THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS ON MY MIND

But don't worry, I won't share all of them here,

but I do need to share some of my thoughts.

Smash and I spent all of yesterday afternoon together.  Even though the reason was to visit a specialist, our time together was really enjoyable.  I love being around him.  He is full of fresh ideas; he enjoys chatting with me, and easily opens up and shares his feelings on all kinds of topics.

His new doctor seems to be just the right one for us.  He seemed thorough, trying to first rule out the most typical, and most easily diagnosed problems.  He really talked with Ashton and listened intently to how he described his pain and symptoms.  I was impressed with how attentive he was to Smash. 

Ashton learned quite a few things about the medical world and his own body.  He was able to see his kidneys and bladder on an ultrasound.

At this point, we don't know much more about what is going on with him.  We are now waiting on more lab work.  After we find out the results of that, we will either go to another specialist or go through more extensive testing. 

I feel like we have been blessed with a good doctor.  I am really grateful for that and also thankful that Smash seems to be doing better right now.

The high school kid who hit our mailbox came by today to meet me in person.   I really wasn't ready for that yet; the letter that he left for us about the mailbox had already made me cry, and I wasn't ready to have to talk with him about the damages.  I felt so sorry for him.  He was very apologetic about hitting the mailbox, so much so that he appeared completely broken down.  I just wanted to tell him to go home and not worry about it.  I didn't really know what to do.  It needs to be replaced, he did the damage to it, but he's a kid, and it was an accident.  My heart really went out to him.  I listened to his apologies and explanations.  I talked with him for a few minutes and told him I understood how he felt and that I would talk with my husband when he came home from Chicago and then we would give him a call.  When we finished talking, I shook his hand and thanked him for coming by to meet me.  I don't know if he had ever shaken the hand of an adult before, it seemed as though he wasn't sure what he should do next.  Poor guy, had to hit the crazy lady's mailbox.  :)

Joan is doing well in rehab.  I know that she is experiencing pain and other difficulties but she seems to be dealing and coping with all of it very well.  When I have talked with her, it sounds like she is really working hard at her post surgery therapy and rehabilitation.  She is hoping to be able to go home on Friday.  I'll keep you posted.

Halloween is quickly approaching and as tradition would have it in our home, we have some homemade costumes to make.  I can't do anything that requires too much time, or makes a mess.  I need simple, easy, no sewing machine involved.  (It's too  hard to get out a huge project with the home on the market).  We have had several great ideas for our theme this year but we are now scaling back and trying to come up with something fast and clever.  I need to get working on them now.  Our church is having a trunk-or-treat this Saturday, so I have got to get my fingers to do the walking...no, running and get those costumes ready!

Last night I was worried about the fires in southern CA, I turned on the late news to check on the status of the fires, hoping they were out, or contained.  Just as I started to see the devastation and destruction on the homes, land and lives there, Jonathan called.

He had some sad news for me about some of our friends here.  After not feeling very well, one of our friends went into the doctor for an exam.  He found out that he has testicular cancer and immediately was taken into surgery.  We do not know the latest update on him yet, the last we heard this afternoon was that they are still awaiting news as well.  Their family is certainly in our thoughts and prayers right now.

I wasn't able to sleep much last night.  I began worrying about this new situation with or friends, then began to worry about other problems and issues that the people we love are having to deal with at this time.  So I finally fell asleep between 12:30 and 1 AM, then at around 4, I heard some banging going on in the kitchen and thought I had overslept.  It was Nathan, in the kitchen and the laundry room, making quite a bit of noise.  He had gotten up earlier to finish homework--yes earlier than 4--and then could not go back to sleep.  Since I had to be up at 5 anyway, I just stayed up, made lunches, did laundry, yawned a lot, etc.

I just feel like I am running on empty, not just from missing sleep last night, but that certainly didn't help.

I am now going to bed.   To sleep.  Hopefully uninterrupted, for at least 6 hours, 7 would be nice, 8 would be better, but that would be asking too much!

Comments

[Jonathan]

Mar,

Wish I could find a way to give you 24 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I love you,

Jonathan

[Marg]

Sounds like you need to get away for a while. But wait...you might have FUN! We can't let that happen, can we Jonathan? :)

Marg

[Valerie Chandler]

So much that is heavy, Marilyn.

You are just so full of compassion and kindness. I really admire how deeply you feel and how good you are to people.

I hope you get some sleep tonight.

[Kim]

Don't you wish, just for a fleeting moment sometimes, that you didn't care so deeply about things. All of that worrying and thinking about others weighs heavy on the soul at times. But on the other side, there is such a wonderful feeling that comes with caring and being kind to others. It is that wonderful word - service. To be just like our older brother Jesus. It outweighs all other feelings.

I wish I whisk you away to a FUN girls weekend to just get room service, watch movies, sip hot chocolate and sleep...all of this in our jammies-all weekend!!! Doesn't that sound heavenly?!

[Jonathan]

Marg,

If I send Mar to your place, will you two have some 'GREAT SISTER FUN'?

Jonathan

[Steve]

Sometimes it's good to think about all the things that are going right, to balance out all of our troubles. For example your family loves you alot, your children are great kids, you have an awesome husband, you have a great blog sight that everyone enjoys, you cook like you belong in a kitchen of a five star resturant, you have a brother in Colorado that thinks alot of you, and loves you............you can't put a price on all of that.

[Stacy]

I guess you're not a clone of yourself after all. You really do run out of gas from time to time? Oh Marilyn, recharge those batteries, or your little self is going to wear out!!!