Beaufort In the Rearview

I left Beaufort at 6 PM yesterday. The house is completely empty, and really clean thanks to Jan working feverishly the last few days. I was packing while she was cleaning, and we made good time. Thanks Jan, that was very generous of you, and key in getting me up to Columbia on time.

The only thing I can think that I forgot was to take Alison out of the Medical Insurance for the Southeast. I anticipate getting some guff over that, but they'll have to be understanding: she had an appointment on the last day she was here, and I'd rather be covered and apologetic than hit with a bill because of semantics.

Ali and I will likely drive out of here Monday and arrive on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to taking my time.

IT'S MOVING DAY

The movers should be here in an hour. Even though they're packing, moving, and unpacking, there has been a rather long laundry list of tasks to complete. Alison had a rough night last night. I think she's over exerted herself these past few days. Her back was hurting so bad that it sent pain to her stomach and chest when she stood up straight. She didn't sleep well, and vom'd a few times before her extra-special pain meds kicked in.

I can't wait to just be settled in Indianapolis.

Preparations

New look for my utility trailer.

Husbands Buying Stuff Without Approval

Funny thing yesterday. I went to donate some goods to Habitat for Humanity: a lawnmover, paints, antique gas cans, etc. Before I knew what happened, I had a sailboat loaded into the trailer and was thinking about what Alison would say. I didn't consult her before the purchase. I rationalized it by my selling of the Humdinger only two days before, the fact that this Sunfish was less than the deposit on the Humdinger, and that I've ALWAYS wanted one but never owned one, etc.
I walked in the door and asked her Dad, who's visiting with us, when his birthday was. He said January and I said, "Happy Birthday." They were shocked. I think Dave was pritty excited, because he helped me scrub it down for the next hour.
My plan is to put it on top the trailer and move it myself, then work on it before we move into our new house. We have about 10 days with little to do...
Pictures to come.

New Destination In Sight

We have a contract on a new house. Our move-in date is May 11th. Things work out on their own without my concern if I just let them...

Pow-wow

Ali and I had a great evening last night that started with a trip to the waterfront park to watch the sun set.

We had a long talk about our intent for the move, and made a huge to-do list; one pre-movers taking our stuff, and one post-movers taking our stuff. The pre-movers list is so long that I need to conclude my house improvement work and turn to on it.

On a different note, we received some news that put everything into perspective. None of this house stuff really matters. A friend of ours is really struggling in her battle for cancer, and she needs our prayers...

Bye, Bye Lady's Island Bye

Ali and I are starting to realize we won't see this everyday...

New Lease On Life

Ali's ailments are ironing out. Just in time for the chemo-funk, but it's that: in time. Atleast now it's fatigue and nausea and not fatigue, nausea and lots of pain. Little blessings are the best. Two nights ago I woke up with such bad congestion behind my sternum (acid reflux?) that I had to get up and work in the garage a while, then try to make myself vomit, and finally pass out on the bathroom tile. That experience made me realize how much we take for granted. I take for granted every ligament in my thumb, every bit of skin that isn't stabbed through, I take for granted that my teeth won't crack in half tonight. My point is that Ali's journey is a tough one to be on. Every body part and function that we take for granted she has to face head-on: bone deterioration, muscle tension, liver and lung functionality, gastrointestinal function, neuropathy, and the like. She just doesn't think about it a lot, just takes it one bite at a time. Which, I hear, is how one eats an elephant.

The new lease title is because we have rented our house out for the next two years. That and every moment is a new lease, a new guarantee that you'll have every opportunity to enjoy the present moment. You're free to enjoy now. It's your lease.

Sleeping Stories

This morning I woke up and, instead of getting out of bed, I sat and read a few pages. Alison was asleep beside me. Her face looked peaceful, and her nose twitched like she was smelling something foul or giving me a look of disapproval. I thought that was funny. Then I thought how life is funny. It's very interesting.
All of our lives are intermingled, but no two stories are the same. They have moments of bravery, courage, and moments of dispair, when we need another's help. If you would have told me this morning that I'd have been right here, right now, under these circumstances, I would have told you that you have a carreer in writing in front of you, because that's more creative than I could have jestulated. In fact, this story is made for TV.
Alison and I will be fine through this new pain of hers. We need to focus on today, right now, instead of on our upcoming move. When you look further than the present moment, you miss such beauty, such as your wife's peaceful face on the pillow, breathing in and letting out.
I hope everyone's story is as interesting as ours. It certainly makes things interesting.

Not So Bad Either

Well we sat at the doctors for a few hours today, and walked out feeling better. Well, emotionally atleast. Today was a better day for Alison. She was not as nauseous, had the pain under control with Morphine Sulfate, and ate and showered. The doctor, having seen the large welt-like swollen muscle in Alison's back, believed it was spasm related. Like the muscle was the problem and not the nerve. Alison carries stress in her back, and often gets knots, but this is a mother-knot. She also has some sensitive spots on her side, stomach, etc, which feel like they're abraded, friction-riddled, and hurt when they're touched. Those are indicators that there is some weird nerve things going on, but again the Doc thought it was more likely that it was because of the chemo drugs and not from tumors pinching things. Finally, we discussed some medication changes, and decided to do chemo this week instead of next. It just works out better, and in my humble opinion, I think the drugs need to get re-scheduled into circulation. We went from every three weeks, to a six-week break for christmas and a six weeks break to visit over Valentine's. It's time to get back at it. Don't give the cancer a chance to get back up.

God's healing Alison. He's teaching her that she has all the tools to accomplish whatever she wills. She's got everything she needs to make any change at any time. She's the pilot of her life. This cancer has been a learning point, and continues to teach us lessons.

Not So Good

Alison's back and side have been hurting her lately. The theory is that the main tumor's growth, as we saw in the CT scan, is back to pushing/pinching/interfering with a nerve. It's been getting worse really, and this weekend was rough. She takes morphine-sulphate to numb the pain; she tried some Oxycontin yesterday, but it made her nauseous. Makes me nauseous to remember her pain from June 2006 - January 2007.
Anyways, we're taking her straight to the Doctor's office this morning. I think she needs blood. Blood and chemotherapy.
This is another ebb-tide along the journey. We'll get her fixed up and keep on sailing.

Picture Mission

As my final work-related project, my buddy Matt and I made an excursion in the Humdinger to capture some pictures. I'm going to select one of them and draw it for going-away presents for future goings-away. It'll be charcoal, 11x14. We thought it would be good to have a non-military picture, so that it has a better chance of actually going on a married Marine's wall.

BLOG PAUSE. It may be a while.