Thanksgiving Weekend 2010

No blogging all weekend - It's been a tough weekend.  First Thanksgiving without daddy, got use to hearing the "let's eat!!" after prayer. 

Thanksgiving 2010

Already chopping celery and onion.  Good thing I have the onion to hide the crying. 

Yesterday we took daddy some oranges.  Feel like the Budhists with the food and givings, but ever since I moved here I've had orange trees and every year he would eat them like candy.  Wanted to keep the cold and flu away, ...he was also convinced if he ate enough chili it would keep the cancer away too.  After we left, Samuel wanted to know what would happen if a homeless ate the oranges, "Well, if he eats them, he'll enjoy them for grandpa."

Well were going to have all the fixings for Thanksgiving, momma wanted it at their home this year, it's going to be tough, the first time without daddy in 50 years.  But, again, we'll be together as a family and that's what important.  Daddy always wanted us to be sure we stayed together as a family no matter what and that's what we're going to do, plus eat a lot of food. 

Gotta take our stretchy pants today!

Thanksgiving 2009

It's a good day, Daddy has had his cancerous kidney removed and made it through the surgery.  He's started the chemo but it's in the pill form - expensive medicine - the side effects are a mile long.  Right now his bones are hurting, he's tired, and starting to get blisters in his mouth.  But today we're all together and that's whats important, plus all the good food helps too.

My first fight

On California street we were the last block before the railroad tracks.  Railroad tracks we crossed every morning to cut across to get to Maple School faster or otherwise we had to go around through San Joaquin then B street to Maple.  The tracks were faster, especially when your being chased.  The last house on the block across from us before the tracks were a family of girls.  Tall, muscular, black girls who were very athletic and intimidating.  We would try to run as fast as we could to pass them.  If caught they would grab us and take our lunch money.  Scary.  Then after school we would run home.  We told momma and daddy; first they tried to talk to their parents, and of course they would talk to their daughters.  Well that lasted a couple of days.  Again momma talk to their mom, momma didn't want her girls fighting because girls don't fight.  Well after many days of crying and pleading daddy about had it.  This was the drill as we were told by daddy, "you run as fast as you can, grab some rocks and hit them, then they'll leave you alone."  Momma still persisted, "no fighting," but daddy insisted, "you want to be left alone this is what you need to do."  We wanted to be left alone.  It worked.  They cried, we stared dumbfounded, then we walked to school together.

Admit!

Well by now he has been admitted.  Rubber rings around his esophagus, seven pints of blood later he's feeling tired but alive.  We've made it over the first bump.  I'm back to school and work and trying to absorb what's happening or going to happen.  The doctor has found a tumor (the infamous bursitis) on his right shoulder and is worried because it broke the bone and is pretty big.  Now it's ultrasounds, MRI's, x-rays, and more blood for the blood tests.  The waiting is the worst.

Our first bikes

When I was about seven we all got bikes.  I think they were bikes made from different parts because they were multicolored, but we didn't care they were bikes.  Anyway that was the easy part, the hard part was learning to ride them.  Daddy had this trick, he would run along side us holding the back, and promised he would stay behind us.  Next thing you know, we turn around and he's standing behind with a big smile because we were riding it on our own.  Of course when we realized he wasn't there anymore our handlebars were swerving and we were swerving then, "crash" onto the pavement.  We did'nt get hurt much and he had us get back on the bike a few times, and in a couple days we were pros at it.  Forty years later I'm using the same trick on my son, only I did it on grass.

FYI - a few years later we all got nice new bikes - three weeks after they were stolen from some kids down the street.  Daddy went to the house and took them back.  We got them back, but of course we had to add parts and we were back to the multicolored bikes.

The Hospital Stay

Now they've admitted daddy in the hospital for more tests.  For months his arm had been hurting.  We kept telling him, "daddy you need to get that checked."  Two weeks before he went to the hospital they proceeded to tell him it was bursitis and gave him a cortisone shot to help with the pain.  I'm not sure if they x-rayed.  He said they did but it was in the hospital that we found out that he had a tumor that had grown so large around his ball joint/shoulder area on the right side that it literally broke the upper-arm bone in half.  A few days before the bleeding he was holding his arm with his left hand.  It hurt so bad but he took their word that it was bursitis and would clear up soon.  There was no reason for us to think otherwise.