RESOLVE

OK, Stephen Colbert I am not, but “word of the day” did enter into my mind this morning… and I thought we could use “RESOLVE” for this first day. It has quadruple meaning in my life this morning…

1) How proud I am of Steve and his resolve… this week wasn’t fun, although he will continue to be Mr. Funny on this blog. His energy sagged this week most days around 4-5pm, he wasn’t hungry (my homemade turkey sausage and sage soup – made with love – went untouched), and even his coffee doesn’t taste the same anymore. Steve not finishing a cup of coffee - what will Starbucks do? Susan in SF (thanks for the tip!) said that lemon sorbet is the best thing for the metallic taste in the mouth after chemo. Steve said, “Well I’ve never liked lemon sorbet before but given all the stuff I like tastes awful, we’ll give it a whirl.” He is still not sleeping well – the port in his chest sits on bone, and given he has no fat on his body, hurts like a son of a gun. And the flu-like symptoms have been nasty… the shot he received yesterday helps to stimulate white blood cell growth, and it “pulls” from your bones. In Steve’s case, the site of his marrow specimen in his pelvis is the epicenter of discomfort.
2) Resolve is also the name of the rug disinfectant I used after Lucy the Westie vomited on Louis and Roddy’s floor and pee-ed in Lucas’ room. Steve said she doesn’t understand me when I call her out for that inappropriate behavior. She was looking mighty contrite to me, so maybe she’s smarter than those “Far Side” dogs by Gary Larson. By the way, one of my favorite all time Far Side cartoons was entitled ‘What dogs hear’: “Blah, blah, bllah, Lucy, blah, blah blah, blah Lucy” (my other really favorite one had the dog driving the car, and the man in the passenger seat with his tongue wagging out of the window)
3) Resolve relates to my drive to have Lucas (13) keep his hands clean. I am dogged, persistent and down-right irritating about it. “PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS” is my new mantra. As if my teenager didn’t dislike me enough before all of this…
4) I am now resolved to hop on the bike in the basement and use one of Steve’s intense biking DVDs. This is because I am resolved to not put on 25 pounds during the next few months. Let’s just say that my resolve as it relates to Lindt 85% cacao this week has been poor…

Some lighter moments in our life this week…

A) Steve: "I think it's an American thing... I mean, I'm really going to support those cash-starved pharmaceutical companies." Kath: "Gee, I'm so glad this stuff makes me sleep, I guess I'm helping those poor pharma folks in my own little way, too." Steve: "Well, I'll meet you there and raise you four (more drugs)..."

B) My brother Gene called from Pennsylvania and simply asked, “Do you have the bumper sticker?” to which I replied, “What bumper sticker?” and he said, “The GOT CHEMO bumper sticker?”

C) Steve showing me his bruises on both arms from blood tests (each day) and saying, “Maybe when this is all done I can do that cage-boxing thing… if I can survive this, I can survive that!”

We’re hoping for a quiet non-eventful weekend. Steve got the OK from Dr Wisch to take Louis and Roddy to the car show (as long as he doesn’t kiss anyone there). Lucas has a swim meet tomorrow, and he/I will head down to the Cape to take Theo out for brunch on Sunday. We’re also hoping to set up the Christmas tree with the boys; Dr Wisch’s advice to Steve was, “It’s fine, just don’t lick the tree, OK?”

Love,
Kath

p.s. I hope the Republican followers (my brothers!) don't take offense at the use of the word resolve - I do love you guys! ;)