Always Remembering

As I sit here and read all of these 9/11 stories on Facebook, I am reminded of the impact of 2001, and how grateful I am to God for it.  I remember where I was when the first plane hit.  But, I’ll get to that in a minute.  2001 was already the year of “the 2×4″…meaning that we had already received one of several God-driven wake-up hits.  My brother Jake, then 16 years old, had suffered a major heart attack in May 2001.  He was diagnosed with Kawasaki’s Syndrome.  That flipped the family world upside down. We were just getting back to some sense of normalcy, when 9/11 happened.  I remember dropping off my oldest son at his Pre-K class, and heading to my parents’ house. I flipped on the radio, only to hear about the first plane hitting the twin towers. Then, as I was listening, the second plane hit.  All I wanted to do is go back and get my boy, but I didn’t. I headed to my mom’s.  I walked in, asking if she knew what was going on.  She had been watching Blues Clues with my baby brother and had no idea of any of the chaos going on. My husband had been working near DC, so I was concerned about him, and I was unable to call him. I finally got my boy back from school and just hugged both of my babies close until I got word from my husband that he was okay. That was 2×4 number 2.  Then on 12/01/01, I was diagnosed with leukemia. SMACK!  2×4 number 3.

So where are we 10 years later? Jake died this past December, but we got just about 10 more years that we may not have had with him. Thank God for giving Jake and the rest of us that time together.  The pain is fresh, but healing has begun.  Our country is still struggling, internally and externally. We have eliminated Hussein and Bin Laden, but we are continuing to fight battles related to the terrorist attacks, and losing lives.  And I am still battling my cancer.  I am firm in my trust in God, and my faith in His will. He has rewarded my faith with constant strength to battle on. 

2001 was a hard, hard year.  Ten years later, the impact is still reverberating. 

Technology Abound

The family has finally caught up with the rest of civilization. We have smart phones! In fact, I am posting from my phone right now! Whoohoooo!

Wait…I’m trying to catch up…

OK, Vacation was fabulous.  I am not going to lie. I had a great time with my husband and kids, and we brought my baby brother (who is 13), who had never spent so much time at the beach in his life.  But at the end of the week, I was ready to come home.  At least, I thought I was ready.  There is an expression “hitting the ground running.”  That is too weak to describe the pace we have come home to.  I feel like I turned the treadmill on full speed and tried to step on it.  Good grief!  We were home on Sunday and immediately we have a full schedule: Weight lifting, Jr. football equipment handouts, Football fundraising, youth group, work.  I need another vacation and we just got home 2 days ago!

Summer vacation? Um, no.

When did Summer become the busiest time of the year?  I can remember summers past, where it seemed like we had nothing to do.  Even when we had swim team practice everyday, we had all day to spend at the pool.  I have been up at 6:30 all week long to drag 4 teenaged boys to summer lifting and conditioning for football, then picking them up a few hours later.  I have to entertain my boys, finding ways to keep them occupied.  Then, I have to go to Hopkins for bloodwork.  And I have to manage my duties for rec league football and the semipro team my husband plays for.  Adding in basic housewife duties and my part time job, it seems that summer vacation is turning into a very low-paying, over-time laden, full-time stressfest.  Thank God I have a real vacation next week to prep me for the rest of the summer, but I make a motion to change the name.

Becoming a man

My oldest just “graduated” from the 8th grade.  While most people say that makes them feel old, I am excited!  My son is an amazing human being.  He is smart, handsome, athletic, talented in music, and he is caring and compassionate.  We (his father and I) have strived to raise our children with faith, morals, independence, and character, and over the past few years, I have seen those things emerge in Alex.  Especially in this last year.  He has had much to deal with over the past 10 years.  I was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just a little guy.  He has had to face potential loss from such an early age.  Then, when my brother, Jake, died this past December, he had it hit him straight on.  His English teacher told me about his last assignment…he had to write a farewell speech for his 8th grade promotion ceremony.  She told me that it was amazing.  He spoke about how most of his middle school experience was just a social experience, then went on to speak about how the loss of Jake and how the possibility of losing me woke him up.  He wants to better himself to make me proud (which he already does) and to honor Jake, because Jake would have expected him to be motivated and become the best person he could be.  Alex’s teacher said it was a very moving speech.  It was almost chosen as one of the speeches to be given during the ceremony (he was beat out by another student who wrote his speech, and then used sign language when he spoke it).  I have yet to see the written part of this speech, but when I asked him if he could share it with me, he did.  Can I just say, I am such a crybaby!  He was very articulate and emotive.  I was floored!  He is becoming such a man!

