Damn... what a long ass evening!!! Rory had a great time at group. Even better? His adorable friend Skylar (who is going to camp this weekend and also went last year) regaled him with tales of the fun she had and all of the special things that they get to do. When he came out of group, the first thing he said to me was, "Mommy!!! Camp is gonna be SO fun! I can't WAIT to go!!!!" Yeeeeehawwwww!!!! :0) We then got in the car and discovered a voicemail from his 'big buddy'... calling to tell Rory how excited he is to meet him tomorrow, etc. And get this.... his name is David. When he heard that, Rory absolutely squealed with delight and said, "just like daddy! Just like daddy!!!" It was very sweet.
I have mucho to do tonight to get ready to go... especially since I'm packing for myself now too. Just wanted to address my To.... first of all... doesn't Cookie work for a dentist??? Can't they hook a sistah up??? WTF??? And yes, I LOVE your posts & I genuinely miss you when you take a break from writing. And even though you keep mentioning how much you must "annoy" me, I can honestly say, that is not the case. True... many moons ago, you usually made it your business to piss me off. Not only that, you definitely derived some sort of sick pleasure from it!!! I don't know what changed, but I'm glad it did... and I'm SO happy to have you back in my life. :0) Hey.. I just had a thought.... maybe now, after everything I have endured... even though you're a big, tough dyke... you realize that I FINALLY have enough pent up aggression and hostility within me that I COULD actually beat your ass!!!! Ha!!! Yep. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Just remember.... YOU ain't so bad!!!
Okay... off I go. Laundry, packing, dogs, kids' stuff for school, book a hotel... yada yada yada.
Love ya!
Weasel
xoxo
Trying to survive and thrive, through the most difficult time in my life.
Welcome!
So here's the Reader's Digest version for those of you who are new to my blog.... My 39 year old husband, David, was diagnosed with a hideous and deadly cancer in April of '08. We were told he'd likely die in less than 4 months. Obviously, that diagnosis turned us inside out and shook us to the core. At the time, our boys were 12 and 4... can you say 'fucking nightmare'??? I spent the next 14 months being his 24/7 caregiver and advocate... never leaving his side unless it was to get the boys to or from therapy or their cancer support groups. Cancer and the hell that it brings became our universe. And yet, I was able to get myself to a place where I was depending on my faith.... existing on a plane of pure gratitude. I focused my energies on recognizing the blessings that cancer had brought to our lives... yes, there ARE blessings that come with such a dire diagnosis.
Things were good. David miraculously entered remission in April of '09. I was looking forward to the next few months being our 'summer of healing' as a family. And then my world stopped. He left me... left US... on 6 June 2009. And FYI... he told me he was ending our 18 year marriage in a note. As if that wasn't bad enough, he had left me for a 'friend' who also happened to be married. Nice. The next few months are a blur... I descended into a deep, dark depression, and David's vicious treatment of me didn't help. He was running as fast as he could from everything associated with cancer, and that included me... our family, our home and the entire life we had built together. Things went from bad to worse when his cancer returned with a vengeance. He began treatment once again, and I had to dig deep to help him and make things as easy on him as possible. I even offered to have him move home so I could care for him through his treatment. As it turns out, it was a good thing he didn't take me up on that. The hateful way that he treated me during that time would have made caregiving for him an unbearable situation. I KNEW he was dying... nobody else did, because he fed them all kinds of bullshit... but I knew. Because of that, I focused on the boys and made sure they were with their daddy as much as possible.
His final months were a living nightmare... a kind of pain and darkness for which there are no words. No human being, no matter who they are or how they lived their lives, should have to suffer the horrific pain and endless indignities that David did. In spite of everything, I was with him constantly, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend and his mother. 'Too fuckin bad' was my theory. I wanted my boys to see that I NEVER turned my back on their dad. And I didn't. I continued to advocate for him in the hospital... fighting to get him the meds and the specialists he needed. I was there during his final moments of consciousness. I took Reilly to say goodbye to his dad, just before he slipped into that state. I was there when he died. I ID'd his body at the funeral home. I planned his funeral and his Celebration of Life. I placed his ashes in the wall of the Columbarium at the Naval Academy. We had spent half of our lives together, and though I was no longer in love with him, I did those things out of respect for the life that we shared and the family that we created.The 6 months since he died have brought more changes. I struggle daily to untangle the financial disaster he left me, and I'm fighting like hell to keep our home. The boys are now 15 and 7 and trying to learn how to move forward in their lives without their daddy. I had to get a part-time job after spending 15 years as a full-time mother, and I'm doing everything I can to trim the fat so we can afford to stay where we are. My boys NEED the stability and comfort that come with remaining in our home and community, and staying in their schools. To that end, I will fight with every fiber of my soul to ensure that those things happen.My greatest blessing is that I now have an incredible man in my life... a man who is thoughtful and loving, strong and sensitive, hilariously funny, and who loves me just the way I am. He is authentic. He knows who he is and is completely comfortable in his own skin. It certainly doesn't hurt that he's 11 years younger than I am and sexy as hell. :0)Yes, my boys are struggling in many ways... the therapy and support groups continue... and I still have MUCHO 'death business' to handle. That said, I am starting to believe that there might be a happy future ahead... for all of us.The past almost 3 years have been quite an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. Writing has been the most important part of my day, every day, since this journey began. I am once again being put in a position where I have to learn to survive... spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially... you get the picture. My hope is that I can hold on to my faith, find a moment of joy in every day, be the best mother I can possibly be, and hopefully... one day... emerge back into the light.December 2010
Tears of bittersweet joy!
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AN
How dare you call me a........................weasel!! And don't get it twisted, I still enjoy annoying you, but you don't bug as easily. Damn!! What changed, well, I was a little slow on the maturity curve, and the drugs don't hurt either. On the dental thing, it's true, Cook does work for a dentist, but I don't call his office "Little Shop of Horrors" for nuttin'. First of all, this fuckstick is short, so he wants to turn you upside down in the chair. After my back injury, I cannot stand it. I derive more pain from that then the dental work. If I had a quarter for everytime he says "chin up please" I could take a nice vacation somewhere. And, I admit it, I'm skeered of the dentist. My teeth are so bad(actually all 5 of us)I'm not totally sure I even have a real one left. This tooth had a massive abcsess. Took two visits just to drain the damn thing!! Disgusting. Anyhoo, yes, we have come along way baby, and though you could easily have told me to go fuck myself in the neck, you didn't. You accepted me completely and without question, your a true friend and I love ya putt-nut. Don't go pickin' up any johns just cause you have a room and a night alone. You might catch something. T.
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