I just can’t comprehend how much the lives of the Apostles changed in just one day. A man, walking along the seashore stopped and asked these men to follow him, follow him across the lands as his associates. For each one that did, their lives changed that day forever. Mostly fisherman, one day these men were casting their nets into the sea and the next day, they were on a journey that would make history. What moved them to make…
Been to the bank lately? Hope it was to make a deposit. I took Suzanne to the bank today, the voicebank. We are working to have her voice saved in a voicebank in case she is unable to speak in the future. Recording words, phrases, and sentences that can be analyzed and create a virtual voice that sounds like her is the goal. We are working on this from two different directions. First, I have put together a large number…
Here’s a cliche question: What would you choose to eat if you only had about 50 meals left to eat in your life? That’s only 18 days of breakfast, lunch, and supper. Suzanne is facing that exact question before surgery on the 23rd. After that, it’s questionable whether she may ever eat solid foods again. When her surgeon told her to enjoy life on February 4th, food and lots of variation have been on her plate. This is the first…
Today Suzanne was scheduled for her Pre-Op meeting with all those who will be involved with her upcoming surgery next week. No surprises but still informative and a little unsettling. We came up the night before and glad we did. Overnight about 2″ of snow fell in the Chicago area. On top of that, a huge lake effect storm occurred during the day in advance of the winter storm tonight. First up – Reconstruction. This Doctor will be responsible for…
Noun: The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. So what is it to be in communion with someone? It’s that relationship you have with a spouse, good friend, or neighbor that takes it to ‘the next level’ of a relationship. You are at that point that you can share almost anything without fear of losing that relationship. In the Church, Communion takes on a different meaning, it…
I’ve never seen a ‘Chicken with its head cut off’ but that saying sure was meant for me today. My day was pre-determined when the first question I asked Suzanne was “Today is Thursday, right?” At that point, I hit the ground running in so many different directions that I knew there had to be more than just four. Cleaning the woodstove out was first on the agenda to ensure that the living room stays toasty for the wife. Then…
We had two pairs of cardinals show up at our feeder this week. They have been gone all winter and to show up this week in these snow-covered near-zero conditions makes us wonder that their internal clocks were off by a couple of weeks this year. But what a joy and wonder to see that bright red spot amongst the mass of regular birds at the feeder. You can also spot them in the trees west of the house just…
Warning: Ensure Plus with Fiber may cause gastric issues including extreme flatulence and diarrhea in some people. I’m sure if are one of the regulars, you are puzzled by this topic. Well, It’s a public service announcement that I hope my previous training in Search Engine Optimization is written in such a way that Search Engines like Google and Bing pick it up. You see, it’s the ‘With Fiber’ version of Ensure Plus, not regular Ensure, or even the old…
The morning was going well, stayed in bed a little longer than normal in each other’s arms; had our second cup of coffee; heard the weather for the week ahead; and finished breakfast when the phone rang. “Good morning daughter” I answered as we proceeded to talk about schedules for the upcoming weeks. What about visits from the grandkids and keeping her safe? How I’ll deal with my mother-in-law’s upcoming cancer surgery next week and fitting that into Suzanne’s schedule….
Woke up kind of early this morning, must have had the weather on my mind. The normal routine; shave, wash my face, get dressed, feed Suzanne then my breakfast. Just another day . . . NOT! Today is the day we learn what if anything else can be done for Suzanne’s cancer. Since we were taking a road trip and the weather may not cooperate, we packed some clothes & feeding supplies. Then just before we headed out the door,…