items what we will. Passing them on takes away the guilt over what to do with them. So I am giving Gigi the broken rocking chair. I can't stand the thought of throwing such a treasure away. I am abdicating responsibility.

I made Tom laugh last night

I made Tom laugh last night. I told him I hadn't any good updates for my blog so I was going to pull an old event out that brings a smile to our faces. You can have adventures sometimes that were stressful but in hind sight see the humor. What brought this particular story to light was being back in the hospital at that medical appointment.

The first time my dad got sick, he had recently found out about the colon tumor. He was to see a liver colon specialist to schedule his surgery. The day before the appointment, he had full blockage. In excruciating pain, he drove himself the five miles to the hospital, since he lived by himself, and did not want to bother with an ambulance. It was an emergency surgery rather than a planned operation. He did not have time or the ability to flush his system out prior to the partial colon removal, which made it a particularly messy surgery.

Dad had just enough time to call a best friend in the area and tell him to contact the family, namely me. I had known I was emergency contact for my dad and the time had come. It was one of those moments when the angels intervened. I was volunteering at the boys school when Terri, my Dad's friend, tried to call. Tom happened to be home from work, getting some lunch which is rare indeed. Tom got the call. He had to track me down, figure out where I was. Here is the first humor of the event. He had to call the district office to find out the name of the elementary school the boys attended. I was tracked down at their school and told to phone home. I stopped by the boys' classes to let the boys know I would be gone when they got home and that their Granddad needed me for a while.

Then I began to freak. Dad lives in Tucson and I needed to pack and catch the next plane. Time was critical. By the time I got home from the school, Tom had gotten on line and looked up flights. There was a 3:00 pm getting in at 8:00pm in Tucson. It gave us plenty of time to pack and get to the airport. Tom booked a one way ticket for me and drove me to the airport.

Daylight savings had just passed. The clock in Tom's car was an hour ahead. As we reach the airport, I think that we are cutting it close to make check in for that plane. I kiss Tom and rush through the airport doors. I get my ticket at the counter and go to the security barrier. I hear on the overhead speakers my gate being called for last call. I panic. I look panicked. Security takes one look at my one way ticket and my panicked appearance and pulls me aside for the full search. They put me in the puffer room that smells for drugs and bomb materials. They search my bags. Mean while I hear again the last call for my gate number. Finally I clear security and run for the gate.

The flight attendant sees the special red stamp on my boarding pass courtesy of security, showing I had been given the full treatment. She doesn't look any closer. She says I haven't missed the flight. I am the last passenger and they were waiting for me. As soon as I board the plane the doors shut and they back away from the terminal. I sit down in an open seat, since I see some one is in mine. We taxi up the runway and the pilot comes on the overhead mike "Welcome to your flight to VEGAS". I had gotten on the wrong flight.

It was the right gate but the wrong time. I had been early after all. Tom's car clock had thrown me off. Well, now it was out of my hands. I was just grateful I wasn't headed to Japan or China.
My thought was that all flights go to Vegas and away from Vegas. I was headed in the right direction, east. I let the flight attendant know I was on the wrong flight. She said they would straighten it out when they landed. I just wonder what happened to the person they were holding the plane for.

When I land in Vegas, the clerk says the next flight is in two hours. I will miss my connection in Phoenix. He says there is a flight in five minutes if I run. I run. Again they close the doors right behind me, but this time I confirm Phoenix? Yes, Phoenix. I land in Phoenix two hours ahead of my original scheduled landing. I caught an earlier commute to Tucson and my Dad's friend is waiting for me.

Terri is just as distressed as I over my Dad's illness. They have known each other since grade school. They weren't friends back then but they did know each other. They had become friends when they found out they both retired to Tucson. Knowing each other brought back that familiar feeling of their old home town with all the memories associated. Terri was a little older than my Dad and suffered from lung issues. He drove a 1964 convertible mustang in orange. He also couldn't see well in the dark. He knew his way around by being familiar with the area. he was not familiar with my Dad's neighborhood after dark.

