Weekend Wrap Up & # 21

Today is my 21st month anniversary of waiting for my daughter. I'm still hopeful that referrals for May will arrive sometime this year. I hope. The good thing is that I am saving a nice little nest egg for my trip. I will be working summer school because my school is hosting it and frankly, I don't want another librarian messing with my library that I have worked hard to get it the way I want it (sounds a little possessive, I know). I will also be taking my parents to Arkansas and Louisiana to visit his family. I am looking forward to visiting with my cousin Angelique, her kiddos and my great Aunt Lucille. She is the great soul who introduced into my vocabulary the term, "wompus kitten." I will be sad though as my great Uncle Frank (my Aunt Lucille's husband) passed a couple of weeks ago. I had been looking forward to his great Southern cooking. He could make anything taste FAB-U-LOUS!

My best friend celebrated her 35th birthday this Friday. I went to dinner with her, her husband and daughter and their friends. Her daughter, Holly is the sweetest baby ever. She was making funny faces and throwing her head back and just laughing and laughing. She knew she had us all in the palm of her hand. I wanted to hold her, but I was hesitant because I didn't want to grab her away from anybody so I just played peek-a-boo from my seat at the table.

Three weeks from tomorrow I leave for Chicago. Yippee! I am so excited.

Today

Beautiful and Bald

This week, Shannon's hair started coming out in clumps. She was fixing her hair and it was coming out. The cool thing about Shannon is her strength and her sense of humor in her battle against cancer. She kinda freaked out some kids (kids we knew who could laugh about it) who came into the library by grabbing chunks out and telling them they were making her pull her hair out. She decided to shave her head. Her daughter came home and they styled her hair in a mohawk and devil horns. They took pictures. Now she is beautiful and bald. I tel her she's lucky that she didn't have a lumpy head. It's been interesting to see the kids expressions. Some came up to her to ask her why and others came to me. The funniest question I got was, "Did she lose a bet?" Shannon and I were howling over that one. I know a lot of people think we might be crass and mean or maybe insensitive about how we laugh about these things, but we've learned that one of the best ways of healing is having a sense of humor. We've decided that the reason I haven't gotten Grace is that Shannon is supposed to have hair so she won't scare my daughter with her beautiful, bald head. I know this sounds so lame but Shannon seriously is my hero. She is beautiful strength under tremendous pressure.

Enter the Rat

Happy Chinese New Years Day to All! It's my year...the year of the rat. Let it be prosperous and lucky for all of us waiting for our children in China.

I hate being sick!

Saturday, I started feeling a little more off than usual. I went with my parents to visit my grandparents in the nursing home. By the time I got home a couple of hours later, I knew something was up. By Sunday morning, I was feeling like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and I had a fever of 102. I had a feeling that I had bronchitis. Sure enough, that's what I have. I went to the doctor yesterday and she gave me a z pack. I was told to stay home Monday and Tuesday. I felt like I've been runover by an 18 wheeler but I think I'm on the road to recovery. I sound like the bad guy from an 80s cartoon when I talk. I am feeling a little peppier this afternoon. Poor Hope is missing her walks and is going stir crazy. Oh well. She'll get over it.

On a brighter note, the referrals came in. I'm so happy for all the parents who saw their children's faces for the very first time. Congratulations