The Gift

We take a lot of trips to South Carolina as a family.  Rick and I both lived in Charleston in the course of our Navy adventures and we love the Lowcountry. 

Right now Will's future plans include moving to Charleston (Soren was invited to move with him, but I was not) and open a ferry boat business in Charleston Harbor, shuttling tourists where they want to go.  He also wants to live on the beach, so I hope that ferry business is a successful one.

The last time we were in Charleston was this past August and while we were out taking one of our many leisurely strolls with Mr. Dog, we started to notice these cute little sago palm trees everywhere. Will started calling them pineapple palm trees- and they do look like little pineapples planted in the ground with palm fronds sticking out of the top- and asked if we could get one to take home.  

At that point, it was difficult for Rick to venture far from the beach house so we didn't get a chance to shop for a souvenir palm tree.  After we got back to Ohio, Will diligently checked the garden section at Lowe's every time we were there to see if they had any... but this is Ohio, after all.  No luck.

Rick died on what would have been the boys' second day of school.  Obviously I had not sent them.  They were reluctant to be away from Rick at all in those last few days.  But when they were finally ready to go, I had not yet returned to work so I was taking them and picking them up from school.  In the afternoon, my routine was to park a street over from the school and walk to the dismissal area, then walk them back to the car.  

One afternoon, on maybe the third or fourth day back at school, I parked the car as usual, walked the usual route through the neighborhood and met the boys at school. The three of us then walked back to the car the same way I had just come, but now on the sidewalk in front of one the houses sat a little sago palm in a pot next to a sign that said 

'FREE PALM TREE'.

I absolutely could not believe my eyes.

We all knew right away and Soren said, 

"It's a gift from Daddy!"

Blessing In Disguise

This year, as we prepared our holiday meals, it became apparent to me that Rick was having a lot of trouble following the recipes.  I'm not sure what that means exactly.  For a long time, his deficit has been mainly finding the right word to say and understanding words that were spoken to him.  During the neuro checks at his oncology appointments, he usually has no problem with numbers, or reading words, or spelling words- even spelling them backwards.  

So this is new.

Maybe I didn't notice before because, though Rick is the primary cook in our house, he usually isn't following a recipe. One of his thousands of amazing talents is his ability to create beautiful, delicious meals from experience or instinct or creative imagination or whatever that magical stuff is that makes people great cooks.

Maybe I didn't notice before because I rarely spend time in the kitchen. We have definitely settled into our comfortable roles of Rick as meal preparer and me as table setter and meal enjoyer.  In years past I have to admit experiencing twinges of guilt as Rick spent the majority of his time in the kitchen preparing the feasts.  Offers of help were usually declined; I think Rick probably enjoyed spending time alone in his kitchen when the house is crowded with holiday hoopla.

Maybe I just didn't want to notice before that Rick's symptoms might be getting worse.

So this year was different. In a good way, I'd say.  We planned a Mexican feast for Christmas Eve and traditional favorites for Christmas Dinner.  We made creative turkey leftovers in the days after Christmas.  This year we did it together.  It was a gift to get to spend time in the kitchen with Rick, helping him do what he still does best.

Just wanted to put some gratitude out into the universe.

Blogger Catch Up- Pelotonia!

We rode 50 miles again in this year's Pelotonia. My brother, Edward, and his, girlfriend, Morgan, joined us this year.  It really is so much fun to ride with a group.  Honestly, this year was a lot more physically tough for me and I'm not sure I would have made it the whole way if it had not been for them.

Rick was confident this year that we could ride from our house to the starting line.  I was a little skeptical of starting a 50 mile ride with a 4 mile ride, but he was right (as always)- it was actually a nice little warm up and we fell in with a lot of other riders on the way. It was a great way to build excitement and get into the spirit.

This is us at the first rest area

And this is US at the first rest area. 

Thing #812 that I heart about Morgan is that she is great at taking selfies.

At Mile 23 I hit an emotional wall and was suddenly so physically exhausted I wasn't sure if I was even going to make it to the next rest area.  It was an awful feeling and I had serious thoughts about calling it quits at the half way point.  