We got lost. we were going to go to Dad's house so I could get spare keys and drop my bag off. Dad lived in a lovely community built around a plan of circles with spokes. The houses were on the top of hills with washes between, giving every home a nature view. Washes are dry river beds that flood with heavy rains. They have paths meandering through them. All the homes look down on these washes. In the dark, we circle the neighborhood trying to find my Dad's street. There are no street lights.

Tucson is near enough to the observation telescopes at Kitt Peak that they don't use street light to prevent light pollution at night. So I am driving around with a little old man who can't see well and can't find the right street. We pull up in front of the street signs so the car lights reflect and we can get out of the car and read them. Finally I call Tom and ask him to google the street we are on and talk us through to my Dad's house. Modern technology is wonderful. He does just that. We were only a block off. I thank Terri for getting me to my Dad's house safely and using a spare key enter quietly. I then look up the number for a taxi service to take me to the hospital. My Dad's car is still parked in the parking lot there from the day before.

The taxi comes and delivers me without incident to the hospital. Dad comes out of 6 hours of surgery and I am able to sit with him in ICU. He doesn't remember it later, which is just as well because he was in excruciating pain for a long time. Once we get moved to a room he becomes pretty demanding. He likes me to spend the night on the recliner in his hospital room. In the morning I go back to his house to shower , change and get a bite to eat and a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Those nights in the hospital are worth it when a few days later, my Dad is awake at 3:00am, he is not sure he can carry on. he feels on the verge of giving up. His bowels have not started working on their own yet. He has a feeding tube down his nose that is driving him crazy. I tell him that we should get up and walk the halls one more time and just see if something doesn't start working. We are the only ones awake on the ward other than the nurses. We walk that hall down and back. That is about all the distance my dad can take. Within the hour he has to get up and use the bathroom. He poops and we whoop for joy. The feeding tube gets pulled the next day. My Dad cries after it is out. We get to go back to his home a couple days later.

They send him home with a hole in his stomach that is to be cleaned daily. Some one has to stick a six inch cutip in his gut with peroxide to prevent infection. The home health nurse does not come every day. This is an area I know no one will do as good a job as the surgeon in my Dad's mind. I say no, I am not going to clean out the gut hole every day. I will assist. I had hoped they would up the home health visits as a result, but instead they show my Dad how to stick the cutip in and clean the hole himself. I assist by setting up the surgical tray and handing him the implements.

Due to the surgery being really messy, feces came out Dad's abdomen. We were warned there would be a high chance of infection. It happened. Of course when the puss appeared it was 10:00 pm on Saturday night. We drive to the ER. We wait all night. The surgeon is on vacation and no one wants to touch my Dad in case they do something they shouldn't. In the morning the surgeon calls and says to clean it out well. We waited all night for that news. It made us both grouchy. He did end up being readmitted for the week though as a result. So they could clean it out properly every day. If they had just given us a nurse once a day for a week rather than once every 3 days,some one who knew what they were doing, we would not have gotten the infection.

In the hospital they really cleaned the hole out well. It is amazing how they reamed that cutip around into every crevice of the opening in Dad's gut. We realized we had been too delicate in our approach. I am glad I had not done it for Dad.

He is feeling good, even though he is being hospitalized for the infection in his stomach. He is grouchy because of the confinement. He is very demanding and rings his bell often and more when I am not in the room. He ends up alienating one of the head nurses so she has him moved from her section to a new room in another wing. I start bringing candy for the nurses, per my mom's suggestion, to help bribe them and smooth over a difficult patient.

When he finally gets discharged, that last week of recovery, before I come home to my own children, are bliss. I get to relax and read books. We spend afternoons at Barns and Nobel having milk steamers, coffee, and reading stacks of new books. Dad has a membership card and uses it freely to purchase books as gifts for everyone at home. The sun shines and Dad finds his new routine. That trip bought my Dad two more precious years for us all to see him and prepare.

