Feeling Lucky...

Mick was admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning for possible pneumonia.  He was on oxygen in the ICU till yesterday, when my husband convinced the Drs to let us bring him home with the setup to give him oxygen here, as needed.  Fortunately, he only needs it at night, and when he takes his naps.  His sats are fine when he is awake.  Unfortunately, this translates to little sleep for me since Saturday, since I spent the the three hospital nights with him, and am monitoring him now at home (without nurses coming in when the warning alarm on the machine goes off).  Tim is in the field until Friday evening, at which time he gets to take over so I can catch up on sleep! 

Through this all, our friends and neighbors have been absolutely fabulous!!!!!  From phone calls, emails, prayers, and offers from everything to kid shuttling, babysitting, meal-making, (no one has offered to do my laundry, darn!).  We have dinner coming throughout the middle of next week.  The amount of food people are bringing is amazing, too.  I think they think they are feeding an army.  I don't cook nearly as much as the food they are supplying!  It's all good, all generous, and I can't complain.  I feel so lucky to know so many great people who care enough to try and make things easier for me so that I can take care of Mick.  The rest of the kids are a little confused about why we are suddenly being provided with dinner from a different family every night, but I've explained to them that that's what you do when someone is sick, and that it makes people feel good to help.  I do wonder how much of this response is because we are in a military community, where people naturally draw together to support one another, because, often, extended families don't live nearby.  I'd like to think that communities are like this everywhere, but I do consider us blessed to live among the Marine Corps finest families!

Happy Birthday!

My husband turned 40 last week.  I spent the last couple of months doing a power point slide show of pictures set to music to show at his surprise birthday party.  Turns out the only surprise was that the music didn't work when the slide show was played through his laptop, which was connected to a projector and shown on a pull-down screen at the Follow Me Bar at the O'Club.  The presentation went well, other than that, though, and the party was fun. 

His birthday present was a bar - the wooden kind, with a canopy which holds glassware, and a cheesy Cantina sign on plastic, which we will replace with a real stained glass sign that will say either "Slainte" (cheers, in Gaelic), or "Tim's Pub".  His call.  It's been fun stocking the bar, and we had friends over last Sunday night, and are having more friends over tomorrow night to "break it in".  Tim looks right at home behind the bar, and this may just be good practice for a follow-on career at the end of his time in the Marine Corps (I hope not..........).  What we save on our O'club bill will probably equal what we spend on entertaining at home, but it's all good!!!

Reviewing old pictures for the PP presentation had me reflecting on how many wonderful memories we have, and how many truly great people we can call our friends.  We have been blessed!

Blepharoplasty....

OK, so 2 weeks ago, we had a visit with Mick's ENT for follow up for his ear tube placement.  In his office was a pamphlet for BLEPHAROPLASTY.  Which is surgery to lift saggy eyelids.  My mom had this surgery about 10 years ago upon her drs' recommendation because one eyelid was actually impairing her vision.  I casually mentioned this to Mick's dr, and asked him what conditions had to be met to have insurance cover this procedure.  He said, "For yourself?"  and I said that I figured I will probably need/choose to have it done someday, as my mom did.  Like, someday in the future.  He pulled my face this way and that, and concluded that in fact, I would be a good candidate for upper-lid blepharoplasty and an endoscopic brow lift!!!!  Unfortunately, he does not do lipo or tummy-tucks......

So, here I am , scheduled for plastic surgery.  I am not nervous or scared, just still a little surprised that this is happening.  Before the Extreme Make Over shows became popular, I don't think I ever would have considered something like this.  But, it's amazing what a little lift here and there can do for your appearance!  I always hoped to age gracefully, and wonder what choosing this says about me.  I asked Katie what she thought, and she said she thinks it's rather shallow and vain.  I found myself proud of her for saying this, since she is 15, and I am happy that she isn't sucked into "appearance is everything, at any cost".  But, she is young, and beautiful. 

I have asked my friends, who are my age, what they think, and the general consensus is that I should do it now, while I can enjoy the results, if I will probably need to do it later anyhow.  Even my mother concurs.  And Tim is OK with it, too.  I expected him to put up a little resistance, but he didn't.  He says I have "Little beady Brennan eyes".  Half of our kids are lucky to have inherited the Parker eyes.  The others may be candidates for this procedure in the future.  I know I don't want it badly enough to pay for it, but since insurance will cover it, I am scheduled for surgery on Valentine's Day.  Here's hoping I don't come out looking like I've been through a wind-tunnel, or with a permanent look of surprise on my face.  The Dr promised this wouldn't happen...............

