Journal Entries
But, Mom, I was being nice!
Posted Apr 21, 2004
Solenne is 4 1/2 and the fourth child. She hates to look "cute" preferring to look "cool." When playing she wants to be the knight or Shrek or the dog. Mirabelle is almost 4. She is the first child and not used to rougher older siblings. She loves pretty dresses, anything pink, ponies, and kittens. She always wants to be the princess (Fiona or otherwise) or the cat. So in many ways Mirabelle and Solenne are perfect playmates ... until Solenne starts to call Mirabelle stupid or poo poo head or something like that. And Mirabelle, being the gentle spirit she is, starts to cry. It didn't take long for her to realize if she told me or Aunt Maria (Solenne's mother, my sister) that Solenne was calling her names, that we would step in. It did take us a little longer to realize that Mirabelle had to learn to deal with it herself. So there was plenty of Mirabelle running to Aunt Maria and Solenne getting in trouble for saying these things.
One afternoon Maria called upstairs to where the little girls were busy playing to tell Solenne it was time to eat ... And Solenne's response was "But, Mom, I was being nice!"
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Latest reply: Apr 21, 2004
Finally Home!
Posted Apr 20, 2004
Hello!
Well, we've been home for 5 days and there is still a little bit of stuff that needs to be unpacked ... and there is A LOT of dirty laundry! I had such a great time visiting with my sister and her family. Family is very important to me, and I'm fortunate to be close with all 4 of my siblings (though they all live so far from me!) My sister has 4 kids (11, 9, 7, and 4 years) and it was so funny watching the little ones play. I'm so happy we were able to spend so much time with them. It just makes me sad that it will be more than a year before I see them again. We also had a chance to visit a few museums and other touristy things. My 3 year old daughter now claims to hate museums. If you ask her about her trip, the first thing she will tell you is "The flight was 10 hours!" Why can't my children sleep on the plane?
It is nice to be home though.
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Latest reply: Apr 20, 2004
Going away for a bit
Posted Mar 15, 2004
I just wanted to let my friends know I was going away for a while. I'm going to visit with my sister in Paris for a month! I love spending time with my family, so it will be great to see her for such a nice length of time! Jason (my husband) is only coming for the last two weeks (poor guy can't take his job with him like I can!) The kids and I are leaving tomorrow. I hope they sleep A LOT on the plane! I'm a bit nervous about the flight, but how bad could it be? Two children confined to their seats for 8 hours? Tired, hungry and crabby? Are you glad we won't be sitting behind you! If it gets really bad, I'll just go hang out in the bathroom! Just kidding. We'll be in Paris for the first three weeks and the last week we'll spend in Germany with friends.
See you when we ge back!
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Latest reply: Mar 15, 2004
Dome Epais Le Jasmin from Lakme
Posted Mar 13, 2004
I've just found the most wonderful music. Dome Epais Le Jasmin from Lakme. I don't know anything about this opera or any opera for that matter. I've always loved music and felt certain things with it in a special way (I'm sure it touches all us in our own special way.) But this music fills me and I am lost in it. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard.
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Latest reply: Mar 13, 2004
The Sister-in-law
Posted Nov 10, 2003
She graduated as high school valedictorian. She graduated from UofA near the top of her class as a pharmacist. She worked for a few years and in that time fell in love with a man from western Europe while vacationing in Brazil. They married and decided to live and work near her home since she was already employed as a pharmacist and she could not work as a pharmacist near his home. It must have been difficult for him to live in a country where he got many job rejection letters because they said his English was not "good enough." They had a child together. A sweet little boy. They bought their own pharmacy and struggled to make it work. They both worked there. She worked long hours. The son spent most of his first two years at the pharmacy playing in a little area set aside with his toys (which he had to share with any customers' children that came into the store.) And at some point she started to get sick. I can't remember the name of it. The disease is made up of words I have never heard before. I asked a doctor friend of mine what it was, and he had never heard of it. He looked it up in one of his medical books and read the description to me. It said it strikes in early adulthood affecting the nervous system and usually leads to death. Little is known about it. She tells people she has MS. I think because that's easier than explaining to everyone what she really has. There were problems in their marriage from before I met either of them, but the husband's actions at the end of the marriage were unkind, deceitful and cruel. The worst was returning to Europe with their son under the guise of looking for work, and then telling her that he wanted a divorce, he was keeping their son, and she would never see them again. It took nearly a year and all the money she had to get her son back. The father gets yearly visits, but doesn't pay any of the court ordered child support. The budding pharmacy had to eventually be sold when it became too much for her to run herself. She had to keep a doctor's note with her explaining that she had a condition and was not drunk at work. So she stumbles and slurs and is losing control of her motor skills. Last summer they traveled to the Mayo Clinic to visit a specialist. He was amazed that she could still walk with deterioration she was having with the speaking and swallowing. That comment really hit home. She gets her son ready for school every day and then heads off to the gym for an hour and a half. Once home again, she has to nap because she exhausted. Her parents built a duplex that they all share so they could help her while allowing both families a little privacy and independence. I think her son is what keeps her going. She has to have yearly physical evaluations. And when they finally decide she can no longer care for her son, she will lose custody. What lovely things she has to look forward to. Not only is she slowly dying (it's so hard to write that, I think that is the first time I have), but before she does, she will lose what she loves most. But she will not go quietly. She will fight it every step of the way ... even while each step grows more difficult. She is amazing.
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Latest reply: Nov 10, 2003
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