I had been gone over a month when I finally come home. I can see I am needed. There is a full month's worth of laundry waiting for me. The cats have started peeing on the piles, because their litter box was buried. I asked the boys what they were doing for underwear. Riley tells me he wore the old dirty pairs, the same ones, over and over. Trevor tells me he just stopped wearing underwear at all. Tom tells me I should have gotten a free ticket from the airline for allowing me to get on the wrong flight, and what a waste sending me to Vegas and not him.

Drugs and more drugs

Yesterday was the dermatologist. He was referred to us by our blood specialist doctor. He also works at the hospital. There is not a dermatologist in our local town, so I took Riley back up to the hospital for the appointment.

We filled out the new patient forms and waited. There was a very unhappy baby some where nearby screaming at the top of its lungs. But they soon called our names and we were swept down a hallway away from the waiting room.

The nurse weighed Riley. 125 pounds and 5 foot 8 inches tall. A young intern came into our room. She asked questions confirming Riley's medications. The doctor arrived and looked at Riley's forehead. What I learned was that this is one of the side effects of the cyclosporine. Not only is Riley having the overgrown gums, but his acne is caused by his medication also. The doctor didn't want to give him any oral prescriptions at this time. Most of those antibiotics go through the kidneys which are already working hard to expunge the cyclosporine. He prescribed a retinal cream and a antibiotic gel.

Tom said he remembers the doctor telling us the acne was a side effect. I missed that conversation I guess. I can only absorb so much. Riley is to put the gel on morning and evening and the retinal cream over that. Or visa versa, I'll read the bottles when I get them. The cream will cause pealing. The prescriptions were called into the pharmacy from the doctor's office.

When I got home the pharmacy called. They don't have the special antibiotic gel in stock and wont have it until Monday. They tell me it is very expensive and rare. They haven't much call for it so Riley has generated a new order with his prescription. They ask me to give them a week's notice when I call in this refill. I tell them this is the first day, but I will in the future.
We are a challenge for this pharmacy. They remind me of college nurses. Good for cough suppressants but not much else out of the ordinary. We keep throwing them curve balls with these exotic drugs.

So Monday we load up on drugs. I am also picking up his cyclosporine refill which will carry us through the next month with camps and trip. I already got the magnesium refill this week. Riley is also upsizing his pills for cyclosporine this time around. Once we started taking the antibiotic on the weekend which is a big horse pill, he has realized he can do the big pills now. Up sizing will cut the number of pills he takes in half. He will go from 8 to 4 twice a day. Eventually I hope to get him down to two twice a day, but we are sizing up the pills gradually.

So, Riley is getting medication to offset the side effects of medication. I am looking forward to his face being clean and beautiful again soon. The dermatoligist implied this is some magic stuff that should make all the acne go away. He also suggested a soap to get at Fred Meyer or Costco that is really expensive but very helpful. All I remember now is it started with an s. I'll remember the name when I see it.

Next week I am going to get Trevor football cleats at the outlet mall. I am going to Costco to get expensive soap. Trevor has his last day of school, then at the end of the week he has three days of football conditioning at the high school. The boys have a lot of plans this summer.

I have been invited to work out with a girlfriend. She wants to walk/run the track. I'll try it. I asked Trevor if he wants to join us in the mornings. He said he'll be sleeping still.

The other son

Tonight was open house at school. Trevor plays percussion. A young friend came up to him before the performance. They compared music. The other boy plays the sax. He was impressed by the complex look of Trevor's musical score compared to his own. I was impressed also. I don't read music. Trevor's scores looked very complicated. I think it is because as a percussionist he has to know what everyone else is doing to carry the rhythm. Studies show that music helps develop math skills and cognitive abilities. I hope that is true.

Trevor looked very happy and content up on the stage. He played cymbals timpany and drums at various times during the performance. I was very proud. Tom put in an appearance to see him perform which pleased Trevor immensely. They took a tour of the school afterward. Trevor showed his Dad his final project. After Tom slipped away Trevor and I went through the school again to see all the other wonderful displays. We also bought at the art sale a couple of fun bowls. One had musical notes on it. Trevor presented it to his music Teacher on the way out.

