Wednesday, October 24, 2007

October 24, 1950

San Bernadino, California 3:00 pm Temperature is a warm 72 degrees the sun is shinning, the sky is a clear blue. A young couple walks out of a church in the warm sunshine to see school getting out across the street. All the young students are glad to be out of school and are runing in every direction. Tena and Bill were just married in the Baptist Church. Not a lot of people were in attendance, just the brides parents and the groom's mother. Tena and Bill would begin there married life in the Mojave desert. There first love nest would be a 18 foot trailer. Tena immediately tried to burn it down by putting a cake in the oven and taking off to the base to pick up Bill a 20 mile round trip. Neighbors in the trailer park jimmed the door open and saved the day by turning off the oven. The cake was a crispy critter. Our biggest wedding gift was old coupe car. This really saved us we were living 10 miles from the base an really needed transportation. The groom had just signed up for additional six years of the Marine Corp.

This was the last half of the 20th century, the beginning of the Korean War. The founding of a dynasty. Four children, 3 living, 6 grandchildren, 1 great grandson. Three sons, first son with a doctorate, second son with a masters, third son died at birth. Only daughter's passion is working with newborns in intensive care. Three granddaughters oldest married, middle is making a career of taking care of grandma, the youngest busy being a second grader. Three grandsons oldest making a name for himself in media and news, middle is trying his luck with Walmart, the youngest is in construction. Great grandson living with his Mom in Arizona we don't see nearly enough of him.

We almost made 57 years and people said it wouldn't last.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Good News

I went to take granddaughter to her mom after school today. Mom was very tired it had been a long week of chemo and radition. While I was there she got a phone call from her doc's office. Her blood markers for cancer that had been over 600 were down to about 287. We don't know what is working, chemo, radition, prayer or every thing but it is very good news.

I had one of my newest friends offer to drive daughter today. This left Melissa and I free to go to pumpkin patch with Michelle. It takes so little to make her happy we have to keep up with her. We have been so worried about P that we tend to forget how much the little one needs.

P has a list of things that needs to be done. Melissa and I are going to have to start going over on the week ends and tackeling that list. P treatments take all of her energy. The thing that we can't do is paint her hallway we have to find someone to do that. I just had an idea who could do that. Next time I get a massage I will have to check that out.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

After 10 days

Daughter is home after 10 days of being in the hospital. She has to go back Monday through Friday for radition. We set down and wrote down a schedule for the next 5 weeks. That means two to three trips a times for the next 5 weeks. Melissa has had to grow up a lot this last week. She had to give up two special things at Church one Saturday afternoon and the goodbye meeting for the youth director. I gave Melissa a treat today she had her first massage. I am trying very hard to see that she has some time away from old granny.

Daughter seems to be doing some better, she is able to eat a little and is having some small BM's. These things are what all the chemo and radition is for, if we can just get her blood marker's down. She has chemo every Monday the same day she has radition. Her nausea is over whelming I just hope we can keep it under control. I am so glad that Melissa is here to help with the driving. I drove all the way to Dallas on Sunday and I drove most of the way home on Monday.

We had our own taste tests today. Michelle, Melissa and I we tried 3 different energy bars. We have decided on one to put in our cooler pack that we carry in the car. Thank heavens it was the cheaper one. Melissa had a blood sugar crash on Monday. She had disliked her sandwich Monday and the package of chips didn't take her through the rest of the day. I have boiled some eggs and she is eating them for breakfast that will cover her protein in the morning. Now maybe the energy bars can pick up for anyother emergency.

I certainly hope Michelle will be better with mommy home. She just doesn't need to give her Mom the attitude she has given her grandma's the last 10 days.

I called Jenny yesterday I got a 20 minute spell and then came the clicher the enrollment fee if $500.00 per year.

Keep praying for all of us we are just doing what has to be done every day.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Columbus Day

I can't turn on the TV without someone trying to sell me something because it is Columbus Day. I didn't know that East Texas has a heavy Italian population? I know it is just another excuse to sell, sell, sell cars, mattress's and etc.



Forty four years ago I was very pregnant and living in Pueblo, Colorado which did have a large Italian population. Hubby was working for IBM and was a very big presence in the young up and coming young JC's. We had two lively little boys that I had trouble keeping up with. The wives of the young JC's had a maternity closet of clothes that was circulated among those that needed them. I was lucky to have the use of the black printed corduroy. The corduroy had litle pink roses on it. I thought I really looked good with a black sweater under the smock top and a corduroy skirt that matched the smock top. We were invited to a Columbus Day dinner. The dinner was held in the Italian part of town. The lodge hall was upstairs over the commercial stores down stairs. The room was full of long tables pushed together all the length of the room and as many rows of tables as they could get into the room. The chairs were back to back and very difficult to get up or down and neogotiate getting down the row of tables. When you are prenant you have to make a lot of trips to the little girls room. The speeches went on forever and the temperature in the room kept rising. The spaghetti was very, very good and everything that went with it.



These are my thoughts as we are approaching Columbus Day.