My sister Teresa's birthday is today. She turns 50. When I was in college, Teresa came to stay with me in the dorm while our grandpa was in the hospital. She was married and had two kids by this time. One of my roommates thought she was still in high school. Unfortunately, she's never forgotten that incident and to this day, she tells people she's younger than I am. And sometimes people still believe her. This is my chance to set the record straight. She's older, people. By almost 10 years!
The picture below was taken on her birthday at our family reunion in Branson in 2004. She has a thing for old hats, Birkenstocks (she has the largest collection of them I've ever seen) and Bud Light, so this picture really captures the essence of her.
In the next picture she's offering a Bud Light to Codi, a one-year-old, at the same reunion. Codi got her back this past weekend (he's now six) when we were at a family party and he asked her if she was somebody's grandma! She really is somebody's grandma now (Caden's) but it was still funny. Guess you had to be there.
She has been saying for some time that when she turns 50 she's going to wear a tiara every day. Hey, she's officially a member of the Red Hat Society now, so I guess anything is possible!
Happy birthday, Teresa. I can't wait to see you sitting at a slot machine gambling, drinking a Bud Light and wearing your tiara next week in Vegas!
Many years ago, when my friend Lucy and her family were preparing for a visit to my house from England, they were talking about how long it was before they'd board the airplane and (many, many hours later) arrive in Wichita, America. They refer to me as Chris in America, so that's appropriate. Well, the kids were young. Still toddlers, in fact. So they decided the easiest way for the kids to understand was to count the number of overnight "sleeps" they'd have before getting underway. I have been using that system for myself ever since.
With that in mind, I now tell you that there are only four more sleeps until I leave for Las Vegas. Almost the whole family (only three won't be there) is attending the Las Vegas wedding of my brother Mark and his long-time significant other, Terri. I was excited already on Monday because that's when my parents left (with two of my nieces in tow) on their two-week trip for the wedding. They're swinging out to California for a couple of days before Vegas, then after it's the Grand Canyon, among other things, on the way home. My sister, Jenny, and her family are also driving and they're leaving Friday. There are about 20 of us on the flight to Vegas on Sunday. Odds of sitting beside somebody I know on that flight are pretty good.
So, this will be the ultimate Family Vacation. Yes, I capitalized those words on purpose. Stay tuned for updates and pictures. For now, I think I'll turn in for one of those sleeps.
Today marks a special milestone in my life. It was 5 years ago today that I was diagnosed with follicular carcinoma of the thyroid. I'll never forget that phone call from the doctor who confirmed what I already knew in my heart to be true. The three other people in my house that day will probably never forget it either.
Cancer is always easier for the patient. At least it was in my case. My family, especially my parents, had a very difficult time coming to grips with the diagnosis. Yes, it was awful, but I always knew that I was going to be just fine. Most people who have thyroid cancer live long, full lives and die from something completely different. I had a doctor tell me that if you had to pick a cancer to have, thyroid cancer was the best choice. I don't remember ever having checked a box on a ballot, but it is what it is.
Until today dawned, I really didn't know how heavily these past five years have weighed on me. I have felt lighter and more free today than I have in a long time. Maybe it's coincidental, but I don't think so. This morning I treated myself to the venti iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks. Maybe I've been treating myself to them all too often lately since the staff there knew what I wanted the moment I walked in the door.
This afternoon I took some time off of my job (the beauty of a flexible schedule allowed that) and I ran a couple of errands and then met my friends Jennifer, Jill and Melanie to see "The Proposal" at the Warren east. I have had the tickets pictured above for almost two years (notice they expired at the end of 2008) but they still honored them. A very nice lady named Zoe gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the theatre and then she bought us popcorn and drinks before we went in to watch the movie. We laughed a lot (both during the tour and the movie) and had a really good time. Afterward we went to Cheddar's for a margarita. (Since she's with child, Jennifer booked it across town to grab some bargains at a consignment sale for her unborn baby, which should make his or her arrival sometime in September. We missed you Jenn!)
Today was very life-affirming. The people at my neighborhood Starbucks know me. I have friends who are a lot of fun (many more than just the three who went to the movie with me today). I have a wonderful family who is always there for me. I also have a job that I truly enjoy.
Yes, I am a cancer survivor. That diagnosis five years ago will follow me for the rest of my life. I will be vigilant about being tested because I know that a recurrence can happen many years down the road. But I have the first five years under my belt and right this minute it feels incredibly good to have gotten over that hurdle.
Today is my brother Mark's 49th birthday. In honor of this milestone, I'm posting this video of Zach, Mark's son, eating the frosting off of a piece of cake at Caden's 2nd birthday party a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty sure he never ate one bite of the cake itself. Enjoy!
