Hawaii 2023 Day 4 & Beyond

Must remember to move the first post to this blog...  

Day 4: Disney A'ulani Resort 

The day started very early, with the unmistakable whoop whoop of a house alarm, at 3:30 we put on shoes, grabbed the car key, room keys to the other hotel, wallets and phones and headed outside for a quiet pool side star gaze. We were very much in the wrong location, but it was the closest "out" nearest our room and we weren't alone. After the fire trucks came, there was an announcement in the hotel that we could not hear, and Jessica called the front desk. We were given the all clear, so back to bed we went. It wasn't easy but we all managed to get another couple hours of rest. 

At a more reasonable hour, we joined our friends at the pool, and they had secured six lounge chairs in the shade. We spent a lovely day swimming in the pools, floating the lazy river and the LT's popped out to the lagoon for a dip in the ocean. In the afternoon we moved our luggage from our room to the K's room, and then to the cars. We hung out at the pool until we were done with Disney. The pools were great, the service fantastic, but the age group was very much younger. Lots and lots of babies and little kids. Our main hotel also has lots of families, but the demographic seems to be a bit older. 

Once back and settled in our primary hotel, I did the mom thing and used the washer dryer. It has been nice to wash as we go, not only so that we don't bring home a giant pile of heavy wet stuff, but to keep the favorite items in rotation. We dined at the "good" restaurant at the hotel. and I don't think any of us was too impressed.

Off to bed to get ready for our tourist day.

Day 5:  

The plan for day 5 was to visit the Pearl Harbor national Park.   The drive into Honolulu wasn’t too challenging, but parking was a bit of an event.   One thing to note about the park is hat bags are not permitted, so I paid $7.00 to stow my bag in an air conditioned hut.   The bag had almost nothing in it once I removed my credit card, phone and trusty hair tie.  Oh well…

Everyone should visit the Memorial at least once.  It was moving, interesting, and very well done.   I think both my dad and Jason’s dad were with us in  spirit as we experienced the sites.   We had tickets to the Arizona memorial, but paid extra to wander around the Submarine museum.   The feature attraction was the USS Bowfin Submarine, a decommissioned World War II submarine.  The USS Bowfin was a “silent service” vessel meaning that to be stealth the servicemen on board were required to be silent so as to not be detected.    It was commissioned one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor.   

There was a ramp from the park to the top of the submarine  and before I knew it we were ushered  to a set of stairs, nope a ladder that led into the submarine.   The self-guided tour was incredible, but also hot, sweaty, and spaces were TIGHT.   This was not a simulation, but we were moving through the sub from the aft to the stern through about 6 bulkhead doors, (not a hatch) of rather small nature.  Not at all ADA compliant.   Once we were in the sub, the only way out was to keep moving forward.   It is apparent that the navy submariners were not ever going to be in the NBA.  The cots, or bunks were at most 5 feet long., and the head was not made for comfort.   It’s impressive that these men lived like that.    The subs to today are much bigger, but probably still not like a fancy cruise ship.

Once topside, we took many photos and then purchased the photo of our family that was printed on the “newspaper” from 1941, the day after the attack.   Cheesy - yes, but nicely done and the proceeds returned to the museum.   Better money spent than a tacky water bottle in the shape of a large missile.  (Available for purchase at the USS Bowfin gift shop for $39.99.)

We wandered through a couple of the on site exhibitions that talked through the Second World War, the Cold War, and then the information about the attack on Oahu.  (It was much more than just Pearl Harbor.). Lucy and Sophie were noticeably disturbed by the actions of humans and were confused as to why anyone would sign up to participate in something that would most likely lead to their deaths.   Hard to explain …

Our time to go to the Arizona arrived and our group was lead into an auditorium where a very somber US Park ranger, Daniel made it clear that this was not an exposition, or an experience but a living cemetery where 1200 bodies were still entombed beneath the water.  We were instructed that we could take photos but no social media would be tolerated.  I can only imagine how they had to come to the point of being crystal clear that that activity was not appropriate.  

We were lead down to a pier where three active Naval service persons were on hand to get us onto the boat and tot he memorial.  Once across the harbor to the memorial the size of the Arizona became clear and the somber news of the location was palpable.   Most everyone was in their own quiet groups, some asking questions of the park ranger on hand, and others moving about the memorial.   At one end, there is a space that had the names of the servicemen who perished on the Arizona, and the names of the survivors who had chosen to be interred with their fellow servicemen.   It was “just a big white room” but you could really feel the importance of it.  Everyone was quiet and purposeful about taking in the names, but at one point a young boy about 6 or 7 noted the excellent acoustics and belted out a very loud chorus of “who let the dogs out?”, the mom, who obviously had never had to threaten the sweet prince before, shushed him, but he was a defiant little jerk and dropped an additional chorus in a slightly quieter, but equally less reverent manner.   I had to walk away… but from that moment on, any time there is a quiet moment in our group travels, I think a round of “who let the dogs out” will ring through the car. Maybe Lucy and Sophie will sing a round at my funeral someday.  

Back to the hotel for a refreshing dip in the pool and dinner in the room. All parties agreed that our hotel room dinner was better than the one from the night before.  

Day 6: The Dole Plantation

The K’s attended a sales pitch for their vacation club, so the LT’s had a quiet morning and a homemade breakfast. Something about the scrambled eggs made by a vacationing Jason that just hit the spot.  

We reconnected at noon to head to the Dole plantation for a tour and “dole Whip”.  Upon arrival the line for the train was one hour, so we opted not to park and just head over to the North Shore. We were in search of food trucks  and then off to Turtle Bay.

Oddly, we haven’t spent any cash on this trip and the $20 I threw in just in case it was needed meant that we were limited to food trucks that would take credit cards. Lucky for us, that is most (but not all). Our food truck lunch has probably been the best food we’ve had so far. This is likely owing to the fact that we’ve been eating at resorts.  My taco salad made me very happy and I know Jason and Lucy loved their burrito and pork tacos.

We then ventured north to Turtle Bay.  The traffics was slow, but it was an interesting ride.    On the way back I was on the Ocean side and spotted dolphins jumping in the water.  

After a short ride we arrived at the Turtle Bay Resort.  This is a beautiful property and a bit of a price jump from our location.  The lobby was open on all sides and the views were stunning. We made use of the restrooms, spent some money in the hotel general store, and then popped out to the beach.    It is our understanding that all beaches on the island are public. No one questioned our group as we marched through the fancy beach chairs to the beautiful lagoon. We hopped right in the water and played until we were watered out. 

