Life Moves Pretty Fast

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller
My life moves so fast. DM and I have been separated for quite some time now. The kids and I have moved three times, #2 went on dialysis, and I lost my job in February. #2 is now on the transplant list, tho’ at this point he has 99% antibodies (not a good thing). It is only by the grace of God that we are surviving financially.
My kids help me stop and look around all the time. Without them I would be in the funny farm. We really do have such fun together.
Now, I’m starting school in two days. I’ve worked really hard to find a job to no avail. This whole school thing just fell into my lap, classes came together & financial aid is paying for all of it. I’m taking that as a sign that this is God’s will for me and am just doing it. I’m mostly excited and a little nervous. I love the fact that #1 and I will be at the same school. We even have a friendly wager as to who will have the better gpa at the semester. The loser will take the winner to a dinner of her choice. (Yes her choice…I’m going to win, you see.) He does remind me constantly that his classes are “more legit” than mine. If there is a tie…he wins the bet as he is taking calculus to my basic math.
So things are constantly changing and moving ever faster. I have the feeling that my life is about to become an episode of “Community”.

There are good things about dialysis

The first, and most obvious, is that my son is, well, alive and for the most part, not sick.

After that the benefits are more esoteric. I am, albeit slowly, becoming more organized. This is not a good night that I go gently into. But I am on top of the whole process, supplies, diet, etc.

The best of all, though, is my relationship with #2. There is a gentleness and soft side to him now that was not always in the forefront. Of my 4 kids he has always been the most solitary, least cuddly kid. He's always been a joy, but he keeps so much inside. He still does. But we have gotten to spend an inordinate amount of alone time together. Hospital visits notwithstanding, I spend about an hour in his room getting him hooked up to the dialysis machine. Every. Single. Night. While he isn't always in there for the whole process, he is for a good bit of it. I noticed a couple months ago that when I finish up he usually offers a "Thanks Mom, I love you." Not that he never said that before, but it is becoming a regular thing...initiated by him. He has a TV in his room, and so he watches his shows while I get things set up. It has been a bonding opportunity to be interested in the shows he likes. We have developed a routine for Emergency Department visits that have made such excruciating experiences bearable. The thing we do is read hyperboleandahalf.com during the waits. This lady is absolutely crazy and her twisted, twisted sense of humor is right up our alley. So, we check in to the ED and pull out my phone. We pull up Allie's blog and take turns reading it to each other. We wind up giggling hysterically and get funny looks from other inmates as well as wardens. Last night, after they determined that, no, he did not need immediate hernia surgery and we could go home, we had to wait an inordinate amount of time for them to complete our paperwork so we could go home. We got one of the igloo rooms, last night we would have preferred a death valley room. The ED was extremely busy (before getting us in a room we got to wait in the "non-bugger-y waiting room ), but we soon tired of freezing. #2 found a sheet to warm him up (?!) and decided to do this:

This was the view from the hallway:

It's not really surprising that we were released shortly thereafter.

So, dialysis has really given us opportunities that would not have presented themselves otherwise.

I'm back

Life has changed dramatically. Martin is on dialysis and I have now lost my job. Maneuvering life unemployed with 4 kids is...interesting. I know God will take care of us, he always does. It is just all so uncertain. I need to find my funny again. At least being a vagabond has enabled me to spend more time with the kids. I'm in the process of getting official assistant track coach status. While folding laundry while watching Stripes the other day, I was thinking that the only way life could get any better is if I were being paid for it.
I may add a blog about dialysis...there is so much. I can't decide if I want to create a different one, or just leave it on here. The social experiment seems to have been a failure, at least a failure when viewed through the lens of my current status. I don't know.
Enough rambling. I've got an appointment with a man about a resume. I know that God has the perfect job for me out there...I wish he'd produce it now.

How to spend a Thursday

While sitting in McDonald's Mart & I were having "story hour". I started reading my favoritist blogging idol, Wendi Aarons. I started reading to him, he begged me to keep reading. We must have read 5-6 posts. When we finished this we were nearly late to pick up Sebass. Check it out, it's a good one.

Parental Fun

I was going to call this The Joys of Being a Good Parent, but think that there would be at least one Minion with a retort at calling myself “good” at this point.
#1 is a good boy. A very good boy. He has really avoided most of the teen angst & bad behavior, up to this point. Since “being in a relationship” (by the updating of a FaceBook status) he has become increasingly douchebaggy moody. Everyday he finds his siblings to be exponentially more irritating, but one IS a tween and they should be locked in a closet till their voice changes. Any place is better than being at home, or so it would seem.
What follows is the textversation we had yesterday when I requested that he pick me up from the bus & take me to his grandpa’s house, so I could borrow a car.

Me: Please come pick me up and take me to borrow Danggad’s truck.
#1: wait why cant danggad pick u up
Me: Why don’t you call him & find out?
#1: ho ho wichmeans.youhave and he said no
Me: No, he suggested you bring me over.
#1: well linda hasn’t been feeling good i’m not pissed just irked.

When the precious darling picked me up I asked him if he cared to hear my opinion of the fact that he was just irked. He hastily explained that that wasn’t a threat, just that he likes to know what to expect, not have things sprung on him, so he was informing me of his mood.
All I did was look at him. That was all that was necessary. This happened to be the child who, just that morning, informed me that it was the last day for him to fulfill a requirement, so would have to stay after school. And BTW, the sports banquet was also that evening. Hence the need to borrow my dad's car.
He understood the inconsistency between his words and actions.
At least he is a reasonable, irritating, egomaniacal teenager.