Thurs, 27 May
Another week gone by. I just can't seem to keep this thing up as much as I would like. Have been pretty busy at work. Only 12 more days of school left for the kids and then one day after that for teachers and instructional assistants. I have already started on straightening things out in the room so there won't be so much left that last day.

My arms are killing me. We are adding onto our driveway so there is more room for the boat and for Joe's truck. We have been building a retaining wall for the dirt and gravel. Using that sledge hammer has really put a hurting on all of us. Even the kids have been helping.

I took the day off from work today for my birthday. Actually isn't until tomorrow, but I couldn't take off then because Monday is a holiday and if I took off today I wouldn't get paid for the holiday. Keep the faith

Thurs, 20 May
My gosh, 11 days since my last update. I have been doing pretty good eating and exercising. I have taken up walking as a way to relieve stress. We got the biopsy results back from my dad's tumor. It was cancer. He was supposed to have more skin cancer removed from his right jaw yesterday, but he walked out of the hospital. I guess I can't blame him, though. He was supposed to have the surgery at 11. At 11:30 they came and told him the doctor wouldn't be there for another 3 hours. They said he didn't have an emergency and wasn't tied up at his office, he just wouldn't be there for 3 hours.

Meanwhile, I spent 5 hours at the hospital with Joe while they did a CT scan and blood test to determine if he had appendicitous (I know I butchered that, but you know what I mean). Everything came back negative. Not sure what the problem was, but the poor child was in some tremendous pain. If I didn't walk, I would have gained 20 pounds by now. Keep the faith

Sun, 9 May
Happy Mother's Day! I have had a terrific day. Spent most of it in the hammock I got. Jai and Tim made breakfast this morning. (Joe was at work.) The kids got me a frog candle holder and some tea lights to burn in it. (In case you were wondering "Why a frog?", I collect frogs.) I have made a deal with myself. Today was special, but after today I am not allowed to enjoy my hammock unless I have already gone for at least a 20 minute walk. That should give me some incentive to get out and get going. Dad has to call the doctor tomorrow and find out when he gets his stitches out. Guess maybe he will find out then the news about the tumor. I am trying not to let myself dwell on it. So far so good. Keep the faith ;)
Fri, 7 May
I know I have been here since Monday, but since I don't know what happened to the entries, here is the rest of the week in a nutshell. The middle school had two more bomb scares on Tuesday, but none since then. The kid who turned in the bomb threat on Monday was the one who wrote it. How dumb is that? My hubbie got me a hammock for my combined Mother's Day and birthday present. I took my dad to have the tumor on his shoulder taken off today. No results from the biopsy yet, but dad is doing fine. He stayed awake for the procedure. It took about an hour. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the news will be good. Well, not much else going on. I haven't even thought about my diet. Have no idea how things are going. Just trying to eat when I am hungry and avoid the kitchen and pantry at other times. Keep the faith ;)
Mon, 3 May
My brother's birthday was yesterday. Now he and I are the same age til the end of the month. There was another bomb scare at the middle school where my youngest son goes. They had one last Wendesday, a practice lock-down on Thursday of last week, and now another bomb scare today. Tim said that he and some others found the threat written on the wall in the bathroom. They went and told the principal and she decided to treat it as a serious threat and evacuated the school. They bring in the police and dogs and search each and every classroom, locker and backpack in the school. It has taken about 3 hours each time. Timothy gets very indignant. He can't believe that kids are dumb enough to do something like this. They deal with the kids they catch very harshly. They are taken from the school in shackles and taken to the detention center where they spend the night. So far they have caught most of the kids who do this. Their parents are responsible for paying for the police officers who respond to the schools. They pay so much an hour for each officer and dog that respond to the scene. If there are fire trucks involved, they also pay for them, even though they are volunteer companies. I understand it can become quite costly. I hope things settle down. We only have 29 more days of school for the students. Why can't they just let well enough alone and let things go? Keep the faith ;)
Sat, 1 May
I can't believe it is May already. My dad went to the doctor today. They found another tumor. He has to go into Harbor Hospital sometime to get it biopsied. The doctor will call him Tuesday to give him the details. This tumor is on his collar bone. Dad said it just popped up all of a sudden, but I believe it was there for quite some time. How he kept it hidden from the doctor this long is a mystery to me. I have been crying off and on for about 2 weeks now. Poor Yobo doesn't know what to do for me. I guess this is something I will have to work through myself. It is so hard to come to terms with cancer. I wish dad had gone to the doctor sooner. He doesn't hardly seemed fazed by all that is going on. I guess he just doesn't care. He keeps saying it will be nice to see Ma. I think he has given up before they even have all the test results in. Please keep praying for my dad. Keep the faith.

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