The Daily Positives

[AIRon]

I have something to be happy about today....at dialysis they said they are only going to take of 2.7 instead of 4.0 so this means no awful leg cramp at the end  ....hmmm Lance Armstrong said a grown man over the age of thirty can not use emoticons..heres to you Lance ---->

[jbeany]

My grandmother passed away this weekend.  That might not sound like much of positive, but she was in a lot of pain the last couple of weeks, so she was ready to go.  I've been her only family nearby for years, so trying to take care of her stubborn, semi-senile self while dealing with my own health problems has been a constant source of stress.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted knowing I don't have to worry about her anymore.  I spent today running several dozen errands dealing with the funeral plans, the paperwork, the lawyer, the real estate office, and the help and equipment needed to deal with the 92 years of accumulated junk in her house, basement, 3 car garage, and massive pole barn.  (Depression babies never throw out ANYTHING.)  My sister, who lives 4 hours away, and is in the middle of work and her kids' graduation parties, won't be able to come until the morning of the funeral, and will only be able to stay a few days to help with the cleaning.  She keeps apologizing for not being able to help, but I just feel so glad to be doing something besides waiting - waiting for a transplant, waiting to feel better, waiting for my life to get off "PAUSE".  I've inherited enough to pay tuition to go back to school and to move to an area with better job prospects.  My life has gone from 0 to 60 in 2 days, and I'm loving having the energy to deal with it, thanks to the transplant.

[MooseMom]

I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother, jbeany, but I am very glad to know that it is one less burden on your shoulders.  You mentioned going back to school and moving...I see you are in Northern Michigan; where, exactly?  My DH and I go to Michigan every year, sometimes twice a year.  If you do return to school, what will you study?  And to where would you like to move?

[jbeany]

I'm moving down to the Grand Rapids area.  My sister and her family are the only family I have, and I want to be closer to them.  She lived up here when my nephew was small, and I saw them daily.  I miss that.  I'm going to get a paralegal certificate.  Since I already have a bachelor's degree, I only need 4 semesters of classes to get the certificat, which I can finish in just over a year.  I've been on disability with kidney failure for over a decade, so I need some recent schooling if I want to get a decent job.  The certificate will be faster and cheaper than getting a Masters.

[paris]

JBeany,  I am sorry about your Grandmother.  It does seem that now, you can move on and enjoy your new lease on life.  Your future plans sound great and exciting.   This is your time now.  Oh the possibilities!    And how nice that you can be closer to your sister and family.  It all sounds perfect.   I'll be thinking of you during the next few days. They will be hard, but you know that there is an end and you can move forward.       

[kitkatz]

I can go back to work on Friday!!!!

[jbeany]

I can go back to work on Friday!!!!

 

[cariad]

My little boy really enjoyed his birthday. We ordered the smallest cake we could get from the bakery, and ended up with the massive beast pictured below. It was a rich yellow cake with a light French creme frosting and fresh raspberries mixed with the creme in between the layers. A dozen children, their teachers, Aidan, Gwyn and I barely made a dent in it, so we asked Elliot if he wanted to share it with Aidan's class. We took Elliot downstairs to the big kids' rooms and he was greeted with a hero's welcome (needless to say!) After that, Gwyn and I were still facing bringing nearly a third of the cake home, and were discussing which rooms to peddle our cake in next when one of Aidan's teachers suggested the business office. This bit of intelligence proved very useful, as the ladies there were certainly eager to take on the challenge. The cake was delicious I must say. We are giving Elliot one last present today, as he was so generous in sharing his cake with the school. He's getting a collection of dinosaurs that live in a rock house, to replace the dinosaur on his cake.

The photos below show the cake with edible rocks (jellybeans) and Elliot showing off his frosting fingers after the celebration. In the upper left, it is possible to see how little of the cake we consumed on the first go.

[monrein]

Gorgeous little boy Cariad...cake looked pretty cool too!

[galvo]

I'm drooling!

[cariad]

Thanks, Monrein! I love him to bits!

Galvo, I wish you could have been there. We would have welcomed your help with the cake!

[galvo]

I would have been priveleged to assist.

[looneytunes]

What a cutie he is Cariad...

My daily positive for today....It's our anniversary!  We are dialyzing early and going out for dinner to celebrate! 

[paris]

Cariad, what a sweet little guy!  Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Happy Anniversary to Looneytunes and the lucky one who shares the anniversary!   