So, when I think of my  high schooler, I don’t think I am old.  I just think of how excited I am to see what kind of man he chooses to become.  I already know that, so far, he is heading down the right path.  I also know that high school is tumultuous and wild.  I hope he has his seatbelt on, because I am strapped in and ready to go on this wild ride!

Prizes and Pains

My poor Will.  He was in the ER all day with me yesterday, with a possible broken arm.  He is just getting over head to toe poison ivy, and a few weeks ago he sprained his ankle and was on crutches.  While he is not the clumsiest of children, he most certainly is the most accident prone.  Just like his mother.  I feel horrible for him.  But, I guess it definitely could have been worse, so I will thank the Lord for making each injury relatively minor.  I am hoping that his arm isn’t broken, so he can enjoy his summer.

Now, you are probably wondering where the prizes part comes into this post. Amidst the chaos of yesterday, I found out I had actually won a contest!  I had entered a contest that www.GiantMicrobes.com was holding for Nurse Appreciation Month.  I had to write a little blurb about my favorite nurse and why they deserve to be appreciated.  Well, I couldn’t pick just one.  I ended up winning one of their fantastic little plush toys…I chose a platelet.  My sister had gifted me a white blood cell a few years ago from Giant Microbes and I loved it!  Definitely check out their website: www.giantmicrobes.com !  You can find lots of fun stuff!

I Like Camping! (well, kind of…)

I have never been a fan of camping.  I went to Girl Scout camp when I was little, and I hated it then.  And that was in a cabin with bathrooms and beds.  Being a part of an extended family that LOVES to camp and be outdoors, I have always been a black sheep.  I like to be outdoors, but I only like specific activities like canoeing, rafting, campfires, hiking.  I am germophobic (I would like to thank my leukemia for weakening my immune system and giving me that complex) and I don’t ever want to have to answer nature’s call behind a tree.  I don’t mind snakes, spiders, or any other creepy crawlies (except earthworms… YUCK!), I like to fish, hunt and use my knife.  But camping has never been my thing.  Until now.

Just to be honest and clear, My first camping trip was kind of like a camping trip with training wheels.  My husband and I, along with our kids, went camping with several friends this past Memorial Day weekend.  I stayed in the airconditioned camper in a bed at night.  There was a bathroom in the camper, a port-a-potty down the way, and a bathhouse with shower facilities a short distance away.  Our group had two sites, one for the camper, and another for those who wanted to pitch their tents. We were right next to a river.  My husband and kids stayed in the tent.  They really camped.  I did the camping lite version.  That being said, we had a great time!  Campfire ridiculousness every night, good food, good friends, I really couldn’t have asked for a better camping experience.  I look forward to doing it again.  I may even have to try sleeping in a tent…but I will make sure I pack an air mattress!  So for now, I guess I like camping…kind of.

Volcanohead

I feel like I am about to explode in rage tonight.  My brother has been making some pretty crappy life choices as of late, and I am tired of his lies and other ridiculousness.  I let my anger fuel a couple of messages to my mom, who is probably fuming with her own rage at me right about now.  I can feel the proverbial steam piping out of my ears.  I hate feeling like this.  I feel like his family, my family, needs to step up and nip this in the bud.  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  I am so pissed!  Ok…deeeep breath….deeeeep breathhhh………

A little better.  Nah.  I am still pissed.

Starting All Over

I have failed miserably at keeping up with my blog, especially since Facebook has taken over my life.  I wanted to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with me, and with my journey through surviving leukemia, as well as posting my knitaholic tendencies and the resulting fibery goodness.  Hahahaha!  Obviously, I suck.  So, here is my solution…Wipe the slate with this blog and start over.  This blog’s focus is the random life silliness that I get to experience everyday.  I also created a separate blog focusing  on knitting:  http://sturdymamaknits.wordpress.com. I am declaring a rebirth of sorts in the world of weblogs!

Words

I was at a party at my sister’s house tonight, and somewhere a conversation was started about blogs, and how difficult it is to maintain one, and whether or not anyone even really reads the posts.  So, just a hello, and a little motivation to maintain my extremely anorexic blog.