Catching Up

When we last visited, I was getting ready to head over to see my oncologist and to get chemo #7. Dr. Powell is pleased with my recovery, but he was not pleased with my WBC or ANC counts. When I mentioned that I had to have my blood drawn earlier in the week (Friday rather than the usual Monday, thanks to the Memorial Day holiday), he ordered a stat draw, which thankfully came back with levels high enough to permit my chemo as scheduled. Whew! Oh, they're still lower than we'd like, but as long as they're high enough to allow me to remain on track for my chemo, I'm pleased.

I did get some good news ... my cancer marker as decreased to 10. Normal levels are less then 35 ... and while the marker level doesn't have a precise correlation between the presence (or absence) of cancer, decreasing levels are generally considered to be an indication that the chemo is working. Which is what I am hanging my hat on, so to speak. I'm on track to finish up my chemo on July 5, and Dr. Powell has mentioned ordering a ct scan for early August, when we will be able to see if the chemo is working as well as my cancer markers would seem to indicate.

Wednesday I spent the day at DD's watching the 3 younger grands so mama could take T#1 to the orthopedist ... so he could get a waterproof cast. Perfect timing as the first meet was Saturday (not that he swam ... but more on that later). It was fun to just hang out after they got back ... things had been so hectic the last 3-4 weeks as DD was finishing up spring semester and then doubling up on the homeschooling to wrap up the school year by Memorial Day. So it was even more special to be able to spend some time with my favorite people. <3

Thursday was kind of a "lost day" ... I woke up awfully tired and was tired all day long. I listened to my body and just took it easy. I thought I'd be able to spend the day in the sewing room, but after three blocks, I was just too tired to press on. Thankfully I woke up Friday feeling more energetic, and I made up for Thursday's lack of productivity by piecing 6 more blocks. I've only got 8 more blocks to piece, and then I can start to sew these blocks together ... after I arrange the layout (right now I'm just laying the pieces out as I finish them ... I will want to make sure that my fabrics are evenly distributed).

And now for the swim meet I mentioned earlier. It was the first meet of the summer swim season, on a very rainy Saturday morning.

But more importantly, it was the first swim meet for little T#4. I have to be honest and say that our expectations for her were not very high. After begging over the last year and a half to be allowed to join the team and after working hard to finally be able to swim the length of the pool, she's realized that practices aren't much fun, especially when they take place in an outdoor pool with cold water. I know I asked her several times in the weeks leading up to summer practice if she was ready to practice in the cold water ... she assured me that she was, but needless to say she wasn't! ;-) I had to laugh when talking to one of her coaches who isn't afraid to grab the little ones and "toss" them into the pool if they wouldn't go in on their own (nothing cruel ... he'd grab their hands, lift them up,and slip them into the pool). With tears in her eyes, she would look at Coach Joel and ask him why he was being so mean to her. I don't think she took any solace from his telling her that he had to do the very same thing to T#2 and T#3 (as recently as last summer for #3). When it was time for their team to warm up, sure enough ... she wouldn't get in the water. So Coach Joel picked her up and put her in the water. I'll give #4 credit that she knows that once she's in the water, she isn't allowed to come out until told that she may ... but that doesn't mean that she'll swim. ;-) Sure enough, she spent the warm up session hanging onto the edge of the pool. And when I met her after warmups to wrap her up in her towel, she was whimpering that she didn't want to swim. Nothing Nana said changed her mind. Mama and Daddy tried, too ... to no avail. When she and I walked over to the team tent to get ready for her first event :-o), she wanted to hold my umbrella and mentioned that she wished she had an umbrella of her own. Well, Nana has a mind like a steel trap (ha!) and jumped right on that ... promising her an umbrella if she finished both her events. No, I'm not above a little bribery. Ha! I was surprised, however, when she jumped right on that and agreed. And sure enough, she swam her events ... ok, not all that well, but didn't even get DQd although she came pretty close on her backstroke. So Nana got right on her iPhone and ordered her the rainbow umbrella she picked out.

Here's our swimmer with her post-event celebratory ring pop. ;-) Noticed the princess cap. <3

I mentioned earlier than T#1 wasn't swimming at this meet ... he'd left a few hours earlier on a mission trip to Arlington, TX. He left with explicit instructions to record #4's first events ... he and #4 have a particularly close relationship, so he was awfully disappointed to be missing her first meet. ;-)

The Ts' team did quite well at the meet, with at least one swimmer finishing in the top 3 in most every age group.

These two boys finished #1 and #2 in the 7-8 y.o. boys - as usual. They are so competitive and push each other to swim harder and faster. Thankfully they're good buddies, so the competition is very good natured. This time T#3 (on the left ... with the goofy grin to try to hide the dark blue lips and gums from his ring pop) finished on top.

By the time the awards ceremony wrapped up, most swimmers headed home (the meet was held at a pool about an hour and half away plus the event got started over an hour late because of the storms). But we were able to get a photo op of those who stayed until the very end. Notice that the rain had moved out and the sun popped out AFTER the meet was over.

Today will be another day spent in the sewing room, watching my Cardinals play while I stitch more kaleidoscope blocks. No, I don't expect to get the remaining 8 blocks done today, but I'm hoping to make good progress. And since there's now light at the end of this tunnel, I'm having to start thinking about what I'll work on next. I have a list of quilts that I want to make that is so long that there's no way I'll be able to make them all. ;-)

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy ... have a great day!
Kathy