The K’s popped back into the hotel to change and  buy some stuff at the Turtle Bay gift store while we sanded off at the car.  The drive back was longer than the trip out, but the sights were amazing.

Back at the hotel, the families split into their own pods and dined separately .  No drama just different agendas.   Lucy, who was shorted out of shave ice AND dole whip today decided to skip the Mud Pie at dinner.   We also opted to skip the pool tonight in favor of a good shower and quiet time in our room.

Tomorrow looks to be a beach day, which is perfect for our last day.

Hawaii 2023 - Journal

Travelers: Jason, Lucy (12) & me (aka "the LTs") Zack, Jessica & Sophie (11) (sometimes called "the K's") 

Reason for travel: summer vacation, and to celebrate Jessica's 50th birthday 

Location of trip: Oahu, Hawaii Day 1: travel day, Seattle to Honolulu 

Our 11:20 am flight left a bit late, but spirits were high with the three in our party. The flight was smooth, nothing exciting to report, but we did notice the two house cats, one dog and two babies on the flight who seem to call to one another from row 6 to row 20. "Are you still here?"..."Yes, I'm stuck back here, am unhappy. You?", "Heck yeah, I'm pissed." 

With the time zone change, we arrived 6 hours later at 3pm. My only complaint about the whole day is that the Honolulu airport has very little signage as to the location of the rental car wing. It wasn't until I was at the door to cross the street to the rental cars that I saw the first sign for the rental cars. With the key fob to the sexiest, no frills Dodge minivan we loaded up our luggage and headed off to the Marriott Ko' Alina to meet our friends. They were already at the pool, so we found our gear and plopped ourselves into the water to cool off, and begin the process of "un-pleugging" 

Small segue: On our Disney cruise last spring with the K's, the adults took part in a Mojito tasting. The gentleman who was leading the event had an interesting accent and told us that it was so great that we were all there to unplug. However, it sounded like "un-pleuge". Un-pleuge has become part of our friend lexicon. It is used in many ways, such as "my toilet is pleuged", "Did you un-pleuge the iron?", and of course "It it so wonderful to un-pleuge in this pool." 

We opted for a no frills dinner at the pool café, and Lucy said that the pork sandwich was the best she's ever had and hopes to eat it every day. (We're on day 4 now and we haven't been back, but there is still time.) Our room at the Ko' Alina is a "one bedroom villa" which means we have a king bed in a separate zone, a dining table for 6, and a pretty functional kitchen with zero storage, but a dishwasher and washer/dryer. Lucy, sadly has to sleep on the couch pull out, but she's not complaining and sleeping well. She is aware of the fact that these amazing vacations are in our budget, but sometimes the cost of an extra room, or the suite with multiple real beds is not. 

Day 2: Sunday We awoke at 3 am local time and did our fair best to go back to sleep. Later, but still early, we popped out to a grocery store to pick up beverages, and things that should not be purchased at Costco when you're only around for 7 days. At 10, when Costco finally opened the adults went to gather supplies. With a haul in hand, we unpacked our treasures and ate a hearty lunch in our villa. We estimate that each meal we eat here will save us at minimum $80 or more. We aren't on a room PB&J budget, but it's supper nice to be able to scramble eggs in the room. Costco has begun to test out fresh sushi in certain locations, and we were excited to see it in the store. The sushi makers are sort of caged in a mini-kitchen and are rolling Japanese treats for the masses. Zack picked up a platter of sashimi, and I grabbed the platter with the dragon roll and California rolls. Between the 6 of us, we made quick work of it. With all caution aside we skipped the 30 minute waiting requirement for swimming and popped down to the pool for the afternoon. As adults, we now know that the 30 minute waiting period was just a plot to let the adults un-pleuge for a tiny window between the effort to feed kids and the next activity. 

Dinner that night was at a place that Jason's colleague suggested "Monkey Pod". I had the boring fish and chips, which were fabulous. Sophie, who had reached the end of her energy ordered a noodle soup that the adults loved, but she was not impressed. It was unfortunate for her. She is an adventurous eater, but her food critic ratings see a dramatic decline when she is exhausted. 

Day 3: Monday Zack & Jason, the big breakfast fans took themselves on a man-date to the Four Seasons to try their breakfast buffet. One of the many great things about traveling with friends is that there's usually someone who wants to play your game. I don't mind going out for breakfast, but I'm more of a lunch person and for sure, I'm only going to eat one egg and never come close to justifying the cost of a $60 buffet. While the boys had fancy eggs (and probably a bloody mary or two) we packed up an overnight bag because we all were going on a sleep over to the Disney A'ulani resort (which is next door to our Marriott resort.) Jess used some vacation club points to get us each a small room for one night. This allowed us two full days on property to enjoy the pool and amenities. We didn't check out of the Marriott, so we only had to deal with stuff for one night. This was a bit more work that we thought, so I'm very glad we chose do to this activity early in the trip. People can write entire articles about the A'ulani experience, so I won't go into it too much but it was wonderful. The pools are nicely done, the lagoon is superb, pool food is probably the best we've ever had. Finding 6 deck chairs together was not easy, but we did it both days. The second day we were in the shade and it was delightful. Goofy stopped by while we were eating breakfast to let Jason know his food looked yummy, ran into Moana while we were in the lazy river and had to dodge a gaggle of tiny humans who were trying to get hugs from Pluto. It was cute. The room was more fancy than our Mariott villa, but far more compact. I could never live in a place that has shutters for doors between all the spaces, including the toilet. It's hard to un-pleuge when people can hear you. 

We planned to attend the Paradise Cove luau, that was next door to A'ulani that evening, so after a fun day in the water we cleaned up and headed over. It was a short walk and when the show was over I know we were back at A'ulani before some of the folks were out of the parking lot. The show was great, Sophie got pulled onto the stage by the fire eating guy and was a great sport about it. Jason and I privately noted that the Feast of LeLe in Maui was a much more elegant event but the K's seemed to have a great time, which is all that mattered. No need to go on an on about a different event. Back at A'ulani we settled in for a good night sleep. 

Day 4: Tuesday 3:30 a.m. the unmistakable whoop of the emergency alarm woke us up, and we were instructed to leave the building due to an emergency. We grabbed phones, the car key, and our wallets and headed to the nearest exit. Because we were on the ground floor, this meant we exited to the pool area and were met with 4-5 other families. we convinced ourselves that it was all nothing and that we should go back in to bed but decided to hold off once we heard the sirens. We do know that in certain situations the fire department must clear any alarms, so we didn't think the hotel was going to burn down, but it did make the event a bit more real. Once we got the all clear we headed back in and were able to go back to sleep. We were up at an later, but still early hour and were at the pool before breakfast. That's it for now, I'm on the lanai (Wed am) and am out of coffee and need to either put on sun screen or step inside. 

