Hope

Anyone reading this has two kinds of Hope in their lives. The first that keeps you going every day seeking to be better and enjoy yourself more then the previous day. The second, because you know her and are reading her blog, is my Hope and you just can't help but to love her if you know her at all or have even met her. She fulfills both of those definitions for the three Florida Wise boys, like Tiffani Amber-Thiesen did for me when she moved on from Saved by the Bell to being the bad girl on Beverly Hills 90210. Tiffani gave me Hope in Saved by the Bell and the first girl on my list when Hope and I used to watch in our early college years.

Hope #2 for you guys is going through her toughest battle yet right now after tiring from her previous fight for almost seven years. As she puts it, she is so sick of being sick it makes her more sick. I think I remember the same saying in one of my Cliff Notes from a Shakespeare class (or possibly it was the movie that made me flunk Mrs. Lober's test in 11th grade because it wasn't even close to the original play). Hope's scrapping of western medicine and open arms to holistic healing alone to date has not progressed as Hoped (pun intended), it's been more like Tropical Storm Fay which was a joke 36 hours ago to us with its weak winds but now after dumping over 16 inches of rain in the last 24 hours it's starting to dampen our moods around town along with some houses, cars, and my project sites. It's still pouring outside with high winds so it's been raining on our city's and Hope's parade to more Hope for tomorrow. Through all the hurricanes we never missed three consecutive days of school, and tomorrow is number 3 with Monday of this week being the first day of school.

The first day of school is the annual pilgramage bringing new Hope to all children to see old friends, make new ones, hope for good teachers, wear your cool new kickers squeaking with each intrepid step, and most feeling better and more confident each day of the week as you ease into a new routine. Routine for us has been different then most over the last 7 years, at times much better and higher then most just to be doing the mundane, and at others looking for ways to find more Hope and healing kind of like Thomas Magnum in the all-time best private dick show in the episode he went back and forth to heaven in his final season. We are by no means in our final season, in fact today was the first major step to a new Hope and getting back the old Hope we miss so much like a Dukes of Hazzard cliff hanger. The General Lee as they cut to commercial is about to explode at the bottom of the ravine when Waylon Jennings says something witty and when they cut back from commercial the Dodge Charger is starting the jump all over again like a mulligan when you hit a bad first shot in golf. I was always mad about the cliff hanger fake until the next scene with Daisy Duke (by the way can you name another TV character that has her own type of shorts or other clothing named after her?) as that always seemed to make things better.

Hope's mulligan started this afternoon as we decided it would be best for her to stay at her Mom's for as long as it takes to regain her Hope again and get the old Hope back to the three Wise boys. She needs all of her energy and your positive thoughts and prayers to concentrate on only getting better right now. There will be no scans, doctor appointments, treatments like chemo or radiation as the docs recommended again but we decided against, or prescriptions for Hope anymore as they had taken both Hopes out of our lives for a short period of time. Today is the first day towards getting the old and a new Hope back for all of us and if you're reading this you have an inkling of how much work that will be. We were starting to feel like Sam Malone when he proposed for the third time to Diane Chambers on his boat during the best years of Cheers, and when she said no he just jumped overboard. Now we're feeling like Wilson floating the open sea alone in Cast Away but in the next few days we'll be Superman reversing the spin of the Earth to get back what we loved and had lost for a while. Hope's no Margot Kidder (Lois Lane in Superman II) as she went off the deep end or Tiffan Amber-Thiesen as she snorted her way to anonominity because she'll be back restarting her jump over the ravine.

We're fighting this thing head on with no drugs on our side (or against us pending your view) anymore, just positive mojo and the strongest will to not only survive but revive the daily Hope it takes to make every day better then the last. This is our toughest test to date, we're sick of being sick, and today was the first major step needed to detox from not only the last 7 years but also the last 35 years while weighing in at a paltry 120 pounds and new size 4 body that has her clothes dripping off her but the heart of a champion. Rocky has nothing on Hope on his best day (although somehow becoming faster then Apollo Creed while training on the beach still dumbfounds me), and we need just a little more time to get the new and old Hope back to her boys. I haven't blogged in a long time and even if no one reads this, I'm healing too.

- Just Jake.