We bid on a painted chair but were out bid. I did see some stepping stones I liked. I will approach the teacher in charge of the gardens tomorrow as I didn't have any money left. it was also Burgerville night. 10% of All proceeds from 5 to 9 go to the school as a fund raiser. I had taken Trevor out to dinner before we arrived so I was tapped out cash wise.

Earlier in the evening we had also had to pick up football gear for summer camps coming up. Trevor got his helmet and pads but he did not fit the available pants. He is a xxx in youth sizes, hopefully. The youth program gets less expensive gear in youth sizes than adult sizes, but when you get to the eighth grade some of these boys, Trevor included, fit adult sizes. The high school buys adult sizes, but not the youth program. They squeeze them into the youth sizes if they can. Trevor will have to wait until the next order. I am to send a note to a friend I have on the board to let her know to let me know when the new order comes in. We definitely need first dibs on the larger sizes.

I was floored when we had Trevor's physical for football. You need one every year, required. He weighed in at 186 pounds and five foot seven. In filling out his forms the only thing I got right was his age. It made me laugh. I knew he was big. I call him my horse and I mean Clydesdale. I worry about his knee. He is not very flexible. His injury last year still bothers him upon occasion. So, I am hopeful by keeping him in conditioning classes during the summer he will be more fit for football and less likely to re injure himself. This evening was all about Trevor and he basked in the attention.

I had taken Riley earlier today to school so he could see the other displays. he didn't want to be in a crowd so going during lunch while the students were in the cafeteria, gave us access to empty halls. We bought books at the book fair and Riley found one he liked. That was it after finding the book. He was done and content to go home and read the rest of the day. I had even offered him lunch out but he was content just to stay home and read, no more errands. I will need to be careful about books or he will tune out the world.

Weather issues

I am so sore from doing the yard. Yesterday any movement caused my legs to ache. I can tell I have not been getting enough exercise being house bound. The rains and Riley are turning me old before my time. My sun burn is still red and recovering. it will be a few days before it starts to peal.

Riley woke this morning and asked to take a bath. yes, please, after a weekend free of bathing, because he had company, a bath would be encouraged. His forehead looks bad. the dermatologist is Thursday. He also has a tone of work for school. His paper on Gettysburg is due this week. He got his rough draft done. He did a good recitation of the Gettysburg Address on Friday, received an A-.

Tonight is open house at school when all the children present their final projects for show. I also have to pick up Trevor's football gear. Its the last early pick up date before the summer camps begin. He had to have a physical before they give out the gear. As a result we were pushing the dates to get the physical in. it will be a tight schedule. Trevor has to get his gear then be at the school for his band performance all in a half hour period. We can do it. Its the advantage of a small community. The storage locker for football is four blocks from the school. He will be dressed for the performance so we can just go. Trevor has to wear black pants and a white dress shirt and black shoes. They kids look so snazzy. I wish all the schools required it. It gives a superior look to the band.

So, right now with my sore muscles and sun burn the only good thing I can accomplish is surfing the web. I did some research on climates of the northwest. I gave myself a scare, no , more like a wake up call. I read an article that classed Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington as zonal area 1. Coldest areas outside central British Columbia. I shivered. Growing season in zone one is 50 to 100 days.

At bed time last night, I pulled out one of my favorite wedding presents, my Sunset Western Gardener Book. (Thank you Dennis C.) It is wonderful to give a gift that is so revered that 17 plus years of marriage later, you still remember the gift giver because the gift turned out to be so useful and wonderful. It is right up there with the bible. I have highlighted plants and prepared my nursery visits with this book. So, I went to the front section of maps and zones and looked up my concerns.

