Brotherly Love?

They're home now.

We're not,

and I miss my boys.

I'm a self-admitting neurotically-obsessive mess of a mom.

Summer

The best part of summer

has been staynig up late and
watching scary movies every night.

Every night!

I do believe that I'm going to miss summer come mid-August.

...sigh...

Conversations

"Mom, I'm really busy studying today. Can Dad and David run to Lowes and get the free trees for EarthDay?"

"Free trees? Wow!"

"Yeah, they'll be great for the backyard."

His father was not amused by the size of the "tree".
His brother was.
And his puppy considered this "tree"..."lunch"!

"Steven, is 'The Avengers' coming out in theaters this summer?"

"No, Mary...how do you know about 'The Avengers'?"

"Because you took me to see 'The Hulk' that one summer and you told me all about the Avengers."

"Well, 'The Avengers' doesn't come out until next summer, but this summer we can see 'Thor' on May 6th and 'Captain America' on July 22nd."

And my super-hero-loving, movie-going son graduates from college in two weeks. I think I know how he plans to spend the months before law school starts. Now if only a Batman and Spiderman movie would premier this summer, his life would be complete!

"Dad, tell mom that she doesn't need to come for this MRI."

"Ok."

"Ask her if she'll be there for the appointment."

Always my sweet son.
Always.

There Are No Words

A Glimpse

Into My Insanity

"I know what I want to be when I'm done with school."

"A baseball player?"

"No. A nudist...will you support me in my dream?"

"Sure."

"Will you still support my dream
if you have to bail me out of jail when I leave the colony without clothes on?"

My middle child...
he dreams big.

Wild Things

I know

Steven and David headed out to opening night.

where the wild things are!

Partaking in first-day festivities is just one of Steven's many endearing qualities.

They're at the theater, revisiting their youth!

The Summer of My Insanity

Short, sweet, and to the point.

1. Dale has an appointment with a cardiologist on June 19th to check the status of his newly "re-diagnosed" ventricular septal defect.

I'll be sure to attend that appointment with him, and I might ask the good doctor to check Dale's ears...since he says "what?" every time I talk to him!

2. David had a little accident in my car last week.
(I'd share pictures of my missing front end, but my computer had a little accident too.)

Does it frighten anyone else that he hopes to pay for his soon-to-be-exorbitant-car insurance by working at a little bunjee jumping kiosk at the mall?

Oh my!

3. Two bills for Steven and Dale's health issues arrived this week.

Oh my!
Exorbitance!
Again!

4. I am borrowing a nice, new car from my parents right now. I had to drive their old car one day last week...mine missing the front and all...and my dad told me, after I was already seated, belted and in gear, that the transmission was slipping.

I made it home safely by shifting into neutral above 30 m.p.h., coasting, and then shifting back into drive below 30 m.p.h.

Unfortunately that was a bit too much technology for me, and now my brain is slipping too.

5. My little girl is growing up!

Is that allowed?
Someone stop this insanity!

This Boy

This boy...

...likes Eagles better than Hawks.

...is easy to please.

...is a creature of habit.


This boy...

...is just like his dad.

...is the fodder for many funny tales.

...thinks sleep is over-rated.


This boy...

...still walks the trick-or-treat path.

..."has the heart of a seven year old."

...is all about the baseball.


This boy...

...is smarter than any learning disability.

...has a very sweet and sensitive heart.

...is strong in his faith.


This boy...

is celebrating his 18th birthday today!

Happy birthday David!

Merry Christmas

Plans

If you play baseball, used to play baseball, watch your brother play baseball, watched your son play baseball, or just plain and simple enjoy the game, you should be heed the advice of my men and head to Tropicana Field today.













Good times!

Unfortunately for all, dogs aren't allowed.

They Have Tickets!

Technically they had tickets.

My silly boys, one with a constant raging case of impulsive-itis and the other one long suffering from a chronic bout of Batman-blastoma, saw the very first showing of the new movie early, early this morning at 12:01 a.m.

Poor Daisy, sporting bat ears, had to suffer through the frenzy!

Today We Dined with Friends

Dinner Style!



This evening we had dinner at the greatest restaurant in town! We were greeted by the sweetest owner/manager, a hero of ours really, entertained by the friendliest waitresses ever, and served the hottest wings available!





We really had the best time imaginable.











The only things missing were the pancakes!











And the plethora of animals that we brought home are simply a testament to my children's love for the game.

These kids are not greedy little ogres...really, they're not.

Brothers

Oh Brother!