[Mimi]

JBeany so sorry about your Grandmother.  And happy belated birthday to Elliot.
My positive is that i went to my neph this week and my kidney function had gone up again.  It was down to 15, then last time it was up to 20.  This week when I went in it had gone up to 27.  I said my gosh this is like a miracle.  My neph agreed.
Have a good weekend everyone.

Love, Mimi

[jbeany]

Mimi, that's fabulous!

We're at least 3/4 of the way through cleaning my grandmother's house.  Whew!  Everything is grouped in the pole barn and garage so I can mark it for the huge estate sale on 4th of July.  Smartest thing I've done in ages was grab a slip off the bulletin board at the local grocery, advertising "Rent-A-Son".  I've got two 15 year old boys from the neighborhood helping us haul things.  They are tireless at running up and down stairs and hauling big furniture out of the house.  We're having them load the pick up truck bed at the back door, and then drive it around the 4 acre yard to unload at the pole barn.  They are both in driver's training, so it's absolutely hysterical to watch them caaarrrreeeefullly backing up the truck to get it close to the doors.  It takes them 10 minutes to jockey it into position. 

Oh, and if anyone needs a 90 year supply of margarine tubbies, twist ties, or washed and folded bread bags, do let me know!  We have a 20 yard construction dumpster almost full in 5 days of cleaning.  The plastic is so old it's not even stamped for recycling, so all we can do is trash it!

[paris]

Great news Mimi  !     

Jbeany, I was laughing out loud thinking about the Rent a sons!   What a great idea!  They must be fun to watch driving the truck.  Oh to have the energy of a 15 yr. old!!    Nothing makes you want to purge your house more than when you have to clean out someone elses.  Depression age people saved every little thing, no matter how small.    Hope you are taking care of yourself during all of this.  Don't overdue!   Make those teenage boys do it   

[cariad]

I would have been priveleged to assist.

Thanks Mimi, Paris, and Looney! And Mimi, what spectacular news. I am so happy for you!

Hope you had a lovely, happy anniversary Looney!

Jbeany, that was quite an entertaining read. OK, so I have two sons - where do I go to rent them out?? That would be a positive to beat all!

[Dianejt]

  I finally got my hair cut today. Cancled my hair appointment back a month or so ago due to Franks condition. Today I just walked into a salon & said chop it . Now it's nice & short & boy do the greys show up now. Maybe someday i will have the time to get color again.

[cariad]

There was an airshow in town today, and my aunt and uncle happen to live in the area with the best view. We were driving around looking for parking when I saw them outside their home. My uncle told us to feel free to park in his garage, and then once we were out of the car, said he was having a load of people over. The two of them are amazing people who have such an easygoing way about them, we never felt like we were intruding, and the people they had over all had small children as well. One of the guests walked up to me and said "I hear you just had a kidney transplant". (I am used to this - it would never occur to my aunt to keep this private.) So, I said yes and steeled myself to do a lot of explaining. Well, she said "I'm a physician - I do transplant surgery." It turned out she worked at the hospital where my nephrologists work (I left out this little detail!) She does heart transplants, so did not know any of the doctors that I met down in Chicago. She said heart is usually separated from liver, kidney, and pancreas operations. Quite a coincidence, and she was just the nicest woman. My kids had a blast playing with the other kids, and having free access to my aunt and uncle's copious supply of snacks!

[galvo]

That was a top day, cariad!

[jbeany]

My prednisone was lowered from 7.5 to 5 today!   

[cariad]

My prednisone was lowered from 7.5 to 5 today!   

Cool, jbeany!

Last day of public school for Aidan today. Listen to my articulate little boy, I am so proud of him. I told him to write a thank you card to his doll of a teacher, and all on his own, he came up with the following:
Dear Mr. Manny,
Thank you for teaching me. I have learned a lot from being in your class. I especially liked Mr. Manny's Reward Shop. I hope you have a great summer and enjoy your new students.
Sincerely,
Aidan

Gwyn also wrote him a quick note, and we put $40 in the envelope. Is cash tacky? I am from the generation when kids would come to school with tins of home-baked edibles for the teachers. I tried to think of a gift card to give him, but he's a 22-year-old Peruvian and Aidan reports he's never seen him drink coffee. I didn't know where to begin!

[jbeany]

A book store gift card?  A big chain like Barnes and Noble has books, cds and dvds, so he's got a really big selection.

[paris]

As a former teacher ---- I would have loved $40 cash!   I did enjoy gift cards, but the idea of having cash to do something special just for me would have been great.    Can you imagine how old tins of cookies can get?         I think your gift will be greatly appreciated.   And I love Aidan's note.  I kept those kind of notes and they still warm my heart.