Counting Little Blessings

I've had a few little blessing this week for which I'm thankful:
~My dental hygienist said she looked at her calendar, saw my name on it and knew it would be a good day. It was an easy, quick cleaning and no problems to report. After seeing poor Christopher Hitchens' struggle with his 'British teeth,' I felt blessed.

~I got a hit from Althouse and also a personal email from Hillary Clinton responding to my emailed question to her. Well, it was a little generic, but it seemed personal.

~"The Office" returned to the Thursday night line-up with an all new [and trying a little too hard, but that's o.k.] episode.

Reagan, Heston, Dad

Thoughts of my dad have burbled up a lot in the last few weeks. I most miss Dad on Sunday mornings when the political chat shows are on [he got me watching them as a kid], when Mom is here, and when I think of men of good character because my dad is the man of good character who made the most profound impact on me.

Today I heard the news of Charlton Heston's death after years with Alzheimer's. When President Reagan died of the same disease, I mourned deeply for him and watched Nancy shattered at his loss. I grieved for being the snot-nosed kid who didn't vote for him the first time I had a chance and I grieved the loss I anticipated of my dad from the same disease. Today's loss of Heston makes me sad for his wife of many years [over 60] who has been devoted to him in sickness and in health until death.

And then I had a happy thought: what if there's an Alzheimer's wing in heaven? Might people who died from that memory-robbing disease have an extra helping of eternity to savor the memories they misplaced here on earth? Might my dad spend a moment with Reagan and Heston on the other side? He might indeed.

And the Hits Just Keep Coming

Dave and I breathed a sigh of relief when the vomit wave didn't hit the other two kids on Wednesday. On Thursday, it hit Joey and she's past the wave and onto a BRAT diet, and Zeke's still 'in the throes' of it. It's a good rainy day to hunker down, do nothing but try to be well. It looks to be just a 24-hour stomach bug [Zeke hates that term! he thinks he has an insect in his stomach making him puke].

Sorry about all the vomit-blogging. It's all I know lately.

ADDED: Dave told me that during one of the mid-night 'events' Zeke cried out, "Daddy, I hate it when it roasts my nose!"

Relieved

It was a sick day for me because Annie, who slept through the night, urped once more this morning. But she was quiet most of the day and I took the opportunity [Mom and a Nanny in the house] to finish the taxes. They are done, filed and I AM EXCITED. Best yet, Annie is on the mend and has kept it all down since this morning.

Beachy Barf-mobile

We returned from our little beach jaunt today, a day earlier than we had to, so as to let Dave return to work. Also, the weather was not cooperating. It was supposed to be sunny, highs in the low 70s, occasional rain. It was rain, with occasional clouds, high in the low 50s and just not really worth the effort.

That's what the adults thought.

The kids found the big tub in the master suite to be rollicking good fun. Also fun: chasing each other around the circuit from the master bedroom, to the bath, to the kitchen and round the horn again.

So we got on the road around 10:30 and around 10:40 Annie began throwing up for who knows what reason. The sound of a kid barfing in the back of the van, secured in her carseat is the sound that renders everyone immobile. Dave pulled over and I switched places with Mom who had done a good job trying to hold back the red sea. [Fruit chews were last in, almost first out]. Two changes of clothes and a couple barf supplies later, we were on the road. I broke seatbelt laws in two states to sit on the floor at the ready while we powered on home, making the best time yet [we try different routes all the time]. I batted a thousand, catching all 7 times she hurled. She hasn't done too badly now that we're home and I'm carefully listening to the monitor, hoping that she sleeps and that the other two don't get what she had.

Headin' for Daylight

I am off work for the next 14 days. I don't say "on vacation" because the locale is not changing. Well, if you count a 30 mile trip to the in-laws' for Christmas Eve dinner, then O.K.; otherwise, I'm hunkering down and at home. I have a million projects to do--some Christmas related, many not. I have high hopes of great accomplishment. Perhaps I should write a list just to gain some satisfaction when it's all done. I believe this will be the longest I've been away from work in 12 years, except for maternity leaves. It's sooooo much better than the year Dave was ill and I had to work on Christmas Eve.

Six Times the Joy

Here's some good news: the Masche sextuplets [audio/video at link] were delivered into the world yesterday. Mom made it to week 30 of gestation and all the children were delivered weighing over 2 pounds. As of the next day, they were breathing room air. As a mother of multiples who arrived at week 26 and were intibated for days/weeks, I am exceedingly happy to hear this great news. Week 30 and, no doubt, on steroids for lung development, is a great starting line. They may have some vision problems to be concerned with [the optic nerve is fully developed at 32 weeks gestation], but that is so manageable.

Welcome to the world little boys and girls! Congratulations to Mom and Dad Masche.

