Don't You Forget About Me

I've been away from the blogging world for a while because I've been really crazy busy at work. Which, if you know me and my work ethic job history, is really saying something. So I thought I'd give you a quick update on some random topics.

First, my youngest son has a speech delay and we've gone to a ridiculous number of assessments and appointments trying to get him some help. The little guy just does not want to talk. He'd rather just point and say variations of "Mmmm!" My mother-in-law is a Speech Language Pathologist, so I'm not unfamiliar with the techniques used to help stimulate language development. But...it's really a lot of work. And it requires a lot of discipline FOR THE PARENTS. This experience has taught me that I really need to learn some patience. The speech folks insist that I have to wait at least 10 seconds after asking my son a question to give him time to respond. That doesn't sound like a long time, but it feels like an eternity. He points to the fridge and I know he wants a drink. So I say, "Do you want a drink?" and I have to sit there staring at him. Then he doesn't respond, so I have to ask again and sit there. Sometimes, I'd rather just give him the stupid water and be done with it. But I'm trying to be diligent. Trying to help him. And trying really hard not to blame myself for his speech delay, even though a piece of me is sure that it's due to some failure on my part.

Second, remember the kidney drama? It's pretty much resolved, though occasionally things will pop up. For example, my brother-in-law is still on immunosuppressants, and this makes both he and my sister a little paranoid about germs. So, when my niece recently got an ear infection my sister packed up and spent a couple nights sleeping over at my mom's house to protect BIL from the germs. I know they're just being cautious but...really? You're worried that a toddler's ear infection is contagious? Also, check out this photo:

That is what your arm looks like after you have gone through years of dialysis. This photo really doesn't do it justice. It's just a huge mass of bumps and scars. It's kind of horrific, really.

Thirdly, last night I found out that my very favorite teacher ever was diagnosed with a scary lung disease (Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) a few years ago and is in rapid decline. He got on Facebook to tell his story, and last night I spent some time reading through the messages from his former students before adding one of my own, thanking him for being such an inspiration. Truly, I have never known a better teacher than Jerome Lipetzky. He taught Geography, which sounds pretty dry and boring, doesn't it? But it was the BEST CLASS EVER! I learned so much, not just about physical geography, but about the world at large. I just adored his class, and looked up to him so much. Of course, as I added my Facebook message telling him what an impact he had on my life, in the back of my mind I wished I could apologize for that time I told a racist joke in his presence. I was a high school freshman - young and stupid. I'd recently watched a comedy special with my dad where the comic had used a joke about airlines saying, "I think TWA means 'travel with Arabs.' So I fly DELTA which means 'don't even let them aboard.'" And, because I didn't really even understand what that joke meant, nor did I have the presence of mind to realize how completely offensive it was, AND because I am often a human quote machine, I repeated that line one day while hanging out in his classroom. I remember him looking so very disappointed and telling me it was not funny, and not to repeat it again. I believe that was back in 1989. He's probably long since forgotten that incident. But I will remember it to my everlasting shame for the rest of my life. Not because I disappointed a teacher I held in high regard, but because I was so ignorant to say such a thing in the first place.

My garden is slowly dying, and I'm very sad about it. Everything was so gorgeous and lush, and I was enjoying all kinds of fresh produce - including these awesome purple beans:Oh, how I love that photo!

But, certain plants that I was excited about, like my cucumbers, are not thriving. They went from this: Exciting! Those are baby pickles in the making!

To this:
So disappointing. I was really excited about making pickles this year. And when the vines first started creeping up the trellis, they were COVERED in baby cukes. I got 3 cucumbers that were about 4 or 5 inches long, and that's it. All the rest shriveled up and died. The plant is trying to hang on, but it looks so sad. I don't think there's any hope for it. Also, my tomato plants aren't giving me any tomatoes. Well, that's not true - I have cherry and pear tomatoes coming out the wazoo. Not so much with the larger varieties. What good does it do me to put in 10 tomato plants when only 3 actually produce anything? Hrmph!

Comic Con was this past weekend here in San Diego. Once again I didn't go. Why? I don't know. It's 31 flavors of awesome, and yet I haven't attended in years. There's no good reason. Every year I don't go, I end up regretting it. This year, the cast of Glee was there and it was revealed that in Season Two there will be an episode paying tribute to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. That sound you just heard was my heart exploding with joy.

Guess I've rambled long enough. Hope you are all doing well out there in cyber-land. I'll try to keep in touch.