Here Be Dragons

2007-04-18

It�s been a busy week. When I wasn�t in school I was painting the upstairs bedroom and repairing the molding around the windows. Well, actually it was Fred that repaired the molding, he�s getting pretty handy lately. Next I�ll pull up the rug and sand and poly the wood underneath. Our new bedroom set is coming and I need to have everything prepared before it gets here. It looks like the next few weekends are full!

But today I am babysitting my three grandchildren because it costs 120 dollars to hire a sitter for the day at ten dollars an hour and a twelve hour shift (My daughter works three days a week, 12 hours each day) because the kids are home from school this week on April vacation. One is being picked up in an hour by a playmate's mother and I�m taking the other two to the movies. The 11 year old is dead set on watching Blades of Glory but I think the 6 year old will be bored. Half the humor will just go whoosh, right over her head. I tried talking them into seeing Meet The Robinson�s but no go. I�m hoping the visual slapstick will entertain her.

Tomorrow I have school again but Friday I�m going to slip over to a friend�s house. Last night Fred and I went to the Moose just before watching Idols and I talked to a friend that had popped in on Beth. I was told that Beth is not looking well and is going to do experimental chemo to try to save her life. Because she isn�t ready to lay down and die Hospice disqualified her from help and I�m told by my friend that she dearly needs it. I�m going to pop in and provide it when I can for awhile.

I�m in a fortunate position in that now that I�m not working I have the time to help others out. And believe me there is no hard luck family like Beth�s. A year ago her father found out he had cancer and he shot himself in the head. Her sister�s son just died in a motorcycle accident and Beth herself was misdiagnosed as a benign cyst on her ovary when it was cancer of her liver that had spread to her ovary and her kidney. When they operated they cut her every which way and implanted a direct delivery device for her meds that is held in place with a metal plate stuck to her ribs. She�s very uncomfortable and on meds that occasionally make her hallucinate. She�s afraid to be around her daughter who is in kindergarten half days but she needs to care for her the other half. She�s afraid of doing something �loopy� to or around her daughter, as she told my friend. So until they get her some help from some other agency I�m going to drop in and assess the situation. Who knows, maybe a meal, a load of laundry and a little playing with a kindergartener will make a difference in the quality of her life and she�ll fight this better. But yeah, it looks bad at this moment, I mean what else can happen to this family????

You know it�s times like this I count my blessings and they�re HUGE! I had cancer but it was cured and taught me the value of life. My husband left me but now I have a better man than he ever was. I was laid off and now I have this opportunity to help a friend and help my daughter because I�m going to sit them every Wednesday through out the summer too, plus the state is training me with a ten thousand dollar course, that I could never have afforded, for a new career in server maintenance. I�m running around with 139,000 valued diamond ring with a fabulous man attached to it, I�m remodeling my house, I have healthy, successful children and grandchildren, my parents are alive and healthy, hell my grandmother is still alive and all my siblings are doing well. Every misfortune I�ve had has turned into an opportunity for more and better things and I have the summer off. What could be better? Then I look at someone like Beth and I almost feel guilty for having such abundance and I fear because there but for the grace of God could go me. The axe of fate falls where it may and I�m lucky as hell to have had so many chances at a good life.

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