Time for a PhD

Not too long ago, I wrote about my elderly neighbor's trip to the hospital. In the ensuing weeks, he's had a few more ambulance visits and several complications in his health. Yesterday, I met his son who told me that hospice has been called in and that his father put an end to dialysis. I assured him I would pray for his family and for his father to have a PhD--a peaceful, happy death. If you're the praying sort, please keep Mr. Richard in mind for that intention.

Drilling Ceremonies

I had a visit to my dentist today to replace a filling. Amalgam? That's so last century. I have a new tooth-colored filling. My dentist is quite good--completely anal retentive, which is really good for someone with power tools in your mouth--and he was razzing his assistant to basically anticipate his every whim.

I was a little nervous going in because I haven't had a cavity filled for over 16 years and I've never had an old filling drilled out. I asked for the distracto movie ["Finding Nemo"]. I discovered that the screen made a perfect mirror of what was actually going on in my mouth. And then you saw them hand every instrument right before your eyes. There was a familiar smell--like burning hair--when he finally got past filling and hit decaying tooth. The sound is lunacy-inducing, but you can't quiet it even with earplugs. The sound is inside your skull. There's no stopping the whirring, the grinding, the scraping, the aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Wasted Day

I spent too much time absorbing the controversy mentioned in the previous post. I'll remedy that by turning in at a reasonable hour tonight.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. Annie has an eye doctor appointment, followed immediately by her weekly physical therapy session. I finally put my finger on why I've been a little harried about work lately--with that weekly appointment, I always feel like I'm "behind" in work, hours, etc. A friend of mind reminds me to do the next [not the 10 next] right thing and most important things fall into place. And Scarlett O'Hara's adage suffices, too. "Tomorrow is another day."

Blogligation

I had planned to write a post about a book I just finished by Peggy Orenstein, "Waiting for Daisy." It's about her personal struggle for six years to become pregnant. It deserves its own post, so I'll defer that to another night when I'm feeling more bookish.

Tonight it was just fuzzy slippers, chips and American Idol. A good recap of the show is over at Althouse.

I had a dentist appointment today and had the worst time in over a decade. I have a cavity. The last one I had was filled while I was in the Army. Prior to that, all my dental work was performed by my small town dentist who passed away several years ago. I visited him in the care center when my dad was across the hall. He had big ol' banana fingers and the porcelain sink to the side. Anyway, the fillings that he put in my adolescent head are still going strong. Except one of his will have to come out.

The good thing is that the amalgam will be replaced with enamel-colored filling.

The bad thing is that I'm feeling like I'm well past my warranty.

Sick Day

I took a sick day today because of my left eye. I woke up with it feeling irritated. I was sensitive to light. I tried wearing my glasses. That just made both my eyes feel bad. I tried a fresh pair of contacts. No dice. Then I called my optometrist and his office agreed to "work me in" today.

Dave took Annie to her PT session and I went the other way to my eye doctor's. He suspected I might have a viral infection that's been going around. Turns out that I have a bacterial infection of the cornea [who knows how that happened] and it was "ulcerated." I had the same thing on the other eye in 2004. He prescribed the same medicine [$50 co-pay!--better yet: $50 no-pay!] and I'm hoping that it turns around in time for me to go to work tomorrow. The light sensitivity was really pronounced. I was feeling like a vampire.

Dave reported that Annie's PT went well. Dave told Ashley that Annie's been slipping out of her leg sometimes. She put Annie in the ortho equivalent of Spanx and bikepants and Annie did much better. We're looking into getting her some similar equipment for everyday wear. I guess it's like walking around with your shoe off. You can do it, but it's frustrating.

7500

It's a weird sort of number. It's round and odd all at the same time. Today we all went to the gym and I did some weight-lifting on 8 different machines, like I usually do on my days to work-out. They're computerized and logged into the FitLinx kiosk. When you log off at the end, it totals up the number of machines you worked and the total number of pounds lifted in your workout session.

Today, I lifted 7500 pounds. I just though it was weird that the 35 pounds here and the 180 pounds there and 8 reps here and 13 reps there all totalled such an odd round number. I bet I couldn't duplicate that again without an algebraic equation.

How I Knew This Was Going to Be a Good Day

[1] Althouse linked to me on the front page of her blog.
[2] My doctor said my sore throat was not strep [for the 4th time].
[3] Movie-time Monday on Playhouse Disney featured "Monsters, Inc."
[4] I picked up a free box of Godivas at the mall on the way to work.
[5] Our Best Man is on his way home from Iraq after 14 months away.
[6] The Amazing Race All-Stars will feature Rob and Amber Marino [known to some as "Romber"].
[7] It's another hour of '24.'