Spring break - Denver trip

Spring Tree

Lucy @ Freddy's 

 Lucy's spring break was a great time to zip off to Denver to take Susie to visit friends, attend a dinner to celebrate a beloved friend and get away for a few days.

I wouldn't say the trip was necessarily on par with an actual vacation.  We spent a lot of time in the car going to visit multiple people in all the corners of the Denver metro area.  We did enjoy lots of great dinners and had some nice visits with family and friends.

Lucy was a great sport and only had one minor "typical teen" moment and that was wholly due to being awakened at 4 am for an early morning flight.  We were all tired, but seemed to bounce back after a nap on the plane.

Thankfully, we were able to squeeze in a visit to Lucy's most favorite burger place EVER.  Freddy's Steakburger.  It is very good and no one was mad about the side trip. 

Our outbound travel was a bit "off".   The automated system at the airport off site car park that we had reserved simply would not recognize our code to let us in.  Getting an actual human to help was difficult and after she finally lumbered over she had the nerve to be irritated at us because our reservation was to start 3 hours earlier.   Um... so what?   We paid extra then... let us in.   She did and the lot was overfull and we ended up parking at the end of an row in an unofficial spot.    When we left yesterday, since we weren't checked in properly we had to get help to get out.   So much for easy pre-pay automation.  

Finally parked and at the airport we were just through security when the announcement that our flight was 3 1/2 hours delayed.  We were each given food vouchers and ultimately a $50 coupon for future travel.   The delay messed up our day one plans, but not too badly.    

Our VRBO house was cute, the perfect size for the three of us and served us well.   We were close to Susie's old neighborhood so we popped over to their favorite pizza place and brought home dinner.   The timing was perfect in that at the end of the month, this place will be closing forever.   

The next day we spent with cousin Beth and then "popped out" to her mother's place for a quick visit.   That took all day, but we did manage the side trip to Freddy's which Lucy and the rest of us enjoyed tremendously.  

We had planned to have dinner with Beth that night, but after the 6+ hour day activities we decided to skip it and have breakfast the next day.    Our afternoon plans fell through and we had a few hours on our own so we went to the mall.

We were able to connect with Jason's bestie Sean for a fun dinner and also a visit to former neighbors where Mrs. Hahn (Barbie) pulled out her clarinets and she and Lucy had a great chat about music.  

We finished our visit by attending a celebration of life dinner for Susie's bestie, Sally who passed away on January 2nd.  It was a lively dinner for ten and we did all the things.  Some tears, sweet stories and enjoyed the evening.  Sally would have approved.  

Our 6 am flight home was delayed until 7:30 which gave us extra time in the morning to not have to rush around like crazy.   We shared the flight with Seattle's All Female Football team and unfortunately for Jason he had two linebackers in his row and it was an unfortunately snug row for those three. 

Yesterday afternoon I started the post trip laundry while unexpected naps took place all over the house.  I napped on the plane and managed to stay up until 9pm.  I did take an afternoon bubble bath that was WONDERFUL!   There's nothing like your own home's amenities after being away.  

I've been on hold with Alaska airline's customer care department for (let me check) 1 hour, 23 minutes and 12..13..14 seconds because they charged me twice for the cheese trays and that's not ok.   I sent an email but the reply said it would be 2-3 WEEKS to get a reply.   Sheesh. 

I'm off to Orlando Florida next week for a work trip, hopefully it will be smoother travel than this trip and then our next major travel event is Hawaii in July.  We booked first class for that journey and I'm quite relieved about the luxury accommodations for that trip.  Jason will be happy not to be seated next to a footballer. 

The Seattle Majestics

These ladies are no joke!

How do I explain it?

I need help. Last night our sixth grade student came into our room at bedtime in tears.  "I hate America" was the shocking statement that was made.   We asked, why and what happened because not even an hour earlier this smart, goofy kid who takes tap dancing classes, loves volleyball and is on the honor roll at school was telling us silly jokes and practicing a moonwalk.   "I don't understand why we're scared at school, and that people hate me because I'm different."

After some digging it boiled down to just the two topics that are the most worrisome for us as parents in 2023.  Gun violence and an increasing amount of law makers across the country talking about the dangers of saying "gay", people in Drag, or books in schools that represent real life people. 

We can't do the easy and reassuring parent trick of saying "it will be ok, a shooting at your school will never happen to you" because we don't know that.  Gun violence has already touched our little family.  On a boring Saturday morning we stopped into a local mall to shop for spring clothes and there was an altercation that resulted in two people being shot.  The terror in not knowing what was happening and the need to get out of the area was awful.   We were separated and our third grader had to rely on strangers for comfort and help until we were reunited.  

It simply isn't believable to tell kids that there is no risk in going to school.  The drills they do for lockdown are more likely to be put into action than the earthquake drills we did, and the atomic bomb drills our parents did.   American kids live with a real worry that it will be their school next.

Ok, so training and preparation.  That "solves" the gun issue, but what about the other thing?  How do we explain that legislators are railing on about drag queens because it's an easy thing to vilify?   How do we explain that just because they don't feel comfortable being called a girl that they are talked about by adults in power as deviant, or suggest that they were groomed.   It feels like they are suggesting that if it hadn't been for external factors, that my kid would be 'normal.'  Oh my, was it the true story about two male penguins at the zoo who hatched an adopted egg?  It can't be, our doctor, the therapist we hired after the shooting, and even the clergy at our church have said our family as healthy, loving and frankly ordinary.   

So, I am asking for help.  How do we explain inaction on limiting access to guns that are so powerful that parents have to use DNA to identify their child, but at the same time that these same legislators will limit the use of pronouns because pronouns are are harmful?  How do we explain that the rights of American's to have guns is more important than the right for children to survive the day of school?   How do we explain that even though we have freedom of religion in America that those who believe in the Bible use it to make laws, based on their interpretation.  How do we explain that we as parents would do anything to keep them safe, but we can't stop bullets and we can't stop useless and hurtful laws.

This kid is smart and sees through the irony of inaction on something that will literally kill them and action on stuff like words that don't matter.   

How are we as parents supposed to explain it?   