A nice rest in the shade, a pep talk from my team mates and selfie were all I needed to rally.

Third rest area selfie (see how cheerful I am managing to look?)

And then the finish was in sight. Whew! 

The best thing about that day was that Rick felt great and said that he felt like he could ride another 50- I am so amazed by him.

Finish Line Selfie

Blogger Catch Up- Soren is 5!

While we were distracted, Soren managed to somehow get another year older.  How could he possibly be 5 already?  He'll tell you himself it's true.

We celebrated the day by living it up at Zoombeezi Bay.  

They just happened to be showing Soren's all time favorite movie that night at the 'Dive-In Theater', so we stayed to watch the Lego Movie.

Then it was home for presents 

(many of them Lego oriented)

and (what else) Lego cake!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Soren Bird! 

Please don't grow up so fast!

Holiday Mix Up

Grandma and Grandpa arrived for Christmas with prefab gingerbread house components and a big bag of candy.  We got our holiday going with a quasi-Amish style barn raising (in the form of a gingerbread house) and seemingly all day flurry of eating candy and sticking some on the gingerbread house and eating more candy. What fun!

Thanks once again to the Hagerstown Police Department, Uncle Ed was able to come to Columbus for Christmas but had to leave early Christmas morning to get back for work.  So we called in a favor from Santa who delightfully agreed to bring presents Christmas Eve morning (truthfully he was probably happy to have one fewer house to visit that night).  

I have to admit this arrangement worked out pretty well.  The Smiley Family Wrapping Paper Ripping Extravaganza lasted most of Christmas Eve day.  We went to the Christmas Eve Children's Mass at St. Mary's (where we had a reserved front row pew thanks to a couple of glasses of wine and my awesome bidding skills at the school fundraising silent auction last winter).  We came home and had a lovely Christmas Dinner.

Our Christmas Day started out with birthday pie (we were too stuffed after Christmas dinner to eat dessert) and birthday presents. 

 Will got an antique adding machine from Grandma and Grandpa that was really cool and gave him the chance to quiz everyone on their math skills for the rest of the day.

Then we waved goodbye to Uncle Ed and spent a tranquil day playing with our new toys and celebrating the fact that 

WILL IS 8!

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Boy!

 

Pelotonia 13

When Rick told me he wanted to ride Pelotonia this year, I thought, "Great! And I could probably train up a bit and even ride with you next year."  

Crazy.  

The first lesson cancer teaches is never wait; never put things off; never assume you have next year.  In more positive terms: every moment of every day is a gift.

I've been mulling over the words to express the experience, the sights, the sounds, the emotions of riding Pelotonia with Rick and our friend Vannessa.  Thank goodness pictures speak a thousand words.

An early start

Team Smiley in the USA (Vannessa rode in honor of military members past and present who are fighting the fight) before the start

Getting ready to cross the starting line (Yikes- the only moment I was truly nervous)

First rest area.  Yay! We made it!

Second rest area.  Could we really be half way?

Loved all the folks who cheered us along the way

And put up signs of support

I sort of wished one of us was named Will when we rode by this one.  How cool is this?

Third rest area.  Maybe we really can do this!

Other Survivors who came over to give hugs and high-fives and words of encouragement 

The beer truck lady waiting for us like an angel at the finish line

Team Smiley in the USA at the finish

My favorite picture of the day.  Rick, in his Survivor jersey, whistled Christmas Carols most of the way.  

Love this man!

Many many many many many many thanks to the organizers, the volunteers, the police officers making this possible, generating excitement, and keeping us safe!  

To our friends and family who supported and encouraged us!  

To Vannessa who shared her third Pelotonia with us (looking forward to next year)!

To Rick, my strong and courageous husband, my hero!  

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

Will's half birthday was followed quickly by Soren's actual birthday.  For this celebration we opted for a more traditional cookout party at the very lovely Homestead Park.  It was supposed to be a rainy day so I had packed up tons of art and activity supplies in case we were trapped under the pavilion, but it turned out to be a lovely day so kids could be turned loose to run around the playground.  Yay!

