Patience is Not a Virtue of Mine!

Okay friends! With regard to "Eerie Coincidence" from bizzyliz I think I'm getting tired of waiting for "Journal Boy" (JB for short) to 1) read his classmates message; and 2) respond or not respond. It's been almost a month, and little bits and pieces of a story are making their way in and out of my brain. Just so I don't forget them altogether, I believe I will put them down in some sort of organized manner. I would really love to just say hi to this wonderful young man, but I will have to do so through a story.

There is also a story in my head about kids and cancer. I have an outline for a story that relates to a personal experience, the stories of a few cancer kids who have passed on, together with the courageous fights of the warrior moms and the fictional accounts of events that might have been. I've never written a book; I only write short stories. There is so much I want to say and so many tributes that I feel are necessary to bring to light some of these very amazing people. I guess that's why the dog keeps waking me up at 3:00am every night! "You have to write, mommy, write! Get out of that warm bed and get your butt over to the computer!"

So this is what I am working on right now. It has taken me over a week to get this far with my thoughts. I've been blasted at work (you know, the place I go to escape my family) with registrations for the next school year. At the same time, I have been trying to put together a clever flyer for a Girl Scout event coming up at the end of the month. I'm also going through old photo albums of my parents to collect pictures of my brothers and me to put into a scrapbook at the Celebration of Life for my brother, which is scheduled for the end of this month. My all-time favorite picture of us is shown at the beginning of this post. The quality is not that great, but it was taken in 1955! Hey, I can hear the snickering...cut it out!

St. Louis has managed to escape the big snow showers, but we have had enough to keep this fraidy cat indoors for the weekend. I hope to have something to show by next week. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and another three pounds have gone by the wayside (or backside) in case anyone is interested!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I'll bet you're asking who these beautiful ladies are and what do they have to do with the blog title. Well, I'm going to tell you who they are. These are four of the many preschool teachers who have passed through the halls and classrooms of the St. Matthews United Methodist Church's preschool. The lovely lady to the left of the picture is a very good friend of mine, and is the former director of the school. The gorgeous woman to her left (the tall one) is another friend who I like to call "Misses Rogers."

This teacher is the female equivalent to Sesame Street's Mister Rogers (Remember the song; hence the title of this blog) because everything she did was done in calm and low key manner. She has since retired, but she was the first teacher that two of my children had for their initial preschool experience. She was perfect for any child's introduction to preschool. I haven't seen her for many years, but have kept in touch with Christmas cards and the Internet. I like to think that she still has the same demeanor. In fact, I am sure that she does, along with a very dedicated faith in God.


Above, is a picture of Misses Rogers with my son, Rock. This is how the day would start. Misses Rogers would be sitting at a table, ready to begin a project. As she welcomed the children, they would choose an activity somewhere in the room. Slowly, she would call over a few at a time to see if they would be interested in what she was doing. There were several parents who volunteered to help out with all of the activities.

There were many special days at school. One of these days was "Pajama Day." All the kids would wear their pjs, and so would all the teachers (and the director... as long as she wasn't meeting with any new parents that day). The classes would all make breakfast. The children would mix ingredients and Misses Rogers would assist them in cooking.


For the last few years, Misses Rogers has been fighting cancer. She has undergone chemo and surgery. Throughout this hellish journey, her spirits have been incredibly high. After appointments and/or treatments, she would email us with an update of what happened, what would happen next, and how she was feeling. The mailing list of emails has grown steadily. We have prayed for Misses Rogers and her family. As do many who make the journey through cancer treatment, she has taken two steps forward and one step back, all the time praising God and praying for his will.

This past week, she received news from her doctors that there is nothing more that can be done. She has come to the end of her life's journey and has accepted the fact that she will soon join friends and family who have gone before her. We pray for her comfort, and for her family, we pray for understanding and healing.

Misses Rogers has touched the lives of hundreds of children and their parents. I can only imagine the size of the group who will attend services for her. Rock, Ed and I will be there in spirit.