The Arrival

An article on CNN.com was posted today that suggests doctors will be able to detect and assess the progression of Alzheimer's using eye tests.   In a study they were able to detect beta-amyloid, a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease in the participants. The hope is that they'll be able to create a test that will help them determine the onset of Alzheimer's before the cognitive symptoms arrive, which would give folks more time to take preventative measures and take or make medical interventions that will delay the devastating effects.

Of course I care about this from the standpoint of an empathetic human as advances in health care is great for everyone.  However, I find myself in a family that has a history with this disease.  Jason's grandmother passed from this when he was young, and his uncle Tom was diagnosed a little over ten years ago.  We are in a constant state of worry and watching over his mom.  She is aware of minor memory issues but cognitive tests don't indicate an active diagnosis is eminent.  

Tom passed away last week.   He had been in full time care for years, and he had stopped recognizing his family a long time ago.  His passing is sad, but also there's some relief in that he's free of his non-functioning body and his family can move on to a daily schedule that doesn't involve his care.   

Jason and Susie will be attending Tom's funeral.  We decided that we all didn't need to make the last minute trip to Kentucky.  Lucy is so very empathetic that she cried for Tom, whom she's never met.   This kid is so lovely.  We explained the complexity of someone passing who, unlike Papa took years and years to go but stopped being themselves a long time ago.   

I'm glad that Jason is going with his mom. I don't think we'd be comfortable with her traveling alone and this trip is one that Susie would have certainly made with John is fraught with some emotional land mines for her.  

This all hits home.  We know that we will be Susie's support system in the event that her forgetfulness turns into a legitimate diagnosis - we're here for it.  What frightens me is that Tom's daughter who is my age has also been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.   

The Alzheimer's association says that having this in the family is not a guarantee that all in that family will have it.  But, having a parent or a sibling that is diagnosed increased the likelihood of a diagnosis.  Susie has a third sibling and to our knowledge their family seems to be free of it.  Finger's crossed that remains true. 

It's not lost on me that this genetic connection is very close to my own household.  Is it coming for Jason?  Lucy?  Obviously, anything could hit us at anytime.  I am infinitely grateful for dodging the myriad of horrors that could have come for our small kid, but as a parent I worry about EVERYTHING. It's not a crippling fear, I don't need a counselor but the list of things that could be coming for us is long.  This one is just a bit more realistic.  

I really love these humans and want our golden luck to continue.   

February 2023

 I'm in San Jose for work for the first time in three years.   It's nice to be here, but also draining.  I had dinner last night with a colleague and was looking forward to puttering around the mini-mall next door to the hotel tonight, but it looks like I'll be grabbing dinner with my manager tonight.   It won't take forever so I should be able to get the downtime I'm hoping for. 

We have an all day meeting tomorrow and I'm hopeful it will be engaging.  More of the same Wednesday morning and then I'm on a plane at 2 to come home.   Why not stay for the whole day?  Well,  Wednesday is Lucy's 12th birthday, and I want to be home for dinner.  I've left presents for the morning - because everyone should wake up to pressies.  

This afternoon, Lucy has two friends coming over after school.  We aren't super jazzed about it but she organized it herself.   The friends are fine, but lately they haven't been talking to her at lunch so I'm not sure why this after school event came up.  I'm a bit worried that it's not what it seems on the upfront and that it won't be as fun for Lucy has hoped.   However, we cannot manage all the heartbreak and maybe we've read the situation wrong.  Still, if it walks like a duck...

Workwise, things are going well.  I was given a promotion this year and I'm happy about it, but am also feeling sheepish.  I know there are more folks who work a ton more and harder than I do.  However you can't turn something like this down.   I only bring it up here because the amount of "congratulations" emails is astonishing and one more just came in.  I had to move them all into a folder because the clutter was making my mailbox hard to navigate. 

Well, I guess it's time to stop hiding out and head back to the main room to finish my day.  I needed a moment alone, so I popped into a conference room.   Maybe I didn't sleep well last night, because I have the yawns right now.   Or, maybe I need to go for a walk. 

Happy 2023

 

Jingle Holly Jolly

The mood has lifted a bit, we are decorated and trimmed.  Shopping is complete and mom is in her car headed west in order to beat a pretty significant storm.

Susie has expressed many times that she is not looking forward to Christmas and we are supportive and expect the day to be bittersweet.  Lucy, as every kid should be, is excited and has had a lot of fun prepping, creating and wrapping her own gifts to the grandmas, Jason and me.  

We invited the Kozma's over for Christmas dinner which will enliven our party.  With mom coming today (Monday) and Christmas being on Sunday we have time to enjoy each other, sneak out to do some last minute shopping and be ready for the festival of gifts.

Lucy was freed from the burdens of Middle School last Friday and after a full weekend of activities is bored.  She and grandma G can play tomorrow.  

Work is slow, I had an important meeting this morning which took all week last week to prep and it was done at 10 am.  A few other things are happening that I queued up, but don't require any effort from me, so I'm blogging (as you can read) and I finally took care of some stuff from my office floor.  I was able to offload 17 skeins of yarn that I purchased for a blanket that I did not want to finish (as it's been well over a year since I did the last row) and strangely enough, my whole room feels brighter with that stuff gone.  The lady that picked it up said it was for a couple of teen girls who were recently removed from their parents home and needed/wanted an easy craft idea to keep them busy.  This alleviates my guilt over the expense of the yarn.  Even though we are financially solid, I still feel badly about spending money for nothing.

I also finally ditched a few boxes of "stuff" from last Christmas that had been in a bag in my office for the year.  It's funny how you can look past stuff that is clearly clutter.  Our trash/recycle this week will be significant.   Thankfully, recycling is free and the extra won't count against us, but we might take a hit on the trash.  

A new season

 The weather finally turned.  The rains came and cleared all the smoke that had settled in and eliminated our ability to enjoy fall evenings on the deck.

It rained and rained and then rained some more, the plants are happy and the trees took a while to pop into their fall glory, but as I look out my office window I see the reds, greens, yellows and oranges of fall.  It dropped to 34 last night, so I expect the trees that are holding onto to their green leaves will give up the ghost soon.

Last week marked one month since we lost Jason's dad, and six years since my dad passed.  Soon those milestones won't be intertwined, but in this moment they are.  The shock of John's passing hasn't lifted much.  There is less to do regarding the passing and the work has shifted to ensuring that Susie is comfortable, the finances are organized and that she's doing well emotionally.

Christmas is looming like an unwanted visit from someone that you like but aren't in the mood to see.  I'm looking forward to all the trimmings and making the house festive with sounds and smells.  But, just as when my dad died, putting up the stockings will be hard.  Now there are two that are missing and while one is fresher than the other, the impact is the same.  

