As you can see from the picture, Kristi isn't wearing a hat or scarf. She's really becoming quite comfortable being bald. Would you have ever imagined?!?! She still wears a hat or scarf when she goes to the store, but around the house she goes "Au natural". She even walks down the street bald. I find this quite amazing; but then again, it is Kristi we're talking about! She asked me yesterday after Barb and Josh left, "what do you think people think when they come in and see me bald? Do you think it's too much for them?" My answer..."who cares?! You have cancer. You're bald. If they can't handle it, too bad for them." I call her baldness her "badge of courage". It doesn't bother me a bit. When she puts a scarf on and her green commando pants she looks like a foxy Hollywood diva! Grrrrrrrr :) Outwardly she appears fine with the whole bald thing, and for the most part I think she is. But, I know inside it bothers her a little bit. She gave me a hint of that last night. I know this whole thing is starting to wear on her a little...and the baldness is a constant reminder. So if any future references to her baldness can be avoided that would help her/us a lot.
As far as the kids...they're doing fine. They're excited for school to be done. This is their last week. They're getting a little restless and it's hard to keep them focused. I too can't wait for school to be done...one less thing to deal with.
Here's Emily playing with her power tools...can you tell she's a Daddy's girl?! (well, as long as she's being cute!)
My friends have been awesome. My friends Dennis and Ryan came over Thursday night and we watched the Pistons lose. Even though the game itself was painful, it was a 4 hour distraction from "it", the cancer. Tuesday night I'm going out with some other good friends of mine. My friends have been real good at making sure I have "Brian time" (as they call it). These times provide me with a little escape…where I can get just a handful of hours where I’m distracted from the 24/7 duty of dealing with cancer. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it means a ton to me!
Kristi and I have been blessed abundantly with many great friends and they just don't realize how much we love them. Hopefully they read this and realize that they are loved...even though we're not the best at saying those 3 little words..."I love you".
But I can't end there. Not without also saying how much our church and our friends in our subdivision have been there for us as well. They're not just our "subdivision friends". That's just how we distinguish them from our other friends. You know who you are! :) Kristi just loves getting out of the house and walking down to your houses. She loves the time out. Even if you just talk about the kids or school stuff or whatever, she enjoys the few minutes she has with you. She gets back home and I hear "that was so fun just sitting and talking". And Kristi continues to receive cards in the mail every single day from her friends at church. These cards mean so much to her. She practically knocked me over to get to the mailbox on Saturday and looked at me like the nerve I had trying to get “her” mail!! :) She enjoys each and every one of them! Thank you so much.
And of course, our families. That's just a given. But it never hurts to say it too much. We love you!
So that's all for today. A friend sent me a message about not worrying about being "too honest" in this blog. After all, it's supposed to be an honest look at our lives and what we deal with. And, it gives you something specific to pray about.
The specifics for today:
- Kristi
- Kristi
- Kristi
- OK, the kids as they finish school
- Me.
- My nephew Josh
- My sister-in-law Barb (and Fred)
- Our friends who are priceless
- Our families as they also must deal with this
- Kristi's sister Lori
- Kristi's brother-in-law Eric (diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's 2 weeks ago)
- My brother Jeff who broke his leg 2 weeks ago.
- Kristi
- Kristi, again