It wasn't as cold as zone one. Bend to Walla Walla are , Wow, zone 2. Still a cold winter and growing season from 100 to 180 days. Not bad but cold cold cold. I looked at Medford. They are in zone 7, so was Grants Pass. Balmy paradises by comparison. Tucson is 12, Phoenix and Palm Spring are 13 to give perspective. The Willamette Valley is 6.

Medford is trending toward the dry side and it has Ashland for some culture. I turn to Tom and ask Medford? His response was Why would we want to live in Medford? I am thinking it is a hidden undiscovered gem of good weather and affordability. Just what the retiree is looking for. It even has a decent city. We may have to do a Medford vacation and explore the option.

My thought is that we don't ski anymore. Bend was a convenient ski resort destination. Like my Dad though I am tending to milder winters. I guess I can handle the cold as long as there is sun. But according to my Sunset Western Gardener map, Medford is a nice compromise. I am going to check out golf courses.

Burned

Like everyone else in our region, I rushed out yesterday to catch the sun. We had been granted a window of 24 hours between the rains. The sun was making an appearance for a short span of time. You could hear the lawn mowers going from early morning until late in the day. Everyone was catching up on their yards.



I was no exception. I had weeks of weeding to deal with. I started with the weed pulling first thing in the morning. The ground was wet and the weeds came out easily. I even got some gigantic one foot roots that had defeated me in the past, just because the soil was so saturated. I filled the big brown garbage can with weeds all the way to the brim. The perimeter of the yard looked vastly improved. It took hours.



I pulled out my push mower. It is very reliable as it has no motor. My boys hate it, but it guarantees to get the job done. Not as well or as fast or efficiently as a gas mower, but it always starts so to speak. I tell my boys it is my effort to go green. I just love the fact I don't have to struggle to get it started. I just push it and the grass goes flying off the back blade. It is a cheap model I have found though. When I bought it I paid less than $100. There was a John Deer push mower that had adjustable height and a bag on the back. Had I to do over I debated whether to pay the extra $50 at the time, and hind sight being 20/20, I should have gone for the John Deer.



A good friend once had a lot of lawn, so he had a lawn tractor. He started out with an MGB or some brand. After a season, he sold that lawn tractor and bought a John Deer. He didn't like how his old machine cut the grass. The John deer is just a better machine. That is how I feel. I think I will eventually cave and buy that John deer. I paid a repair shop $135 to get my old self propelling lawn more fixed and ready for the season. It worked for a couple of weeks, then Trevor left it out over night for a couple of days. He also put in some old gas that I think was contaminated. Anyway, the dang mower starts then stops immediately. Its frustrating and not worth it. So, I pull out old reliable.



It takes twice as long, but the job gets done. Twice as long is still less than an hour with these small lawns. But I am exhausted after hours of weeding first. I start to lose patience with my family sitting on their butts inside on this glorious day. We all know the window of sun is short. They should be outside. So I go in to harangue them. I want help.



Trevor huffs. He doesn't want to mow the lawn with the push mower. So I tell him he can vacuum inside. We are having company for dinner and Riley is having a sleep over. Vacuuming the floor would be really helpful since the kids might be sleeping on it. Getting rid of Bucky's hair changes the color of the carpets when you vacuum. I tell the boys they also have to pick everything up off the floor to vacuum. so I get the piles gathered as a bonus.



Tom is watching TV. Its Belmont today and a golf tournament. He is right in the middle of everything. He also thinks he might be coming down with a bug. I continue the outside chores and let Tom lead the inside war. I get the the first floor accomplished before Tom tells the boys he is done, put the vacuum away. I will take that small success.



My feet ache, my back aches, but I don't want to give up the sun yet. I am now lying on the grass pulling the long blades out of the borders that the push mower can't get. Crawling along in the sun. Trevor comes out and tells me Daddy told him he was finished. I know its because the noise of the vacuum interferes with the TV sounds. No problem the first floor is presentable. I do tell Trevor to carry the vacuum upstairs so we can tackle those floor the next day. If the vacuum sits out where I see it, I sometimes am inspired to use it. Since it is conveniently located. Tucked away the odds are against my even contemplating the thought.



