Kendrie -- Day 150 OT
Blaine -- Still hanging in Seattle, but not feeling quite as perky as he was
I was so encouraged by the comments in the guestbook from the other parents who chimed in on “loving one kid more or at least claiming to on a regular basis” from Friday’s journal entry, and I’m happy to know my kids will have lots of friends in therapy some day. Ya’lls guestbook entries always make me smile …. I think I get a bigger kick from reading those, and hearing from you guys, than I get from actually writing the journal entries some days. Most days, I get a fair amount of hits on this site (well, "fair" by my standards, anyway) and not very many guestbook entries. So thanks for letting me know!
Today, as you know, is Mothers Day. Invented by {insert historical characters name here, I don’t even know who} and marketed to death by Hallmark and FTD. My day has actually gone pretty well. I was awakened by giggling children … no, scratch that. Technically, I was awakened by an insane dog who apparently had to go outside to use the restroom three times between 6 and 7 am ……. making me wonder if grabbing a hacksaw and cutting an impromptu doggie door between my bedroom wall and the backyard would greatly depreciate the value of the house.
After that, I lay there and pretended to be asleep, as per the instructions I received from my children last night, in preparation for whatever “special” thing it was they had planned. So, the day began with them bringing me breakfast in bed, a gourmet meal that would surely have Martha Stewart sobbing in jealousy; cold toast served on a paper plate and lukewarm milk. I professed my greatest appreciation and choked down a few bites, then we proceeded to the living room where I was bestowed with gifts worthy of a queen: several hand-painted candle holders and a new sleep shirt decorated with magic markers, courtesy of the arts & crafts building from Camp Sunshine a few weeks ago, a purple vase that Kendrie apparently bought at the dollar store (thank you, Renee’, for taking them, that was very nice of you. But next time …. Pier One, maybe, or Crate and Barrel???), a necklace that Kellen bought direct from the Mr. T line of Jewelry for Beautiful and Gaudy Women, which will come in handy the next time I star in a 50 Cent video, and the final gift, two books Brayden purchased with her own money from our School Book Fair last week ---- two of the books I had actually DONATED to the fair myself.
So there you have it, proof positive that my children love me beyond measure and harbor little to no resentment for all the yelling and fussing that has gone on lately. So far today, I managed to remain calm when Brayden spilled not one, but two glasses of milk on the rug (and then she acted offended when I suggested perhaps she should go back to drinking from a sippy cup!), when the kids fought over what movie they wanted to watch (Hello??!?! Whose day is it, people?!??! Someone check the calendar!!!) and when I vacuumed the rug, only to have it littered with granola bar wrappers, goldfish crumbs, and empty Capri Sun drinks not ten minutes later.
I did not, however, remain calm when the kids tried to watch old home movies while I was attempting to take a nap. (I know, what was I thinking?) Apparently the tape got stuck and while trying to cram, force, gently insert it into the camcorder, the entire top of the camcorder popped off, completely unfixable and all three of them insisted on waking me from my nap to swear *they* were not the one who did it.
Never mind that Blaine and I have had that camcorder for ten years and it’s probably the only one on the planet that still uses 8mm tapes. We’ve been talking about buying a new one for a few years ….. so even my griping then about how come nothing ever stays nice around here and everything always winds up broken or dirty or in a million pieces, was a little half-hearted.
Well, I had planned to make Shrimp Fried Rice for dinner tonight, but its 4pm and Kellen is bugging me to go to McDonalds, so now I’m thinking I’ll let Ronald cook for me this evening. Even if it’s only a McFish Filet, at least I wouldn’t have to fix it, right? Which is the beauty of Mothers Day, cold toast and all.
Happy Mothers Day to you, too!
Showing posts with label Mothers Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mothers Day. Show all posts
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Sunday, May 09, 2004
“Out of the Mouths of Babes”
aka Happy Mother’s Day
You know that cartoon, Family Circus, about the family with four little kids and every Fathers Day one of the little kids “draws” the cartoon to give his dad the day off? I’ve decided that today, for the first Mother’s Day I am spending as a “cancer mom”, I’m giving myself the day off and want to let some of the wise, profound, and occasionally funny things that kids say fill the journal entry instead.
Before I pass the baton, however, I’d like to wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day. First to my mom Betty, who proved again last week that even at the age of “achooooo—two!’, she’ll still drop everything to help one of her kids in need. My sister Kelly and I, and Blaine and Cliff by marriage, have all been very, very blessed. Second, to all the moms out there spending this day in the hospital with their sick children, or sitting by the grave of a child, my best wishes and condolences. And to all the moms whose kids are home and healthy, give them an extra hug today and thank God for the noses and tushes that need wiping, the laundry and homework that need done, the taxi-cabbing, cooking and cleaning that are your life. Really, what better life is there? None.
Zachary Finestone is a Caringbridge site I have been following for months. Normally written by his dad Scott, whose sense of humor is twisted, wrong, and highly enjoyable, go to the May 5 journal entry for the essay by Zach titled, “Why I Hate Cancer.” I think Zach said it better than most adults do. Grab a Kleenex before you read this essay ..... but if you go back through the journal entries and read some of Scott’s older entries, grab a Depends.
I know many of you are closely following the current transplant journey of Spencer Rocket. I especially love the conversation Spencer and his dad had in the May 6 journal entry. Nothing like the honesty of a child, eh???
And for another laugh to go Christopher’s Page and read his poem, “If You Give A Kid On Steroids…..” in the May 6th journal entry. Very, very clever, very, very true!
And out of the mouth of the Mom of a Babe (fitting for Mother’s Day, don’t you think?) I encourage you to go to Katie’s Page and read her mom Sue’s journal entry for April 27th, discussing the “stinky cheese factor” of having a kid with cancer. Sue really hit the nail on the head for how I feel many days with Kendrie.