The tough questions....

I spent New Year's Eve in the hospital with a few other ladies.  A mutual friend lost her 17 year old son at 8:30 that night.  He was struck from behind by another 17 year old boy who was driving his truck down the wrong side of the road, where Zach and his friend were walking to a friend's house.  I don't think I will ever forget the sound of pure pain I heard when the EMS guys told my friend that Zach had died.  Every parent's worst nightmare.  So many people affected by this accident.  And, that is exactly what it appeared to be - no alcohol, no drugs, no excess speed, just a dark road, some headlights from a 4 wheeler in a nearby field that temporarily blinded the driver, and two boys walking who simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  When I went into the room to be with my friend, she was crumpled in a heap on the floor, alternately denying the truth, and blaming herself.  At one point she said, "I asked God to make him OK, why isn't he OK?"  Who has an answer for that question?  Of course, all the "pat" answers came to mind: "God has a plan.  Zach is in a better place, free from pain."  But, I couldn't bring myself to say those things, nor do I think she would have been receptive to anything I had to say, such was the state of her grief.  So, I got her a pillow and blanket, rubbed her back, and cried with her.  And, all I could think about was how very hard it must be to have a child ripped from your life unexpectedly.  I believe in God, and that He controls the events in our lives.  I have no doubt that His plan is better than any I could come up with on my own.  But my heart hurts for all the people who were affected by this accident.  The driver of the truck, the driver of the 4-wheeler, the boy walking with Zach, and, of course all of those boys' families and friends.  Such a tragedy. 

Merry Christmas to All!

Another Christmas has come and gone.  We have discarded most of the wrappings, and, inadvertently, the check my in-laws sent to buy the kids' gifts.  Ooops! 

The big hit this year was DDR and PS2 to play it on.  I swore we wouldn't buy ANOTHER video game system, but couldn't find DDR compatible with Game Cube, so here we are.  But, this has been a HUGE hit.  The best thing was seeing my 13 and 8 year old daughters, who rarely speak to one another, dancing side by side nearly all day.  And, ha ha, I beat Molly's friend a few minutes ago.  Who'da thought someone who can't dance to save her life could beat a 13 year old?!  I must admit that Tim beat me on "Play that Funky Music, White Boy", though!  What fun.

Now it's time to think about resolutions for the coming year.  I find losing weight and shaping up will be number one on my list, yet again this year.  Sigh.  With Tim taking command of a battalion in the Spring, I have got to get my life organized, as well!  We will be expected to do some entertaining, and probably not just the "invite everyone over for an impromptu party on the lawn" like we have in the past.   

It is wonderful to have Tim home for the holidays this year.  We missed him last year, and I know that Christmas in Iraq was not nearly as festive or heart warming as it is at home with the ones you love.

We've been blessed!

My baby boy.........

What's not to love??!!!!!!

A Chance meeting...

I was working in the primary school's Santa Shop on Thursday.  I started talking with the lady who was wrapping gifts next to me.  She is pregnant with her 3rd child.   I asked the usual questions, "Is your husband home?"  - "He is", "How old are your other children, where do you live, etc....".  When I asked her how her pregnancy is going, she said "Pretty well, except that the doctors say there is a 1 in 110 chance that this baby has Down Syndrome".  I could barely contain my excitement, and went on to tell her about Mick, my pregnancy with him, the issues we've faced so far, and the special joys he has brought to our family.  She admitted that she hasn't done any reading about Down Syndrome, but has talked to a friend of her brother, who has a child with DS.  I couldn't help but feel that God put me there to help her, if I can, so I asked if she would be receptive to my sending her links to webpages about Down Syndome.  Fortunately, there is much more out there to read that is positive than there used to be.  While it's true that it could well turn out that her baby does not have DS, she will know soon enough (she is due in February), and it is my personal feeling that even if he does not, she will have learned that this condition is not the end of the world, and that, in fact, people with DS have a positive affect on everyone they meet.  I got a very nice email from her yesterday, and I will continue to pray that her baby is healthy and the rest of her pregnancy is uncomplicated.  I hope that she will feel comfortable turning to me if she has questions or concerns, and I hope that I  will know the right words to say.