After Halloween this year, I organized the storage boxes and cleaned out a bunch of stuff that we no longer use, and I hope to have the energy to do it with the Christmas items as well.   I know there are a lot of things in those tubs that we simply do not use or have never used.   Maybe if I can organize it better, then I can have a special place for the grandpa stockings.  

We had a fun Halloween, the weather cleared up for the night and we set out a table on the driveway and took our party outside.  Lucy and Sophie had a grand time collecting candy from the neighbors.  Jason & Zack enjoyed their walkabout.  They pretend to escort the gals, but in reality, they are having a nice chat, a walking adult beverage and chatting with the other neighbors who have patio parties as well.  The gals are no longer in need of a parent during Halloween, but if they'll let the dads go - the dads will go.

Halloween was Monday, and Tuesday morning I drove over to Yakima to be with mom as she headed to a scary doctor's appointment.  Well, it was "just" an MRI, but I was happy to be able to take her.  I was also able to stand in for Jason and reconnect all of mom's electronic devices to her new Wi-Fi, and clean up her password manager.  

Healthwise, she has a couple things going on, one of which sounds like cancer, but our Internet Dr. degree is not on the same level as the actual doctor, who informed her yesterday that our research was very wrong.  So, good!  The other issue will be significant but isn't life threatening.  Dealing with it will be a short-term pain in the ass (or intestines) and should result in her feeling better in the long run. When that procedure is scheduled, I'll pop back over and hang out as long as she and I can stand it.  

This week in the life of the family three is a doozy.  Today and yesterday, Jason had to go into the office, which now is unusual and puts a kink in our daily activities.  I'm thankful for the time alone in the house but miss his noises.  Today, when the power blinked off for a minute, I had to reset all the clocks on my own.  I mean...whine.

I'm getting my hair done this afternoon, so Lucy will come home to an empty house - which brings up mom guilt.  But the kid is almost 12 and as long as they know someone is on the way, they are fine with being alone.

Tomorrow, is Lucy's first middle school band concert.  It could be great, or it could be excruciating.  To be honest, even though the 6th grade band has only been playing since September I have a lot of faith in their progress.  Lucy was practicing last night - like they do every day and it sounded wonderful.  

Thursday night is my book group and I have finished the main book, but the book of short stories is probably not going to happen between now and then.

Friday we'll work a half day and then head to Monroe to participate in the rehearsal dinner for Cousin Rachel - who is getting married on Saturday.  We have been looking forward to this for ages.  I really love a wedding and this one has all the promises of a wonderful event. 

I'm sure it will be bittersweet for Susie as she and John made it a priority to attend the weddings of everyone in the family.  Not having John with us physically will be sad, but I know in my heart that he will be in that room.  He won't miss it. 

We get a bit of a break, and then it's Thanksgiving.  We'll be in Monroe again for dinner and the next day we have an appointment for John's internment at the cemetery on Friday.  I'm hopeful for decent weather and a small gathering of folks.  I'll research before then if it's allowed or appropriate to have anything prepared to say.    The official catholic service only allowed for 1 speaker and those remarks had to be less than 10 minutes.  Not very personal in my opinion.  Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely service, but not personal.

 After the internment we will turn the Christmas season up to 11.

A funeral, a party, calamity, and a breather

 

flowers for the urn

It took a bit to work out when to have the service for John, but the day finally came and a modest amount of family and new friends gathered for a service at St. Anthony's in Renton.  Then, virtually everyone came back to our house for a gathering.

Thankfully, the air cleared up a bit and we were able to use the deck as well as the main floor for the event.  We served a casual lunch and thankfully didn't have too much left over. 

It was lovely having a house full of people, visiting with the extended family was very nice and I thought Susie did great.  

Everyone stayed a few hours, and we had our house back around 3, a quick clean up and Jason and I melted into the couch around 4:30.  Sweet Lucy seemed eager to spend time with us and was very chatty until it was bed time. Jason might have been in the mood for some quiet time, but we know that this kid won't always want to hang out, so we listened to stories, watched them practice their clarinet, and helped with homework.  

All in all, it really worked out well and felt like a fitting goodbye to John.  It was dignified, and still fun. The inurnment for the urn hasn't been scheduled, so he's still with us.  

The family sent an incredible flower arrangement for the church, so he's hanging out in our main room.  

CALAMITY

Jas & I took Wednesday off to prepare for the service and after party.  The required trip to Costco was on the agenda, as well as prepping the house for the well-timed housekeepers.  He and I went to breakfast while the housekeepers were in the house, then came back to move the tables around, set up the deck and clear space for the incoming sandwiches and party food for the next day.

I was at the sink washing my hands or something and the entire nozzle of the sprayer broke off in my hand which caused a HUGE mess. Water was everywhere, the cupboards, my face, shirt, and the floor.  Ok, add a faucet to the Costco list.  Thankfully, replacing the faucet didn't take too long but it certainly wasn't on the list of things Jason wanted to do before the funeral for his dad.

  

because we needed a project

During the post funeral party there was some chaos going on.   It seems that when you have a house full of people, everything else happens at the same time.  Thursday is trash pickup day, but we were thankful that it was just compost and that was taken care of before we left for the service, but during the party not only did the lawn guys come but the monthly visit from the pest control guy as well.  

Additionally, we learned a very unfortunate lesson.   Small, diapered kids with lots of energy will slide down the stairs on their bum regardless of the state of a diaper.   A "full" diaper cannot withstand the bum slide and pooh will squish up and out the top of said diaper and leave a trail of residue or "resipooh."   Cousin Anton showed his deep family connection and not only jumped into action to clean the stairs, but did so in a way that made the Stanley Steamer people look like hacks.   Our stairs haven't been this clean in quite a while. 

something fun

Lastly, here's Lucy's Halloween costume.  Isn't it fantastic?  

The whole story

 After the post about writing the obituary, I suppose it's only right to tell how we got here.

A few posts back I talked about John's cancer and the immunotherapy and how we were hopeful.  That was September 30th - a Friday.

That was a rough day at the hospital, John was cranky for obvious reasons and who do you take things out on when you're miserable?  Your favorite person in the world, so it was a rough day for Susie as well.   

We made arrangements for Lucy to spend the day with friends, so that I could go with Jason to the hospital Saturday, and that Susie could take a day off.  She was able to decompress a bit, have lunch with comfort people and reset her system.