Misses Rogers will be fondly remembered for her amazing ability to communicate with every child, her tender and loving care shown to every child, and her adventurous spirit which she shared with all of her children.

God Bless you, Misses Rogers.

My Big Brother

Life began with an intestinal hernia. He was much better after the surgery.
He always had a smile on his face.
Codeine made him see little green men.
He was a happy kid up, full of adventure and full of mischief.
A little on the short side, but cute as a button.
As a teen, girls couldn’t leave him alone.
He loved to surf and smoke cigarettes.
After high school graduation, he grew three inches.
He was happy.

He started college, but the draft interrupted.
He volunteered since his lottery number was 12.
He married a girl who was also cute as a button.
He went to Nam and made it back.
The marriage didn’t work out. Not so happy, but he could still smile.

He met and married his soul mate.
She had a young boy from a previous marriage.
Together they had a little girl.
Life was good and he was very happy.

He wanted to donate a kidney to a friend,
But couldn't because they found a tumor in his body.
Treatment was started to shrink the tumor so they could remove it.
After surgery, treatment continued and successfully killed the cancer.
Through it all, he had a smile on his face.

Six months later, x-rays showed spots on lungs.
Treatment began again and some of the spots disappeared.
Time to quit smoking.
Short breaths, can’t breathe, off to the hospital. Pray.
Blood pressure high, heart rate high, still can’t breathe. Maybe it’s pneumonia.Pray.
Sedate and ventilate.
Blood pressure down, heart rate down and breathing is a little easier.
Praise God.
Organs begin to shut down. Pray.
Organs began working again, color is good, and vitals are good.
Praise God.

Now they think it’s in the blood. Blast of antibiotics. Pray
Maybe the ventilator will come out today.
Praise God.

Please pray for my brother. He will give away his daughter in marriage (to the friend who needed the kidney) next spring at Dodger Stadium.

Thank you and God Bless.

Tribute to a Brother

I recently asked Rick over at Organized Doodles to draw a picture of one of my two incredible brothers. Please go visit Rick and see his awesome talents both artistically and literary-ally!

My brothers live in California and in recent years, we have really become proficient at staying in touch with each other! I try so hard to keep up with birthday cards, notes and such, but sometimes I drop the ball and find myself doubling up (birthday plus Father's Day...birthday plus Memorial Day, etc.).

A little over a year ago, my brother Pedro was getting ready to donate a kidney to a co-worker. He was going through the last battery of hospital testing to make sure that all was well within. Wouldn't you know it, they found a tumor and he was unable to help out his friend with a kidney. He was really bummed about that. Pedro underwent radical chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor so it could be removed surgically. The operation was successful. He then continued on with chemo to make sure there was nothing left that was evil. Throughout all of this time, Pedro kept everyone in the family in stitches with his hospital jokes and his courageous fight with an attitude that would rival a hockey team that just made the Stanley Cup playoffs!

At the one year checkup, he was blessed with a clean slate as far as the tumor area was concerned, but there were a few spots on different organs that were suspicious. New game plan...new chemo to hack away at the new evil intruders. The attitude is still high as the Arch, and he takes one day at a time. It's a win-win situation as far as Pedro is concerned.

I have learned so much about what I take for granted. Pedro has taught me how to smile and face each day as if it were my first trip to the beach! Each morning I wake up and thank the big guy upstairs for my ability to breathe, to stumble out of bed, and to drag my sorry butt to my job. I am so, so very lucky!

Pedro, Ricardo and I (along with our children) are the heads of our family now. There are no grandparents or parents. Why is it that brothers and sisters can't seem to appreciate and enjoy each other until they are of the arthritic age? I hope to pass on to my children the importance and necessity of loving, fighting, caring, and giving to each other all along the way, not just "some day" when one of them is in trouble.

Go call a sibling, and tell them you love them, in spite of their jerkiness!