I remember when I was just about to turn 18, I went to visit my family in France during my Christmas break from my freshman year in college. I remember night after night, sitting up alone, reading or what-not, thinking how incredibly BORING and OLD my parents were to go to bed--to WANT to go to bed!--at 9:00 at night. I made myself a solemn pledge that I would never be that way, that I would be LIVELY and energetic and would NOT drag off to bed at ridiculously early hours. Well, I have become just like my parents. Actually, I'm worse! I was sitting at the table at 7:00 tonight, trying to fill out some paperwork, and I felt like I was navigating through a fog. By 8:00, I was pondering whether I could get away with putting Brendan to bed an hour early--just so I could have an excuse to lay down with him! Oh, dear. I am OLD. Boring and OLD ...
To my credit, though, I'll say that this day did start fairly early. Up at 5:30, I was transcribing by 6:00. (Transcribing... as in, working! as in, income!! Yey! This is a temporary job that will probably keep me busy for a couple of weeks, but I know that business success is often more about networking and referrals than anything else, so I'm giving this all I've got!) By 8:00, I had my first document ready to send off. Then I threw on some jeans, ran (well, drove) Alex to school, came home, showered, yada yada yada, and hit the road again at 9:00 for Mark's appointment with his doctor at OHSU.
This was overall a positive visit. Dr. Broberg said that the reason they were hesitant about doing this ablation procedure is that last time Mark had a cardiac catheterization, his heart went into some funky rhythms and his blood pressure dropped. Okay, that's not ideal. But it sounds like things that can usually be dealt with, to me.
We didn't have time to go home before Mark's weekly appointment at the pain center back in Newberg. Brendan and I took care of the recycling I've been carting around in the back of the van, and then we waited at McDonald's. I revised a couple of poems while Brendan played. Then ... home, to get Alex and make dinner and clean up the house in honor of our visitors tonight, who arrived precisely on schedule at 6:30.
Carmen Banke and Caroline Harris had come to talk with us on behalf of the See Ya Later Foundation (http://www.seeyalater.org/index.html) which was begun in memory of the Banke's son, Scott, who died of cancer as a 12-year-old in 2001. In addition to providing our church with a HUGE indoor playground, the foundation also provides scholarships, sports camps, and something they call Seeds of Hope. They aim to choose one family that is dealing with an illness (either of a parent or a child) each month. They usually host a party at the playhouse for the kids and their friends, but they also provide practical assistance in ways that vary from family to family. All we know for sure at this point is that we have been chosen to be this month's family. We'll find out more as we go along, but for tonight, we were mostly just sitting down and chatting about our family's needs and interests and so on.
I have to say ... it's really encouraging to me to see what Bob and Carmen have done with their loss. It's hard enough to watch Mark go through what he is going through and to know that we will lose him probably sooner rather than later. But I still can't even imaging what it would be like to have to watch one of my children go through this. And yet ... they carry on. Not only do they "survive," but they've turned their grief and loss into a source of joy and hope for many, many children and their families. Like ours! I only hope that we can live and let go with as much grace and dignity and compassion as this family has shown.
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