committed

Weeks…okay, MONTHS later I am FINALLY moving forward with the big project that is my staircase bannister. I’m blaming the hot summer and fall, back to school, Halloween, the Coming Attraction that became known as Fallon, the holidays, the post holidays packing of holiday decorations, Jodie’s crazy work and dancing schedule that requires me to be her personal taxi, babysitting the grands at least twice a week…and any other excuse I can come up with right now to explain why six months later I am still working on painting the staircase bannister.

Well one coat on one small part of the staircase bannister and yes, I am definitely committed here. That is what my darling husband said when he saw what I had done today. I am also quite aware that I have missed a spot or more. My darling husband also noticed that too.

Sigh!

Stay tuned…hopefully I won’t be updating this project in June.

a friend indeed

Hazel has announced that she has a friend, a friend none of us can see. His name is Keycore…at least that is how her mommy spells it. Hazel declared that the correct spelling is “A to Y and C to H“.

Of course.

Where does he live? Inside the Earth…duh!

Oh, and he has blue hair. How awesome is it to have a friend who has blue hair? You’d know if you had such a friend.

Finally, Hazel’s mommy asks how old is Keycore (A to Y and C to H).

Hazel: “5 o’clock, why?”
Mommy: “He’s 5 o’clock years old!?”
Hazel: “Yes mom. What does it matter?”

Indeed.

daily Fallon #20

Beware…

Ninja Baby!!!

She’s all the more intimidating with her polka dotted bottom.

Isn’t she?

just five minutes

NASA / SDO and the AIA Consortium This SDO image (AIA 193) shows an M9-class solar flare erupting on the sun's northeastern hemisphere at 03:49 UT on Monday, just four days after a previous strong CME that sparked aurora around the world. More geomagnetic activity is expected.

Watching the news report of the recent solar storms I find myself remembering when I finally met Susan face to face. Our conversation was brief…five, maybe ten minutes. Perhaps it was a little bit longer. We were both at BlogHer10 and myself, and others, were in the afterglow of Susan speaking at the Voices of Year Community Keynote. I tried not to gush too much meeting a woman whose blog I adored. I tried not to be too starstruck. I have been told that I tend to do that when I meet those who inspire me in real life.

Thank goodness Susan made it so easy with her warm smile and laughing eyes. We made small talk while we sipped our drinks and waited in line to have our palms read at the BlogHer party. We talked about science and just how cool science is. I then confessed that I dropped Physics in high school because I was struggling so much and was afraid of my precious GPA dropping. I loved science…life sciences. The physical sciences I just did not get.

See how easily I can embarrass myself when I am starstruck?

But ever the scientist, ever the teacher, Susan patiently explained how really they are intertwined and connected offering up NASA’s Life and Physical Science Program as an example. That’s Susan, always teaching, always encouraging, always making her audience more aware…and when we should be already aware, she calls us to stand up and take action beyond silly Facebook games. And Susan has taught in her writings, in her conversations, in her life to be grateful. Even grateful in the exhausting, chaotic tedium of this life we have.

Our face to face encounter was perhaps just five minutes but it is one that I won’t soon forget. I know I will never forget Susan.

Thinking of you Susan.

problem #3

Today ended up being a day to wander a bit down memory lane. I hadn’t planned it. Still it was what I ended up doing. Daniel’s requested hospital records FINALLY arrived! Oh yes, we are that much closer to beginning his HGH treatment and therapy…if the insurance gods deign so.

I quickly thumbed through the 24 pages to make sure all the requested records were there. But I found myself stopping as quickly as I started on the second page, page two of his Admission & History record as dictated by the admitting neonatologist who was on duty early that morning.

There it was to remind me again. Sometimes I forget just how remarkable it is that he is even here. How some believed that it was unrealistic even for him to survive and thrive.

Out of the six neonatologists on staff in the NICU where he spent his first 132 days, only one believed that he would have a good outcome from the very beginning. He even fought against the hospital medical ethics committee for his life. Of course, initially his motives were for the biological parents to reconsider their decision and reunite with the baby. But from the very moment of his birth, Daniel fought hard to live, to survive and to thrive. One by one, he convinced his caregivers of his viability, of his stubborn will to live. And soon enough, very soon, the possibility of him finding his forever family and being placed for adoption became realistic…real for him…real for us. Even the bioethics committee agreed two months after his birth that “his care was appropriate and justified”. Problem #3 proved to not be a problem after all. Yes, even the neonatologist who initiated problem #3 agreed…perhaps taking a little bit longer.