The CCU wouldn't let me into see John, but I was nearby and Jason could come out into the waiting area to talk and take a break.   One of the nurses said that the plan was to move John back to the regular hospital floor that day.  While that would have been nice because I could have then gone in to be with him and Jason, it wasn't realistic either.    John was sitting in the chair, which is therapeutic in that it helps strengthen your core muscles after being in a bed for two weeks.  However, he was really groggy, aggravated and disoriented.  He hadn't been sleeping and the meds given to help in that area sent him all over the map.    I'm reminded of the time we gave Lucy Benadryl and instead of knocking her out like it does to regular humans it wound her up and not only was sleep impossible, but she was practically hyper.  I think the sleep meds were doing that to John.

Jason had a consult with the doctor, who agreed that John shouldn't be moved just yet.  I don't think John was alert enough to have any meaningful conversations with Jason.

Sunday was a better day, but not great either.  He was sleepy all day and the nursing staff had him propped up to avoid bed sores.  Jason and Susie were home in time for a regular dinner.  

Monday morning as Lucy was headed out the door to school Jason saw he had a voicemail from the hospital.  At 3:45 am or so, John's breathing became too shallow, and the hospital intubated him.   

Originally, John entered the hospital with a DNR, but when they started the last round of therapy to try to reverse the effects of the Mycenae gravis the doctor said it might make him weaker before it made him better and because his heart rate had been so low previously that they might need a temporary pacemaker or to intubate.   John agreed to modify the DNR to allow the infusion to work.  

Jason and I had a cry, and then a talk about what John would want.  We discussed the questions to ask the doctor - like, how long before we can know if the infusion was working and he could be taken off the vent, or when would a breathing test be done. We assumed three days.  We know he wouldn't want to be on life support for long if it was just for the purpose of sticking around but in that state.

We also researched the recovery from Mycenae gravis and at this point it was clear that if John recovered enough to leave the hospital that he would have 12-18 months of therapy to be able to hopefully walk with a walker but would need help getting out of bed and to the toilet for months and months - if not forever.

Susie arrived at our house quickly and the three of us had a tearful talk before they headed to the hospital.  When they left I truly believed we would be having the next conversation in three days, after a breathing test.

I sent the daily message to the family, and then had a couple of tearful phone calls with the cousins.  

Jas and Susie had a heart-to-heart talk after talking with the doctor in the morning and they decided to remove the tube.  Jason called and told me to come down, he wanted me there and now we had permission to have as many people in the room as we wanted.  This is the sign that even the hospital staff knew it was time to let go.

I arrived at the hospital at 4pm and was there to meet the oncologist and listen to her apology (basically).  She talked through how unusual John's case was, and how at every step nothing worked as expected.  None of this was her fault obviously, but as she talked I half expected her to suggest another route to help John recover.   The CCU doctor returned as well, and we asked what the next steps would be.    The two doctors needed to write orders for meds to make John comfortable and then they would remove the intubation equipment when we were ready.  

By this time Marty & Lynne had arrived and we all had a moment to say what we needed to say.  

We stepped out of the room while they removed the equipment and came back in and sat with John - talking to him, laying hands on him and I'm sure I wasn't the only one saying prayers for him.   The nurse came in to check on us and noticed that John was struggling to breathe, so he ever so kindly put his hand on John's shoulder and told him that he was going to give him something to help him relax.

Well, after the nurse did that and left, John's breathing wasn't as labored and then just gently stopped.  There was no death rattle, or dramatic music or anything, he was just not there anymore, and after a few minutes I asked Jason if I should go get the doctor.  Susie asked why, and Marty told her that John was gone.  She seemed confused, and said "when?", Marty said "it just happened".  

The nurse came back to check John and again, put his hand on John's shoulder and said - just to him, "I'm going to listen to your heart now."  Later, when he removed John's wedding ring he spoke to John to let him know what he was doing.   Maybe it was a show for us, but I really don't think so.  

We then worked out the details of what to do next, said goodbye one more time and headed home.  We were back at the house by 6:30pm.  

Jason was the one who told Lucy and we all had a big cry.  

The rest of last week was one "must do" activity after another.  We don't have a funeral date yet because we are waiting on the Priest's availability.  There are more things to do this week, but we're back in the office - sort of I'm here, but blogging.

So, that the story.  I'm sure I missed some things, and I know I left out the details of what was said to John in his final moments.   Those things were for him.

Jason and Susie are doing ok but I think we're all in a bit of shock.   The timeline between the 16th of September and now is just mind boggling.  I overheard a snippet of a phone conversation at the grocery store yesterday and it went like this "well, you know it takes three days for your mind to even process that someone has died."  Sounds about right to me. 

The sum of a man

I wrote an obituary today.  It was all business, but I injected a couple of paragraphs from my heart.  I expected my lovely mother-in-law to reject them, but they invoked emotion and she liked it.  

It is very hard for a pedestrian writer to evoke emotion and express the true depth of what someone means to you.

My father-in-law was known and loved by multitudes of people that experienced his spirit, loyalty and experience before I met him.  My time with him was limited to the last fifteen years of his life.   

I have enjoyed his stories, the stories of my Jason as a boy, John’s bride and the stories of the many nieces and nephews and their children.  He was of all things a historian, passing information from previous generations down through entertaining tales.  

The obituary covers the milestones of his life, school, finding is forever life partner, his son, the beloved neighbors in his chosen neighborhood and links to the lives he touched.  It doesn’t dig into the small moments that have meant so much to those of us along the way.

He was a faithful member of his church and honored the teachings.  He valued the lessons of family and tradition.  They guided his decisions.   However, when the church suggested the person a nephew had chosen as his wife wasn’t going to result in a “true” marriage because she wasn’t a member of the same church, my father-in-law and mother-in-law made every effort to attend the wedding and celebrate the now 45+ year union.  That simple act, one that the groom’s own parents didn’t do, still moves the groom and his bride to tears.

Many years later when I arrived on the scene, I was (am) a liberal, mildly Lutheran gal who fell deeply in love with his son.  John comforted me when my feelings were hurt that one of his beloved family members took a stand to avoid attending our wedding.  He told me that their focus on church was their problem, and that I was welcome in his family.   I know he cared deeply about the traditions of his church, but he could see that I was his son’s family and our partnership in life was more important than traditions.  

These are two small examples of the man I knew.  He wasn’t perfect, after a few ‘nips’ of scotch the stories tended to ramble in circles, but he was determined to see the good in anyone he was related to.  I never once heard him utter anything negative about anyone - except politicians. But, we’ve all been there. 

In an obituary of someone who lived 83 years, the moments that imbedded him into my heart can’t be the focus, but I will remember and love him with the same honor as my own dad.   As I support his bride and son through this journey of learning to live in a world where they can’t just call dad, I will follow behind with a similar broken heart.

