In Perspective

You know how you've got those friends on Facebook--the ones from high school who maybe you weren't all that close with. You knew them, they knew you. Maybe you were in some classes together. Maybe you were both in the band. But you ran in different circles. Nothing mean about it, that's just how it was. But, because your town was small and your high school was small and you pretty much went to school with the same people from kindergarten on, you knew each other. But after high school, you didn't keep in touch. And maybe you saw each other at the ten year reunion and said hi and caught up a bit, but it was mostly because of the shared and awkward feeling of somehow simultaneously knowing and not knowing one another, not because you were trying to deepen your friendship. And then, another ten years went by, and you went to the twenty year reunion, but you didn't really hang out much doing reunion-y type stuff because you had family committments and kids, etc. Did you see this friend at the twentieth reunion? You can't remember. But then Facebook came along, and all of the sudden, you were friending and being friended by people who you had to go to your yearbook to remember: "Oh yeah! I remember him! He sat behind me in English. But didn't he move away our junior year?" You know what I'm talking about.

And some of these new/old friends you got closer to and communicated with more than you ever had in high school, and you wondered, "Why in the hell weren't we closer? She's really cool!" And you saw what life had done to them. Maybe they were heavier. Or gray-headed. Maybe they were divorced with kids in college while yours was in elementary school. Maybe they still lived in your hometown or in Switzerland or Kentucky. You began to learn if they're really religious or Republican. Or both. Or neither. You saw vacation pictures and Christmas trees. You had these glimpses into their lives and wondered if they were looking at your posts and pictures too.

My friend Wendy is one of these people. We were not close in high school, but she has become my friend through Facebook. And right now, she is lying in her bed, receiving hospice care because this time--her second time dealing with breast cancer--she is losing her battle. I have gotten to know Wendy over the past few years like I never knew her when we were growing up. She has two adorable children. She loves John Waite and Motley Crue. She likes wacky hair color and funky glasses. And she is, more than anything, a fighter.

She may never know how much getting to know her--having our silly Facebook conversations over the past couple of years--has meant to me. To know someone with so much to live for who has been working every day for years to persevere in the face of terrifying odds humbles you. I am honored to now call this brave woman my friend.

Thank you, Wendy. You are one of the most courageous people I've ever known.

Saying goodbye to 2008 from the relative sanity of my cube at work.

I'm not working. I'm eating lunch at my desk, and then I'm leaving to go--gasp--grocery shopping. Why the gasp? Because I was just down in the godforsaken store, and it is a freakin' MADHOUSE, people. But shopping must occur because I'm preparing a vegetarian stew for Miss Lindsay's New Year's Day soiree tomorrow and, well, we just need groceries.

Okay, so lots has happened since I last posted. Here's the update (stay with me):

Tuesday evening (12/23)
Started having very sharp chest pains unlike anything I'd ever experienced while shopping at Whole Foods. Figured they'd go away. They didn't. After over an hour of this mess, I called my insurance's "nurse line," and described my symptoms and my medical history, and they were like, "Get thee to the emergency room!" So my darling husband drove my reluctant and beligerent ass to the ER, during which time the chest pains stopped (natch). But we went in anyway and spent 4 hours having the whole work-up done--blood tests, chest X-ray, EKG, cat scan, etc. By the time we left (around 10:30 pm), we were starving and we had no clue what had caused the chest pains. And they haven't happened again since (thank goodness). I'm really looking forward to getting the bills for that little night of fun.

Wednesday (12/24)
Woke up and started prepping to cook The Monochromatic Feast. First I prepared a breakfast casserole to be baked on Christmas morning. Then I prepped the squash and corn casserole and au gratin potatoes with goat cheese and chives for that evening's dinner. My mom and The Geej arrived from Horseshoe Bay, and I thought The Geej's eye's were going to bug out of her head when she saw all the new presents wrapped and placed under the tree since the last time she'd seen it. She was one excited little girl. Mom brought the smoked turkey breast and dressing, and we rounded out our dinner with a mixed green salad with bleu cheese, walnuts and pears. Needless to say, we were all STUFFED when dinner was over. We somehow convinced The Geej that she needed to go to sleep so that Santa could come and do his thing, and then we followed pretty soon after.


Thursday, 12/25
The Geej woke up at the crack of dawn to see her loot from the fat man. She was very happy with everything she got, especially the new baby stroller to replace her old one that she'd literally worn out. I got BH a set of rowing lessons and a one-month membership to The Rowing Dock, and he got me a gift certificate for not one, but THREE massages. We also got each other garden gnomes--Matthew and Norm--but that's a whole 'nother story. Christmas evening, we went over to La Turista's to visit with her family and chow down on tamales.


Friday, 12/26
BH fetched his boys, and we had a second round of present-opening. They each wanted--and received--kick-ass new skateboards, and the weather was great outside, so there was much skateboarding in the afternoon. BH also gave the family a 40-lb. punching bag and a bunch of boxing gloves so we can punch and hit and kick to our hearts' content. Dah went back to HSB.



Saturday, 12/27 thru Monday, 12/29
Hung out. Ate. Cooked. Napped. Played with the kids. Hung out some more. Played with the kittens. Tried to keep The Geej and BH's youngest from bugging each other to death. Had dinner with BH's mom and step-dad who were visiting. Had another round of present opening during which The Geej received this ensemble:
On Monday, I went back to work.


Tuesday, 12/30
Worked, and then went to happy hour with four of my favorite gals at the recently remodeled and reopened Paggi House. It was AWESOME. We sat outside (yes, it was nice enough to sit outside), drank wine, ate cheese and crackers, talked, and laughed laughed laughed.

Which brings us to today. As I said, I've got to go grocery shop, then I will fill up my car, go fetch The Geej (she's been at my mom's since Sunday b/c school's closed), return home and cook, clean, and (hopefully) take down that dadgum Christmas tree/kitten magnet.

So goodbye, and good riddance 2008. During this past year I landed a new husband and two step-sons, got a new car, and voted in a new president. I watched my 401(k) and Roth IRAs dwindle and the price of gas soar and plunge. I joined Facebook and didn't blog as much as I should've. I had to put the best cat of all time to sleep because he had an advanced, incurable disease, and I welcomed two new, absolutely insane kittens into our family. I watched my daughter complete her transformation from toddler to little girl. I spent my last year in my thirties. I faced very difficult and trying times at work and passed my 9 year anniversary there as well. And I celebrated my 4 year blogiversary.

Thanks for coming by and reading about my silly life. Hope to see you again in '09.

We need glitter, STAT!!

Tonight, the Malcontent Mama was nice enough to host the first semi-occasional "Breed 'Em and Weep Supper Club/Support Group" gathering at her family's house. And what a perfect gathering it was! It was a potluck, so I made a very aromatic and hearty vegan Spiced Lentil Stew. The main course was brisket (thanks, but no), but there were plenty of other offerings for those of us who don't do cow.

The weather was perfect for outdoor play and dining. And it was such a treat to see the Geej just go off on her own to hang with her friends and do her own things. It was cool.

Major case in point: Geej and Annie O (Malcontent's offspring) set up a M.A.S.H. unit type hospital thing in the master bedroom, and informed us that they were... (cue 70s cop-show inspired theme music) Princess Doctors!!

Check those chicks out!! They are focused on the mission at hand: take care of the babies, and be princess-y and fashion forward at the same time. Awesome.

And here they are administering care to a very special patient...right before they had to go do princess-type stuff, involving crowns and whatnot.

Man, I'm glad this field of medical practice has opened up. It's long overdue, and I'm proud to have my daughter be in the first generation of P.D's.