Introducing a New Series

Team Miner: 

I scrapped a pitiful, depressing post and have decided to bring you the first entry in a new feature series called "Cancer Hilarity."  I hope this will become a series at least.  Humor helps. Most jokes or moments of levity will probably be courtesy of Stella. My humor is a little dark lately, and perhaps too profane for some readers. But Stella's attitude can be delightful at times.  Actually all the time, with the exception of when she is throwing fits before bed.

1. I have found myself searching on Amazon for things I had hoped to avoid purchasing for a few more decades. This entire experience is a bit of a fast-forward into old age, but bonus for us, this adventure in aging comes along with an infant and 3.5 year old! Case in point: my recent search for weekly pill sorters. After careful consideration, I have decided we should invest in a pimped out model with am/pm capabilities and plenty of pill room. The run of the mill Walgreens model just isn't cutting it.  Thank goodness for Amazon Prime.
2. When I told Stella that we were not moving to Kentucky yet, because we needed to stay in San Francisco while Papa got better, the news did not seem to sink in immediately. I then discussed a few upsides to our delayed move, like the fact that we will get to celebrate her birthday here with her friends this summer. Her response to the prospect of her friends coming to her party:  a very frank, "Well, unless they're busy."  She seemed otherwise unconcerned with the fact that we are not moving which leads me to believe she's turning into a true San Franciscan.  The next anecdote illustrates that as well.
3. As referenced in an earlier post, Stella's Spanish is taking off. Not only is she sharing her vocabulary with everyone and correcting everyone's Spanish pronunciation if it does not agree with her, she also has definite Latin-influenced flavor preferences.  At the hospital, there are Popsicles available for visitors. Jeff and Stella have started sharing a Twin-pop every time she comes to see him. The nurse who came to take their Popsicle order the first time asked Stella what flavor she wanted. Probably thinking of her favorite paletas, Stella responded without hesitation, "Mango, please."  She was confused by the later explanation of the flavor offerings as "red, orange, or purple." I guess these are SF toddler problems...

On another topic, as a Jeff update, he has not lost a single hair yet. Meanwhile I am suddenly shedding post-partum hair like it's my job. He is trying to eat whenever he's hungry and seems to have avoided nausea, though he is gravitating towards slightly plainer food than usual. (That said, he enjoyed a quite garlicky tetrazzini that I made and Cheeseboard delivered by Rortina was a BIG hit with Jeff, me, and my mom last night.  And he believes he would still down some serious kimchee if presented with it. Fortunately, that craving just might cure him of every disease, even SARS.  Clarification:  Jeff does not have SARS.  Some folks just believe kimchee is a cure-all.)

Fatigue is setting in though. Yet Jeff is also restless and finding it hard to sleep. He is achy and uncomfortable. So if you can send the Sandman to our house - for all of us, but especially Jeff - that would be great.

Finally, these past two weeks were essentially brought to us by my mom. She is my hero. I'm super sad she's leaving.

Ciao for now,

Katina