Week In Review April 8, 2008

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Fast Forward

Here we are at the end of September, and summer is over.

Beach camp was a huge success, bunking with the older cabin was the perfect set up and all worries were for nothing.  Lucy is excited to go back next year.  The crew were plotting how to ensure they could all be together next year, but that won't happen. Luckily, some of the cabinmates will still be eligible for that age group and ideally they can coordinate their weeks. 

Our trip to Las Vegas was fun, lots of sun, lots of pool time and lots and lots of walking.   I suppose it was even worth the second bout of covid that Jason & I experienced upon return home.   Lucy avoided us and didn't get sick this round.    

We did have to cancel our trip to the lake (again) which was disappointing, but we used that time to get things done around the house, so it wasn't a total loss.

The real thing we are dealing with is that Jason's dad hadn't been feeling well and ended up getting a CT amongst the other tests and they found melanomas on his lung and something on the lower intestine that they can't remove without doing major surgery.  So technically, this is stage 4 cancer, but if it doesn't move to the brain there are options.  They removed the item in the lung and discussed options about the path forward.

At 83, John doesn't want to do anything that is going to make him feel sick all the time.  I believe he has seen too many friends and family that have done chemotherapy and felt worse than they did before, but for the rest of their time.  It's a fair and reasonable desire to want to simply enjoy life.

His oncologist wanted to try immunotherapy, which is supposed to strip the cancer of the shell, if you will, that makes the body think that it's supposed to be there.  The theory is, that once the body recognizes the cancer as a threat it will start to try to heal itself, like it does when you're sick with the flu.   This therapy was supposed to have fewer side effects than a traditional chemotherapy, but that's not what happened.

The immunotherapy threw is body into a medical freefall with everything hurting, zero energy, no desire to eat, his heart rate was wacky and the oncologist told him to get himself to the ER. They drew blood for a myriad of tests, did another CT and finally sent him home.  That was a Friday, and on Monday the Oncologist called once she had the blood results and told him to come to the hospital (in downtown Seattle) to check himself in.   That was 10 days ago.  

There are better days and bad days, but so far, never two good days in a row. They've tried a couple things to get his systems back on track, but in discouraging news they stopped the latest and last best plan that the oncologist and the neurologist had proposed.  

John has moved from one room to another in the hospital, first it was the cardiac floor, then the regular hospital, then the neuro wing, and now he's currently in the critical care unit.  We don't know if this is different than the ICU, but we do know that the care he's getting is top notch.  He certainly likes the nurses in the CCU better than the "regular" hospital floor. 

Jason and I are taking turns taking Susie to the hospital every day, and on Jason's days he goes and stays and tries to work while waiting for the doctor's rounds. On the days that I take her, Jason goes later in the afternoon to visit and then pick her up.  They are both going to be experts in getting around the hospital.  

We are all weary and worried and hopeful. We are also extremely thankful that John & Susie live here now, as we would still be supporting them on this journey if they were in Denver, but we wouldn't be able to do it as a team.   Jason would be basically living in Denver while I would be here with Lucy. As it stands, we can split up the things that need to be done based on our schedules, and still have dinner as a team. Sometimes Susie stays, sometimes she heads back to Merrill Gardens and dines with their friends. It's good that she has that outlet.

We knew that we wanted them here to help in the event that someone got sick, but we were honestly thinking it would be Susie and her memory issues - and in years of their arrival.  

The family is standing by ready to help, but John wants no visitors and there isn't really much they can do at this point. Sometimes, the daily text about John's status is almost too much for Jason, but he finally put me on the text thread so that I could help with that. 

The crazy thing is that the recovery from the immunotherapy has been so all encompassing that we aren't even talking about the cancer anymore.  I have my doubts that John will be interested in trying something new after all this craziness is over.   So, for now it is one day at a time. 

We are researching skilled nursing/rehab places for John for when he's released. He's going to have to work back up to walking and to get his strength back before he can return to their apartment.  Hopefully, we can get him into one that has good food.  He hates the hospital food worse than he hates the food at Merrill Gardens - and that is really saying something.  

Whew

 The camp people finally responded to my messages.  Lucy is set to go!

We have pulled out the things to take, are gathering extras and we will drop her off Sunday afternoon.

I'm a bit jealous of all the water play in her future, but not so much the sleeping on the two inch inflatable pad (ick).

The camp team clearly needs some administrative help. I'd love to be able to take a couple weeks off to get them all up to snuff, but that would be a hard sell to either burn up vacation for someone else's business or somehow get my employer to cover it as paid leave. 

I did read a couple online reviews about the camp that were unnerving.  One, a child hurt their leg and the camp waited 24 hours to call a parent to take them to get a medical assessment and it turns out the leg was broken.  yikes.   The second was in relation to the trouble with getting ahold of anyone at the camp,

Our trusted neighbor said her son LOVED it there and we are confident Lucy will have a great time.  However, we are going to break one of the camp rules and smuggle in her cell phone.   She is to leave it off unless she needs to call us, and we told her not to even tell her cabin mates that she has a phone.  (unless it's an emergency.)  If it hadn't taken us weeks to talk to a human, I probably wouldn't be ok with this plan, but Lucy is trustworthy.  

Now that we know Lucy is going - we have a full kid-free week to plan.  What will Jason and I be doing?  Working, going out to the places Lucy doesn't like to go and...working.  Woo Woo

Plans and Worries

I'm a planner.  I want to have a vacation or something fun on the books before the current vacation kicks off. I don't need to have the future fun mapped out, but I do want to know that there is something to look forward to as we are jetting home, or I'm wrapping up all the vacation laundry.  

One of my favorite Amazon purchases last year was a three-year monthly planner.  I have vacations, birthdays, school holidays mapped out from 2022 to 2024.  I'd buy a 2025-2027 planner if they had one available.

One of the first things I put in the current planner was the date to register Lucy for summer camp.  Camps fill up, and to get the week you want you need to be on the ball.  So, on March first, I logged on to the selected camp, paid the deposit and signed that kid up.
This camp is highly recommended for the kid that likes water activities.  It's on the Puget Sound in Edmonds and one of the first things that happens is they issue the kid a wet suit for the week.  Then it's a week of kayaking, swimming, water bikes and paddle boarding.   It sounds wonderful.