At a silent auction back in January, I won the services of a children's party entertainer called Mackee.  I was a little put off by our communications before the party, but I have to say that he showed up and was absolutely brilliant.  He performed a very funny magic/comedy act with his bunny assistant, Puffer

and capped it off with balloon animals for each child.

We reserved the pavilion for the whole day, so even after the guests went home we stayed and enjoyed the beautiful day, explored the park and amused ourselves with some of the rainy day craft supplies.

Happy 4th Birthday, Darling SorenBird!

  

The Tree

End of 2012/Beginning of 2013 Catch Up

We headed back to Timbuk Tree Farm for the traditional hunt for the perfect tree.  Will felt very strongly that a Blue Spruce would be just the thing.  So we trooped out into the field and found a lovely tree: 

great shape, beautiful color, dreamy fragrance,

but dang those needles are sharp. 

So touching the tree was a little unpleasant, but other than that, it was perfect.

Back at the lodge, Will had a lengthy discussion with Santa and Mrs. Claus about his Christmas list.  

This year he wanted a Smart Board like the one in his classroom at school (if you don't know what that is, ask a teacher and then ask yourself why on earth a child would want one for Christmas), a tractor driven ice cream maker like the one at Dr. Weaver's house (again, a difficult thing for Santa to deliver), or a sewing machine.  

Luckily Mrs. Claus strongly encouraged the sewing machine idea.

Soren didn't make any of the pictures this trip because he was having a 'No Pictures Please' kind of day.  

Oh well.

 We brought our prickly but perfect tree home, set it up and put the Christmas Train around it.  

Love love love this time of year.

The Tour de Donut

A couple of weekends ago we drove out to Arcanum, Ohio and participated in the Tour de Donut with our friends Jean and Mark.  

The Tour de Donut is a 33 mile bike ride through the lovely (mostly flat, thank goodness) Ohio countryside with 2 rest stops where you can eat donuts!  And for every donut you eat, they subtract 5 minutes from your time at the Finish Line.

I can't think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday: 

touring the beautiful town of Arcanum and the surrounding countryside, 

spending time with Jean and Mark, 

enjoying fresh air and exercise, 

posing for pictures with Mr. Sprinkles, 

and eating donuts!

Pelotonia

I decided not to give cancer a voice on my blog.  

I want this to be a place where I remember and reflect on the joy in our lives.  

Cancer brings terrible grief and pain.  

I was surprised to find that cancer also brings wonderful joy.  The joy of finding out that there is boundless generosity and love in other people- even people who are strangers to you.  The joy of knowing that you can let people who love you help shoulder the burden when it starts to overwhelm you.  The joy of not taking little moments for granted.

  

One of the greatest joys was cheering on our friend Vannessa who rode in the Pelotonia in honor of Rick and her father-in-law, who also battled a brain tumor.

There goes Super Vannessa, zooming down High Street shortly after leaving the starting line

The World's Cutest Cheering Section

Rick being interviewed by a Columbus Dispatch reporter at the first rest stop

A Congratulations Hug from her boys

Champions at the Finish Line

Not only was it incredibly emotional to watch Vannessa give her strength to this cause with Rick's name printed on her jersey, it was infinitely more amazing to be surrounded that day by literally thousands of people willing to battle through a grueling bike tour because they care that people like Rick are battling their own grueling fight. 

The day after Rick's first MRI, when we knew that he had a tumor, but did not yet know much more than that, as we were numbly going through the motions of a normal routine and trying not to let ourselves be overcome by fear and despair, I walked through a room in the house and saw a piece of paper lying on the ground.  When I picked it up and turned it over, it read 'Friendship is a sheltering tree'.  Thank you, Vannessa, for giving so much of yourself to us: your strength, your love, your shoulder to cry on, your connections in the Neurosurgery Department, your care and concern, your awareness that Rick is the primary cook in our family, your sense of humor, your friendship.