Steven had a yearly sort of eye check today. His retinas remain miraculously free of VHL issues.

However, several years ago a small "hole" was discovered in his retina. We were told then that the "hole" was the result of some sort of trauma. The good news was that the hole was very, very small and had healed nicely, all on it's own.

Today we were told that the "tear" is larger, has underlying fluid around it, and could cause major damage to Steven's sight if left untreated.

So Steven had a rather unexpected laser surgery to that eye this afternoon to prevent further damage to the retina.

We were reassured once again that this is not disease related, but thankfully it is simply a bad-luck consequence from trauma to the head.

Trauma that we don't remember happening.

Steven believes that the trauma might be soccer related.

I believe the trauma is brother related!

Brothers...you have to love them!

Giving Thanks the Day After

Priceless



As Dale grumbled about the price of gas and the never-ending traffic,



the budget-busting choice of appetizer,





and the cost of feeding a family of five,





all I could do smile at the antics of our oldest two, and be thankful for another opportunity to feast with them.

Priceless memories.

News Flash!

We have a book!






But we only have "a" book...as in one!








How was I to know that this would be the summer that David decided that he liked reading!

Brothers

A sweet response in the guest book has me thinking about Steven, VHL, and David...

David, spending a long Monday night in the ICU with Steven.


David and Steven are very close brothers. David admires Steven's qualities...studious, kind, fair. Steven quietly dreams of being like David...exuberant, uninhibited, and loud. They are so close, it only seems natural that one would feel the other's pain.

This week my time is devoted to David. This is a baseball, baseball, baseball week, as David has a tournament two hours from home. After a quick abdominal scan with Steven this morning, I trekked south to join David. Just him and me.

I started thinking about that comment in the guest book, and I decided to open the lines of communication with David. During one of our quiet moments today, over an Italian sub and a glass of soda, I asked David how he feels about Steven, the disease, and the surgeries.

I wasn't sure what to expect in return. David is not the sort to ponder and dream. David doesn't fret. He has no worries. David is the "here and now" sort of person that we all should be. And today, at that moment, we were having fun.

But David surprises me sometimes.

"Mom, the way I see it, it basically stinks. There's medicine for everything else. How come there's no medicine for VHL."

I do believe we'll have David serving pancakes in a few weeks!

stinks: my word, not his

He used to be my personal bagger...

but someone else offered him money!

David, first day of work!
Ever!


Too bad I didn't think of that first!

If it is Tuesday...

...then we must be bowling!

What a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday. We went with intentions of simply getting out of the house.

After a few strikes ~ yes, Steven threw a few strikes ~

we left with smiles!

Day Six

Daisy, standing guard.

Steven woke to a better mood today. His only complaint today is a real one; tummy troubles. I think the aches and pains are caused by one of the side effects of Vicodin. He's been eating non-stop since the day after surgery, thus preventing the massive weight loss that he experienced last time but at the same time contributing to the constant tummy troubles that he's having now. Hopefully more water and a bit more movement around the house will ease those troubles.
Right now he is with Dale and David at the grandparents' house, watching movies with "Old Timer".

On the other hand...

Today I feel edgy and cranky. I've never really had a good "VHL" cry. A few tears shed here and there, but not a good old fashioned cry over the atrocities that face my son.

Instead I seem to like to loose it over the small stuff.

The "small stuff" today consisted of a full load of Steven's laundry that I threw into the washing machine with a soccer bag. The soccer bag has been washed many times, so I wasn't worried about the bright blue coloring bleeding into Steven's much loved t-shirts. David has been using this bag to tote his baseball gear around. He set it by the washer and dryer early this morning before practice. I emptied the bag of the obvious junk...sunflower seeds, a headband (?), more sunflower seeds, an old gatoraide bottle, and one last opened bag of sunflower seeds. What I didn't realize was that in a side pocket there was a tube of that black under-eye marker that outfielders cherish.

Hmm...

All of Steven's clothes are ruined, including the precious Highbury shirt that he was gifted last year. David, by the way, feels about as horrible as I do. Although I called and questioned David about this strange and empty tube that I found in the dryer, we haven't told Steven yet...he's having such a good day.








(And I know...anything that can be fixed with money is not really a problem. But it can cause crankiness!)

Brothers

They Write Their Own Script

"Steven do you have your diaper on?"







"WHAT?!?"








"Cause I think someone wet the bed, dude."
















David makes his brother laugh.
Steven keeps his brother on the straight and narrow path.

They write the script.