Sue also gave me permission to reprint a section of her journal where she explains (in much better terms than I am able) the clinical definition of “remission” and why kids in remission still need chemotherapy:
“I had a conversation today that I have had many many times over the last 8 months. Most people do not understand why if Katie is in remission she needs to continue chemotherapy for two more years. Part of that answer is that "clinical remission" is defined as less than 5 percent blasts or cancer cells in the bone marrow and none in the spinal fluid. Remission is based on the technology they had to look at cells way back in the 1940's. In 1940, when they looked through their microscopes they didn't see anymore cancer cells and they thought the cancer was gone. With modern technology they can find one cancer cell amongst thousands of normal cells. We are told that blood cancer starts with one bad cell reproducing - so in theory you only need a single cancer cell to survive for the cancer to grow back. So the answer really is that "clinical remission" is only a baseline to which all patients need to get to proceed to the next stage of treatment - it does not mean the cancer is all gone. (Although that is what we tell Katie - because it seems more hopeful and glass half full kind of thinking is important when dealing with cancer) Presumably 2 more years of pumping chemo into Katie's body will kill off all of the cancer cells in her blood.”
Thanks, Sue, for letting me blatantly plagiarize your page!
Well, I guess that’s it for now. I’m off to sit in front of the tv and eat bon bons on my special day. Kidding, of course --- If you want the truth, I will be hiding, with Blaine’s Mother’s Day Blessing, in my scrapbooking room all day, indulging in my latest favorite craving for beef jerky, and waiting for him to grill out at dinner. Sounds like a pretty fabulous day to me! And sometime in there I’ll manage to squeeze a hug or two out of the three little rugrats who give meaning to my day and allow me to enjoy the blessing of being a Mother. Thank you Brayden, Kellen and Kendrie; I love you, Mom.
You know that cartoon, Family Circus, about the family with four little kids and every Fathers Day one of the little kids “draws” the cartoon to give his dad the day off? I’ve decided that today, for the first Mother’s Day I am spending as a “cancer mom”, I’m giving myself the day off and want to let some of the wise, profound, and occasionally funny things that kids say fill the journal entry instead.
Before I pass the baton, however, I’d like to wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day. First to my mom Betty, who proved again last week that even at the age of “achooooo—two!’, she’ll still drop everything to help one of her kids in need. My sister Kelly and I, and Blaine and Cliff by marriage, have all been very, very blessed. Second, to all the moms out there spending this day in the hospital with their sick children, or sitting by the grave of a child, my best wishes and condolences. And to all the moms whose kids are home and healthy, give them an extra hug today and thank God for the noses and tushes that need wiping, the laundry and homework that need done, the taxi-cabbing, cooking and cleaning that are your life. Really, what better life is there? None.
Zachary Finestone is a Caringbridge site I have been following for months. Normally written by his dad Scott, whose sense of humor is twisted, wrong, and highly enjoyable, go to the May 5 journal entry for the essay by Zach titled, “Why I Hate Cancer.” I think Zach said it better than most adults do. Grab a Kleenex before you read this essay ..... but if you go back through the journal entries and read some of Scott’s older entries, grab a Depends.
I know many of you are closely following the current transplant journey of Spencer Rocket. I especially love the conversation Spencer and his dad had in the May 6 journal entry. Nothing like the honesty of a child, eh???
And for another laugh to go Christopher’s Page and read his poem, “If You Give A Kid On Steroids…..” in the May 6th journal entry. Very, very clever, very, very true!
And out of the mouth of the Mom of a Babe (fitting for Mother’s Day, don’t you think?) I encourage you to go to Katie’s Page and read her mom Sue’s journal entry for April 27th, discussing the “stinky cheese factor” of having a kid with cancer. Sue really hit the nail on the head for how I feel many days with Kendrie.
Sue also gave me permission to reprint a section of her journal where she explains (in much better terms than I am able) the clinical definition of “remission” and why kids in remission still need chemotherapy:
“I had a conversation today that I have had many many times over the last 8 months. Most people do not understand why if Katie is in remission she needs to continue chemotherapy for two more years. Part of that answer is that "clinical remission" is defined as less than 5 percent blasts or cancer cells in the bone marrow and none in the spinal fluid. Remission is based on the technology they had to look at cells way back in the 1940's. In 1940, when they looked through their microscopes they didn't see anymore cancer cells and they thought the cancer was gone. With modern technology they can find one cancer cell amongst thousands of normal cells. We are told that blood cancer starts with one bad cell reproducing - so in theory you only need a single cancer cell to survive for the cancer to grow back. So the answer really is that "clinical remission" is only a baseline to which all patients need to get to proceed to the next stage of treatment - it does not mean the cancer is all gone. (Although that is what we tell Katie - because it seems more hopeful and glass half full kind of thinking is important when dealing with cancer) Presumably 2 more years of pumping chemo into Katie's body will kill off all of the cancer cells in her blood.”
Thanks, Sue, for letting me blatantly plagiarize your page!
Well, I guess that’s it for now. I’m off to sit in front of the tv and eat bon bons on my special day. Kidding, of course --- If you want the truth, I will be hiding, with Blaine’s Mother’s Day Blessing, in my scrapbooking room all day, indulging in my latest favorite craving for beef jerky, and waiting for him to grill out at dinner. Sounds like a pretty fabulous day to me! And sometime in there I’ll manage to squeeze a hug or two out of the three little rugrats who give meaning to my day and allow me to enjoy the blessing of being a Mother. Thank you Brayden, Kellen and Kendrie; I love you, Mom.
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