I have lived in my house for almost five and a half years. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago and at other times it seems like just a few short months. Every time my Dad visits, for the entire time I've lived here, I've heard him complain about the steps leading from my garage into my house. I use the word steps loosely. It really was just one cement step between the floor of the garage and the kitchen. And that last step going up was a real doozy.
Last Friday afternoon my parents came to town for the weekend. Loaded in the back of their pickup on the trip down were my new garage steps. Dad's a welder and last time he was here (I don't even remember when it was it's been so long ago) he measured and muttered and vowed to make me some new steps before he came back again. He's nothing if not true to his word.
Behold, the unveiling of the new steps:
You can see the rejected cement step in the right side of this picture. That step is very heavy and will have to wait for better tools to move it before it can leave the premises.
The new steps are sturdy (since they're all metal, it would be hard to imagine otherwise). I think if, God forbid, a tornado were to rip through my neighborhood, those steps would still be bolted down after the dust settled. There's only one warning I'll impart: don't walk on them without shoes.
Not that Wednesday means anything special. It's just that this particular Wednesday I decided to post a blog. And that will be my goal every Wednesday from this point forward. It's going to be a quick one tonight because I'm tired and I don't feel very well. I learned well after taking a sip of my niece-in-law Rachel's drink last weekend that she was sick. Strep throat. She got it from my niece, Katie. I'm not necessarily saying she made me sick because my brother is also not feeling well and I don't think he drank after Rachel. I'm hoping I feel better after a good night's sleep.
Before I sleep I will post this picture of the dress I bought last week. I'll be wearing this dress in less than a month (about 26 days, to be exact) when my brother gets married in Las Vegas on August 10th. We leave 25 days from today and I'm starting to get really excited. Ta-da:
I don't usually dig sleeveless things, but it's Vegas. In August. I don't think I need to say more. I love the colors. The price was right. It's fully lined, so no slip is needed. It's comfortable and machine washable. So, what do you think...hot pink toenail polish?
Can you believe I'm posting a blog?!? I cannot fathom it myself. I won't even apologize (again!) for my lack of posts. I'm just going to get on with it.
I have a new mode of transportation, a knee walker. Here I am using it to roll down the hallway at work.
Almost three weeks ago I had surgery on my foot to repair something that was causing me great amounts of pain. One of the bones in my foot was extra-long and it was causing a hammer toe (crazy ass toe or CAT, for short). The toe itself did hurt, but the majority of my pain was on the bottom of my foot where the extra long bone was pressing and doing damage to the soft tissue there. My option for a permanent solution was surgery. The doc I went to was not optimistic that any other treatments would offer any real relief. And since he's been around, like, forever, I chose to believe him. Since Vegas is looming on the horizon in August (more on that in another post) I thought it best to get it done ASAP. That way I'm healed up enough to walk 'til I drop while I'm there. Anyway, I digress. The doctor opened up the top of my toe/foot and sawed off the offending bone. Really. I could hear the saw during surgery since they did a block at my ankle. They also had to shoot me up with local anesthesia because I could still feel when he started to make the incision. I drifted in and out during the entire 45 minute operation. He reattached the sawed-off bone to the adjacent bone with a screw (that will stay in my foot) then he straightened out the CAT and put a pin in to keep it straight while it heals.
Behold:
I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow for removal of the stitches. I'm hopeful that he'll also remove the pin. People who look at it (and maybe you, too) think it hurts. It really doesn't. The stitches are driving me mad, but other than that, it doesn't hurt. The pin sometimes gets bumped on stuff and moved off of center. Since I'm a little OCD (OK, a lot), I've taken to turning it back until it's straight up again. And it really does not hurt. Nobody believes me. Notice my nice pedicure (courtesy of my best pals, Christina and Heather--it was a birthday gift). You can't really tell, but the toe with the pin is the only one that isn't painted. The nurse who checked me in for surgery asked which toe it was and I pointed to my foot and said, "The unpainted one." They all thought that was pretty funny. I just thought it was practical.
I removed all the bandages (mostly) today and was going to take a picture before stitch removal, but that toe looks like a renegade Li'l Smoky that lost a bar fight and had to get stitched up. So I'll wait and take before and after pictures tomorrow at the doctor's office.
I have to admit that zooming from the parking lot to work in the morning is one of my favorite times of the day. I can go faster on the knee walker than I can with my own two feet. But I don't go too fast because I don't want to fall off. It has brakes, but they're more for slowing down than actually stopping quickly.
In the next picture she's offering a Bud Light to Codi, a one-year-old, at the same reunion. Codi got her back this past weekend (he's now six) when we were at a family party and he asked her if she was somebody's grandma! She really is somebody's grandma now (Caden's) but it was still funny. Guess you had to be there.
She has been saying for some time that when she turns 50 she's going to wear a tiara every day. Hey, she's officially a member of the Red Hat Society now, so I guess anything is possible!
