Submitted by nellyhench on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 8:58am
I'm really feeling wiped out at the moment, and not sure why, procrastination of things that really need doing is not helping me out at all, and I'm starting to feel a bit snowed under.
Submitted by nellyhench on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 12:46pm
My friend is in hospital with bacterial menigitis, she is in ITU at the moment, but things are looking positive and she should be on the ward soon and then home some time next week.
This is Louisa today, Wednesday, just over age six. Melisa took her picture with her Mothers-Day-present camera. Can't you just see who she is? I mean, besides a kid who really needs a haircut.
It was knitting circle today, and I'm glad my friends were here. We got bad news today: John lost the job he just started in February. It's probably for the best. It wasn't a good fit. Nevertheless, it's always frightening when this happens. We're going to be okay. We'll just keep on keeping on.
I am 46 years old today. I'm a bit melancholy, not because of turning a year older--consider the alternative, which I know intimately--but because it marks the beginnings of all my troubles last year. Anniversaries like that are always a little anxiety-inducing, no matter how illogical that may be. I'm expecting next weekend (my death anniversary--Mother's Day, lovely) I'll be a bit of a basket case. And my therapist is in France for the month, of all months. I'm trying to frame it internally in terms of rebirth and mothering--I died and came back on Mother's Day because I wasn't done raising my girls--but it's still a bit uphill.
We're planning on a dim sum brunch and that's about it. Josie has a cold and we have a ton of chores to do. The good news is, my insomnia seems to be subsiding a bit. I've started taking melatonin, just last night; we'll see if it helps. The biggest help so far has been a CD my therapist gave me. I don't have an iPod, so we've been playing it on the DVD player through the TV and putting the TV on sleep so it turns itself off. It's helped, and John says it's even helped him sleep better.
Update: Dim sum brunch accomplished. If you're in PDX, Wong's King is dim sum paradise. And then! John and the kids took me downtown and bought me a red iPod! And then! We went to free comic book day and got comix! wowser! Seriously, it's a great birthday. Comix and small, coveted, red electronix!
I put down our dog Kaila today. She was somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 years old, which is extremely old for a dog of her size. She was part Akita, part who knows what, a suspicious, conservative dog who wasn't much for public displays of affection: No licking the face, no excited dance when we came home, no head in my lap. She showed her love of her family by guarding us.
Kaila patrolled the yard, proudly, wearing a track along the fence where she'd march up and down guarding against possibly dangerous dogs, joggers and squirrels. She knew I was pregnant before I did; each time she'd suddenly glue herself to my side, sitting next to me the entire time and giving "strangers" (anyone who wasn't John) the fish eye. While she wasn't overly fond of the kids, she watched them like a hawk, and God help you if she didn't know you and you came near the yard when they were out there. When I became ill with fibromyalgia, and her own arthritis set in, she'd lie next to my chair and we'd both sigh and creak together when the weather would change.
No, Kaila wasn't demonstrative. I knew she was getting really old when she started letting me rub her tummy. And I knew it was time for her to go when she stopped patrolling, stopped eating and stopped barking at the Evil Mail Carrier, which was the highlight of her day. She couldn't hear, her eyesight was going, she was down to just bones, and she was having trouble making it outside before her bowels moved. It was time.
So today a vet came out to the house, we said goodbye, and she died.
I was not the best "boss" for Kaila, and she wasn't the best dog for me. But she was a good, good dog, and she loved us in her suspicious, conservative way, and we loved her in our disorganized, chaotic way. And I will miss her in every way.
Some of you may know that Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, is a sometime member of the TNH community. She's also, as you may know, a breast cancer survivor. Tomorrow the Edwardses are holding a press conference at noon. The word on CNN is that the news isn't good. I hope they're wrong. Think good thoughts.
Update: It's true; Elizabeth's cancer is back, and John is dropping out is NOT dropping out of the campaign to deal with it. I'm heartbroken, first and foremost because Elizabeth is such a wonderful woman, and secondly because John was my guy this presidential cycle. I was on the phone for a good chunk of the press conference and missed that he would be remaining in the campaign--yay! at least for me.
Elizabeth, on the very off chance you see this, I will be praying for a quick and easy recovery. Bless you.
Just heard this morning that my step-mom is in the hospital as a result of some pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs). We don't know a lot -- at least, my dad doesn't seem to know a lot, except that she is very ill and no one wants to say what will happen next. We know that she will probably be in the hospital until close to Christmas or beyond, even in the best case.
At our little UU congregation, we do a thing called Joys and Concerns. In "regular old" churches, I think it'd be called community prayer or something. A person comes up, lights a candle, and shares something good or something bad with the congregation.
This week I have both a joy and a concern to share. The concern is that John (who posts here as JJ) lost his job Thursday. Naturally, we're a little upset.
The joy is that he's started going through his contacts, letting people know he's looking, and the response he's gotten has been more than heartening. John has done a lot over the years to help others--people looking for work, friends down on their luck, or co-workers struggling to learn the ropes. He's been overwhelmed with offers of help. And that gives us hope that we can get through this.
I've got an interview tomorrow (Tuesday) with a very cool non-profit for a Development position (fundraising/special events/marketing/public relations for those who don't know that catch word). I'm about to start pulling my portfolio together to show samples of my previous work--this may take the rest of the afternoon.
Submitted by witchiepoo on Wed, 07/12/2006 - 2:16pm
Tomorrow is DD's surgery. She has a cyst on her throat where an adam's apple would be if she were a man.
It is all a bit more complicated than we earlier believed, with concerns about bleeding, swelling that will shut her trachea, and post surgical infection risk.
Whew!!
We're really doing this. We leave our house here in Utah this week, drive the long drive to Indiana with 2 kids under 3, and live out of suitcases til our stuff meets up with us. So, I may not be able to come and read all the uplifting thoughts on here, but think of us anyway!! I'm so excited to be moving to a new place, to meet new people, have a whole new experience, etc.
MIL has been in ICU, in critical condition, and on a respirator since surgeries (one scheduled, one emergency-about 2 hours after the first) last Wednesday.
We are still expecting recovery but know it will be a long road for all.
Submitted by witchiepoo on Mon, 04/24/2006 - 7:26am
Late Friday afternoon, I noticed a lump on DD5's throat. It looked just like she had an adam's apple. I took her to the pediatrician this morning, and it looks like we are in for a week of tests.
She has an ultrasound this afternoon at the hospital and then a round of blood tests because they want to get a white cell count.
Submitted by Jasons_Girl on Tue, 03/14/2006 - 1:10pm
My parents are down in North Carolina visiting my brother, his wife, and their 7 children. (My parents are recently retired.)Anyway, I talked to my mom today, about an hour ago, and found out that all 7 kids, and my dad have influenza. They are better than yesterday, but not a whole lot...
This is Louisa today, Wednesday, just over age six. Melisa took her picture with her Mothers-Day-present camera. Can't you just see who she is? I mean, besides a kid who really needs a haircut.
I put down our dog Kaila today. She was somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 years old, which is extremely old for a dog of her size. She was part Akita, part who knows what, a suspicious, conservative dog who wasn't much for public displays of affection: No licking the face, no excited dance when we came home, no head in my lap. She showed her love of her family by guarding us. 
They are better than yesterday, but not a whole lot...