After 4 or 5 hours I finally am so exhausted I have to quit. There is no room in the garbage for more weeds anyway. I come in and shower and change. The sweat has soaked my clothes. Tom tells me to shower also which means I also stink. The yard looks so much better.



The guests arrive and I order pizza to be delivered. I am too tired for any more effort than that.
As the evening progresses though I notice my arms have red rashes on them. I figure I must have been in contact with some weed today that irritated them. The red gets redder. In the bathroom I see my shoulders in the mirror. Oh no, I am burned. I get darker red as the evening progresses. At bed time I put on some heavy duty creams on the areas. Too little too late.

I tell the boys they can watch TV and play games until 11:00 pm then lights out. At 11:00 they start a movie. I tell them when it is over its bed time. At 2: am I peak over the banister because I hear voices. and see flickering lights.. They are on the computer. I tell them if they play this game there will not be sleep overs this summer. The place goes silent for good. 5:00 am I hear voices. Our young guests are awake. Our neighbor boy decides he is up and ready to go home. No problem. After being up all night he probably wants to sleep in his own bed. I tell everyone its too early and people namely Tom and me are still sleeping.

My neck and shoulders have been stinging all night, which is one reason I kept hearing the children even through my ear plugs. I wear ear plugs every night. I have to get Riley up at nine in the morning since Riley has to take his meds. At some point during the night Riley came upstairs and crawled into his own bed. The whole house is now quiet. Now the children all sleep. Tom gets up at 10:00am. He has a cold for sure now. He tells Riley to stay away from him. I tell Tom to wash his hands frequently. I also tell Tom he should wake all the kids still sleeping. After all they kept me awake all night and in pain.

As the children awake I can tell they are grouchy from their all nighter. I think I'll hide in my room today until it is time to take the last one home. The rains are back. Which is fine since with these sun burns I wont be able to do much of anything anyway. I can look out and admire my tidy yard.

Computers

Computers, you can't live with them and you can't live without them. Tom gave me a new computer. It had glitches in the program and kept shutting down. He took it back for a new one. Within a day the screen turned dark and it wouldn't work. I took it back. The service technitian asked if I had closed the lid while the computer was still on. Probably, if I was picking it up or getting it out of the way.

Well the new programs go into sleeper mode and if you shut the lid it locks up the whole system. You have to unplug it from the wall and take the battery out of the back to get it fixed. he tells me it is not in the manual, only a person with a lot of experience could diagnose the problem this quickly. He did a cute little fix customizing the sleeper mode to never come on, just screen saver. So this problem should not happen again. Awesome, one problem solved.

The next problem is I can't print anything from this new computer. We have loaded the driver for Riley's new printer. It is supposed to be wireless. Nada, not a thing happens. The little icon spins in circles, but at the other end, Riley's beautiful new printer nothing happens.

so I tried plugging in my old printer. State of the art in 2006 when I purchased it. Well, thats two generations ago. We have had Vista and now Windows 7. My "old" printer is incompatible with my new computer even after downloading a driver from the manufacturer's web site. its enough to pull your hair out.

So if you are in the position to purchase a new computer just know that the most successful method is to replace everything in the office with the same brand and buy them all at the same time so their ages match.

I love computers. The ability to communicate with friends, the research at your fingertips, it improves the quality of our lives, but only after the hours and hours of frusteration to get the damn system to work and all the devices to work with it.

My solution to the printer has been to hook up my old faithful computer that I bought with it four years ago, and continue using it until it croaks for good. Last time we had computer problems, Tom took the computer to work and handed the problem off to someone who knew what they were doing. We may have to hire someone and let them do their magic.

I asked the technitian at school what kind of system he likes. He told me he likes to build his from scratch. I just remind myself of the old days, pre computer. Typing with copy paper and ribbons of ink. Computers no matter the headache to get set up are worth it.