Awake for 24 Straight Hours

Today was the longest 24 hours of my life with only a donut as a prize at the end of it.  Doug had been trying to get into a movement doctor for several months.  We found one at the University of Florida that could see him.  We were excited as most had said that it would be a year or more.  The only bad part was that today was the only day that they could see him.  I wanted to go to Doug's appointment with him, but was really worried about how that would work out with graduation, Meg's engagement, selling the house and more.  I worked very hard to get everything done so that I could join him.  It actually ended up being a nice break from our busy schedule.  Today, however, left me more frustrated and exhausted than I had been beforehand.

We met with several doctors this morning.  They each had a different diagnosis and no real way to test to see what was causing Doug's tremor.  After talking with them about the different options, they did finally agree that Doug's movement was atypical and that stress management was the best option to start.  They also wanted Doug to meet with a physical therapist.  

We had that appointment scheduled for 3 p.m., so after leaving the doctor's office we had several hours to kill.  That was probably the best part of my day as we ate lunch at Relish in Gainesville.  The weather was beautiful and it was nice sitting outside just talking.  It also gave Doug a chance to catch up on work emails and me an opportunity to call home and check on Meg and Cameron. 

The therapy appointment was with an occupational therapist who really wasn't a lot of help.  She kept wavering back and forth on what she thought that the problem was as well.  She put Doug in some uncomfortable positions without really explaining why.  In the end she agreed that Doug's movement was atypical and could only offer minimal help.  I left feeling angry.  

Our night didn't get much easier as we had to drive through a downpour to get to the Orlando Airport only to find out that our flight had been delayed.  Waiting at the airport was probably the worst part of the night.  The delay kept getting longer and the Southwest crew in the airport was becoming agitated.  I heard several of them on the phone saying that if the plane didn't take off by midnight that it wouldn't get out tonight.  I also heard words about a strike.  That's when I started to panic.  I really wanted to make it to Cameron's senior night for golf tomorrow.  Missing it was my biggest fear when we decided to have both of us at Doug's appointment.  

I finally calmed down after talking to Meg.  She said that if I couldn't make it to senior night, she would either FaceTime me or video tape it for me.  I appreciated her offering that and decided that if that was the best that I could do, then it would be ok.  We finally boarded the plane at 11:45 p.m.  It didn't take off for almost another hour, however, as there were issues with seatbelts and luggage.  I was still sure that Southwest was going to strike, but thankfully at 12:36 a.m. we took off.  

The flight was uneventful and I actually slept for a half hour.  We were one of the first groups off of the plane and caught a shuttle for the car right away.  Doug seriously thought about driving to Brett's, but felt that he had gotten enough sleep on the plane to make it home.  I definitely was too tired to drive, but stayed up to keep Doug company.  It was hard to do as I was absolutely exhausted.  I thought about asking Doug to get a hotel in Kokomo, but listening to the Rewatchables really helped to keep me up.  Once Doug stopped at Casey's in Peru, I knew that I could make it home, especially with a donut as my reward for the long trip.  We pulled into Syracuse at 5:40 a.m. and I headed straight to bed, happy to be home after being up for twenty-four straight hours.

Celebrating Our 30th Anniversary

 We spent the last twenty-four hours celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.  We started at Rock N Brews last night after Doug picked me up from the Orlando airport.  It was probably the most fitting place for us to dine as there were so many really good old music videos on the screens.  We could not only reminisce about our years together, but the songs that we enjoyed as well.

Today was perfect.  We went shopping, had lunch at McAlister's, played Rumikub with Phil and Molly, took a walk at Sholom Park, and had dinner at Crazy Cucumber.  It was so incredibly nice to spend an entire day with Doug.  This past year and a half has been one of the most challenging times in our life together.  It was wonderful to forgot the stress and just have fun.  By the end of the evening, it was the most relaxed that I had seen Doug in quite some time.  We had decided not to give each other presents and celebrate our 30th at Disney next fall.  After seeing Doug smile, laugh and just be himself today, I don't think that I will even need that.  

Happy 25th Cal!

Cal turned 25 years old today!  Wow!  It seems like he just graduated high school and now he's a quarter of a century old.  Even though he has aged, I loved that he and his friends decided to host a LeBron James themed party to celebrate.  I'm pretty sure that he had a basketball themed one in middle school as well.  

Since we couldn't be with him today, I was extremely glad that we had celebrated Cal last weekend with gifts, a Texas cake and a game night.  I texted him several times today and posted many pictures online which made me feel as though I was still part of his official 25th.  He said that he had really enjoyed the day even though the Lakers had lost.  I was very happy for him and couldn't wait to hear more when he is home next weekend.  I know that someday Cal and his friends will start getting married and settle down, but for now I appreciate that they have each other and celebrate life together.  

Senior Faith Statement & Senior Recognition

Cameron invited both Meg and I to hear his faith statement at Bethany this morning.  The senior class, several teachers and a lot of Cameron's friends from the junior and senior class were in attendance as well.  I was incredibly impressed with Cameron's honesty as he talked about his Catholic faith.  He shared his philosophy on Heaven, God, love and attending church.  He focused on suffering and what that meant to him.  Overall, it was a powerful message and I was glad that he shared it.  Meg and I both congratulated him afterward and his Bible teacher, Josh, told him that he was extremely proud of him.

