Natedog and Pieces B-days

Yes, we are actually making plans again (like making sure we don't miss a second of 90210 - the assisted living years) and that include Nathan's birthday parties (yes parties, he had his first ever sleep over Friday night with 5 friends from his class and we have a family one later this week --- in the Wise tradition Kurt and I started we milk the birthday thing for what seems like weeks of parties and presents) and Reese's Pieces (yes he sometimes introduces himself as Reese's Pieces instead of Reese Wise because we call him Pieces now more then Reese) combo family/friend birthday next Sunday. We are not living day by day, hour by hour, and sometimes holding on moment by moment like we had been for so long. Back by absolutely no demand, I am blogging again so if you take the time to read all the way through this I only want to know why don't you have something better to do like watch Hole in the Wall (if you haven't seen it yet it is the all-time best game show on Fox Thursday nights --- for Halloween I want one of the silver jumpsuits just to wear out and see if I can get arrested for indecency).

It's fall, the temps are falling (bad pun intended), mosquitoes and hurricanes growing, the Noles are an unimpressive 3-1 heading to the Miami showdown, the Pats already had their Miami meltdown and a weekend off to regroup, the Sox are in the playoffs although without ace Josh Beckett for the first round against the best team in the league over the regular season (yes I know you'll all be there Wed night starting at 10:07 PM and hanging until they stop serving around 2 AM for the last out), and the unholiest of all acts is that Knight Rider is back without the Hoff (David Hasselhoff for those of you not in his fan club, but who isn't?). We some times talk about birthday presents, the economy, politics (Hope is an Obama-Mama through and through), our bushes that are flowering but still half dead (apparently that is brown but to my colorblind eyes it's a beautiful shade of dead green), and Nathan's homework.

For 6 months and most of 7 years we have concentrated on only one thing, and for now we are successful enough to move on at times. We laugh at the weak-minded Michael Phelps of the world that only train and fight for 4 years as I think Hope has earned 9 gold medals worth of strength and fortitude, but he gets to hang out with Tina Fey (definitely on my list) who is scary similar to Palin in her skits on SNL.

Don't get me wrong, we are not out of the woods yet - we feel kind of like Arnold's crew in the woods in the all-time classic Predator, helpless at times but always up for the fight. Hope is definitely Arnold (although most would agree I have the body - but this is a metaphor people!) who will be the lone survivor if necessary, but will end up rescuing the rest of us along the way. Every day is still a struggle, although we are better armed now going from being armed with Kurt Russel's little gun in Tango and Cash when he asks the ultimate deliverer (is that a word?) of funny one-liners why his gun is bigger his partner says, "genetics." Of course between Stop or My Mom Will Shoot, Oscar, and Tango & Cash I'll never understand how the amazing Sylvester Stallone did not win an academy aware for best actor in a comedy.

Hope had a minor fender bender her first time driving about a week ago, so she only drives when absolutely necessary and only short trips. Her speech has deteriorated over time, but you can understand her just fine when she's not tired although she doesn't like to talk to anyone much yet. She is really struggling swallowing, can't chew much, and is practicing hawking up loogies with the boys and I but I can still take her on distance but definitely not quantity (too much information?). She has made it to one of Nathan's soccer games (he scored two goals by the way last week and of course that is due to masterful coaching - his other coach is Ron Jerrell in case you want to sign your child up) and gets out enough during the week to check the mail and go to appointments. We are seeing a multitude of docs, a holistic voodoo healer, a hypnotherpist, a speech therapist, a psychiatrist, a juicer (thanks Gran), a baker (thanks Mom, Gran, Ann-Marie & Beth Jones next door), a candlestick maker (okay I made that one up), and have had some Rakie (no idea on spelling) appointments. That schedule is busier then Michael J. Fox when he plays Brantley Foster in Secret of My Success going from the mail room to the board room while being intimate with his aunt on the way up (it's not as bad as it sounds, but Mom never monitored my HBO watching as a kid).

She watches the kids in small spurts, criticizes me with all her strength and muster, and every day is one step closer to being healthy Hope again. The last two weeks have been Usain Bolt like leaps of progress forward. She has a mix of cocktails now that would make Robert Downey Junior envious (I'm now paid to say that Ironman is coming out on DVD tomorrow) but they have incredibly helped her move out from I don't want to live to I want nothing more then to be better. Our ultimate goal is eating a giant cheeseburger and then talking all about it with strangers that would have no idea she's been through a thing.

Yes we are making plans again, birthday parties and presents, whether I microwave hot dogs or make my soon to be world famous hot dogs and pepperoni pizza with gummy worms cake, or if we can search by title on our DVR to find Two Men and Little Lady movie on TV to see if I still cry every time I see it. Love and thanks to all of you for helping us get past the worst of this and here's to a very boring 2009 with no one thinking or worrying about us, unless you see me falling into the pool in my silver and blue jump suit because the hole in the wall was that pesky arrow that no one can get through!