Having never dealt with this camp before I didn't know what to expect, so that when a confirmation email wasn't sent after registration I didn't worry.  I knew that they would eventually communicate with us.  From the info on the site it sounds like the folks that run this camp are attorneys who possibly take six weeks in the summer off to run this camp and then jump back to real life.   I wasn't worried about the delays in responses to emails.  The camp didn't "open" until May 1st.  

But, now here it is, six days before drop off and I still haven't heard anything.  
I left messages, emailed earlier in the summer and did get a verbal confirmation that they have Lucy in their system but the lack of a pre-camp email that gives a family time to gather and pack all the necessary stuff is odd.

This is giving me anxiety and worry that we will show up and Lucy won't have a spot.  As a parent, I try not to manage away all the twists and turns that life can throw at a kid.  Dealing with change is how you grow into a capable adult, but having another summer camp yanked away would be really hard.  This isn't a participation trophy - this is a week of independent living with other kids.  

Last night, I texted the number on an email that I received in the winter when I first asked about the camp and woke up to an actual response.   (WHEW!)  We exchanged a bunch of information and she (Kristen) agreed it was strange that I haven't gotten any emails or information since we registered.  

So, now I'm anxiously awaiting her return call with details.   I'm still very worried that our registration didn't stick, and that Lucy won't be headed to camp on Sunday.  However, in a fit of optimism I ordered the required sleeping pad, which will be here Thursday. 
 

Guns and Kids

It's America, so it's happened again.   Yesterday, a person with either a mental disturbance or misguided racial motivations murdered innocent people doing normal things.  Last week it was people shopping for groceries and yesterday it was a teacher and 18 elementary kids during the school day.

I am not heartbroken, I am not devastated, and I am not shocked.  I am ANGRY.  

America pretends to be the "land of the free" when we are asking our children to put on a brave face and go to school knowing that they may have to put into action the active shooter skills they practice starting in kindergarten.  

America pretends to be the "land of the free" when some states are passing laws so that a twelve-year-old, whose mind and body is not ready to be a parent cannot end that pregnancy.

America holds on to the Second Amendment of the Constitution as if making any adjustments for modern weaponry or simple background checks will burn the entire country to the ground.  

"It is our right to form a militia to protect ourselves against the government."  Really, a government that is so filled with inaction, blood money, and infighting that the very idea of working together to resolve a baby formula shortage is TOO MUCH.  

It is too much, too much to process, too much to hold in my heart, too much.

It's spring, the bees are hard at work in the flowers outside my window, that should bring hope, but it doesn't.  I put our child on the school bus this morning with tears in my eyes.  I hope she makes it home from school.

Our Corona Virus Experience

Having successfully navigated the pandemic without contracting the Corona virus for over two years we may have given thoughts to being the rare exception and possibly even carriers of an antibody that when discovered could be harvested and save mankind. 

Key words:  may, possibly, could

We arrived home from our cruise at about 1am on Friday, May 6th.  Jason admitted as we drifted off to sleep that he wasn't feeling great and would take a covid test in the morning.  We agreed that we would all take a test.  

After a reasonable sleep, we woke up and tested.  He was positive and Lucy & I were negative.  

Jason made a video appointment with our doctor's office for later that morning and I made an extensive post vacation shopping list and masked up to gather provisions.   The thinking was that we would be stuck at home and maybe wouldn't have a lot of energy to make gourmet meals.  Oh, and of course vacation laundry.

He was given a prescription for an anti-viral cocktail and I was able to pick them up at the local RiteAid on my travels. The doctor suggested that he isolate from us and the fun game of masking in our own home began.   Paxlovid is a five-day regimen of 3 pills in the morning and 3 at night.  

With the groceries gathered (lots of extra great things for hydration, soups, ramen, a couple different pre-planned dinners) and about 8 loads of laundry I was DONE.  The time zone change was catching up with me and I was very tired.

So, off to bed with me.  Jason was in the basement for a night (or 4) in the guest room. First thing the next morning - a test.  That's my results up top.  You can see it's not a faint line, no squinting needed.  The day before 100% negative.   Lucy's test also had a positive result, but the line on that test was very light.  After two plus years of worst case scenario news stories, Lucy looked at me with genuine fear in her eyes and asked quietly, "am I going to die?"  Hugs were distributed, and I did my best to reassure her that the vaccine would help her from getting really sick and that we would all be ok.  

Our doctor's office is closed on Saturday, so I used the handy Doctor on-demand application that came with our insurance and had a quick chat with a medical person somewhere in the online world. I too was given the anti-viral prescription, but not Lucy.   This doctor also recommended that we three isolate from one another within the house.  So, we continued that path.

The energy I had Friday was gone. Saturday and Sunday I was one with the couch.  There were movies but mostly I was lightly napping all day, then pulling together a dinner type meal which we three ate away from each other.  Then, at bedtime - sleeping thru the night was not an issue.  

Symptoms included a terrible headache, low energy, some body aches and for a couple of days congestion (no cough, but we went thru multiple boxes of tissues.).  The Paxlovid had a terrible side effect of the worst taste in my mouth that I've ever experienced, and it went on for days.  Jason said it was like a moose set up camp and then died in his mouth.  We busted out the altoids. We knew it was the Paxlovid because Lucy had all the other symptoms but not the awful mouth. 

We did manage to come up with a pretty decent dinner for Mother's Day and we ate together that night.  Lucy managed to sneak home a 1000 piece puzzle from the cruise as a gift.   The following day was Monday, and both Jason and I worked a full day.  Thank goodness for online/remote work.  

Lucy was uninvited to attend school until Friday the 13th, but on Thursday evening when we took our 5 day follow up tests, Jason and I tested negative, but Lucy was still positive. That meant she was out of school for another five days.  She was not happy about the delayed return, especially since she was feeling just fine.

Mrs. W sent home worksheets and emailed us links to the lessons she was missing.   Yeah, so we managed to miss almost the entire school curriculum for sex ed.  But fun for Lucy we did those lessons together.  Anatomy, relationships, pregnancy, exploitation... all of it.  With charts, visuals, and worksheets.  It was fine, some of it was really awesome to walk thru at home - specifically the exploitation topic.  Since that happens to kids and it's almost never a stranger, we were able to explain that no matter what, her safety and happiness is more important than someone we know that is making her uncomfortable or hurting her. 

 There was a test today on the topics and I'll be interested to see how "we" did.   

Vacay Photos

Iron Men

Getting ready for the sail away party.  (Pool is covered.)

The famous Mickey Waffle

Our kidds eating by themselves - no adults.

Brave Sophie jumping into the water

The ship

Towel animal thingy

Our Bahamian Cabana

Grand Cayman

Movie night in the pool