Once we left Bethany, Meg and I stopped at Hacienda for lunch.  It was nice to catch up with her and reminisce about her senior faith statement and the last few weeks of her high school days.  After lunch we checked out Ignition.  Meg found two different vinyls that she wanted.  I looked for GNR Lies just like I do every time that I go in, but no luck today as usual.

Meg and I made it back to Bethany well before 2:30 for senior recognition.  My parents met us there and we all enjoyed hearing about the accomplishments of the individuals of the 2023 class.  Since Doug couldn't be here today, I videotaped both his senior faith statement and the nice words that Michael spoke about him this afternoon.  I talked with Cameron after the ceremony was over.  He was definitely happy with how his day had gone.  He had also found out that he had earned a plaque for being on the science honor roll.  That was a nice way to end a wonderful day.  

Home for an Extended Visit

Meg called on her way home today.  She was ready for a break from Bloomington and hoped to spend a couple of weeks relaxing before she devoted herself full time to studying for the CPA.  I really appreciated her being home as that way she could be here when Doug and I were in Florida.  Cameron isn't home much, but I knew that he would enjoy having her here when he was. 

Meg arrived just before we had to leave for Cameron's golf match in LaGrange.  She had gone with us last year, but this time she opted to stay at Grandma's instead.  She wanted to relax and the photographer was at our home taking pictures.  She did have a funny story to tell us before we left.  On the way home, Meg had called to check in with me.  I had told her to watch for cops on US 31 and US 24 as I thought there were a lot of them yesterday when I drove back from the airport.  She told me that she wasn't worried.  Then she started making fun of Nick for driving with the cruise control on every time he traveled.  Her constant trash talking of those driving the speed limit definitely became funnier when she admitted that she had gotten pulled over after she talked to us.  Thankfully, she only got a warning.  We will see if that slows her down for the return trip in a few weeks.

A Very Long, But Fruitful Day

Today started early and ended late.  Doug and I were on the road for the Indianapolis airport at 6 a.m. He had a late morning flight to Orlando.  Since I was going to meet him there over the weekend, it made the most sense for me to drop him off.  It made for six hours in the car, but I did enjoy spending three of those with Doug and catching up with Brett and Meg via phone on the drive home.  

Once I got back, I hurried and ate lunch.  I had to give a tour of hour home at 6:30 tonight to a family interested in moving to Syracuse.  I also had to get the house ready for pictures tomorrow morning.  It was a lot of cleaning and moving items off of the counters to make it happen, but by 6 p.m. I was ready.  It really helped that my mom came up to clean the back patio and the windows in both doors.  I thought the house looked awesome.  

I was extremely nervous about giving the tour tonight.  I would be giving it to the brother and sister-in-law of the couple moving from Colorado.  I didn't realize that the couple would be on the phone via FaceTime.  I walked through the house with them, explained all renovations that we had done, and answered all of their questions.  The actual tour took about 45 minutes, but after the sister-in-law hung up the phone, she and her husband stayed and talked for close to another 45 minutes.  They had moved to Syracuse several years ago and had a lot of questions about the area around our home as they lived in the subdivision behind us.  They also had a daughter starting kindergarten in the fall and wondered why we had sent Cameron to Bethany.  Overall, it was a nice conversation and I was glad to give them some long time history of Syracuse and talk about the Catholic churches in our area.

Within ten minutes after they left, I heard from the wife in Colorado.  They were very interested in the home and wanted to make an offer.  I decided that it was best that they talk to our realtor as I wasn't quite sure if they were supposed to tell me anything or not.  I got ahold of our realtor.  As it was close to nine at night, she said that she would call me first thing in the morning.  I didn't want to get my hopes up, but was definitely excited to hear what they had to say.  

Sinus Infection

Cal called me this afternoon.  I knew he was working, so I figured it was something important.  He said that he was on the way to urgent care.  He had had his fourth bloody nose of the day and this one wouldn't quit.  I was sorry to hear about his nose, but not completely surprised.  He had had problems when he was home last weekend.  He couldn't stop sniffing and his nose was congested.  He had also developed sinus headaches.  He hoped that nasal spray would help, but he realized today that he would have to try more than just an over the counter remedy.

Thankfully, Cal found an urgent care facility close to his work.  They diagnosed him with a sinus infection almost immediately.  He was prescribed Amoxicillin and encouraged to buy a humidifier for his room which he did as soon as he left the doctor's office.  I was glad to hear that there was a plan for him and  hoped that he would start feeling better soon.

After hearing that Cal should be ok in a couple of days, I thought back to all of the times that he had been sick when he was younger.  Except for the rare kidney disorder caused by strep throat, almost all of Cal's problems stemmed from his nose.  He not only had recurring sinus infections, some last several weeks or more, but also a lot of issues with asthma.  I remembered all of the days that he had missed school when he was in elementary and the nights that I would lie down next to him with my hand on his chest making sure that he was breathing normally.  I felt bad that he still had sinus problems as an adult, but incredibly thankful that he no longer had to deal with asthma.  If there could be one silver lining in his current illness that would definitely be it.