Post it Note Tuesday…

   

One of those moments…

I love my kids. 

I do. 

I think they’re great, and smart…funny, and witty.  I love that they’re carefree.  I love their confidence, and their passion.  I think they’re amazing little specimens, of badass people, in the making! 

Another reason I love my kids…

On Saturday, we were on a bit of a drive, waxing nostalgic, in Graham, Texas, the setting of some of Jake’s fondest childhood memories.  I loved reliving my husband’s childhood with him.  It was especially warm to look at my kids, see their father in them, and imagine him at their ages. 

This is the kids “swimming” in the place where the swimming pool used to be, on the piece of land, where his childhood home used to be…

 

Alas, the kids, were a tad too young to completely appreciate it, and as we drove around Jake’s old hometown, their minds were waxing Survivor, . 

Not, “the tribe has spoken,” Survivor. 

No. 

Rocky theme song, Survivor.   

Avery started it, with the trademark, “Bum……bum-bum-bum………bum-bum-bum……bum-bum-buuuuuuuuuum….”

He kept that up, and out of my periphery, I could see that Jake’s head began to bob.  As did mine.

With impeccable timing, Jack chimed in, “Risin’ up…back on the street…Did my time, took my chances.  Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet…just a man and his will to surviiiiiive.”

There was a brief pause, where the rhythm completely took hold of all of us, and in perfect unison, we all sang, “It’s the…eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight.  Rising up to the challenge of our rivals…and the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night…and he’s watchin’ us all with the eeeeeeeeeye of the tiger. “

It was an unpracticed, unplanned, yet, perfectly executed, sing-a-long, to a rad song! 

No doubt, Jake and I have belted out that tune, hundreds of times throughout our lives.  Singing along on the radio, when the song was popular, or just singing along with our friends, in our own impromptu sing-a-longs. 

But, it was just one of those moments, when it warmly washed over me, in an instant…

Damn, I love my kids!

Possum Kingdom...

It's where I'm off to. Camping for Mother's Day!!

To your mothers...

To you, if you are one!

Fun was had by all…

We totally found a new way to get rid of a bit of frustration with the kids, and they think it’s fun!

Funny…in the bottom picture, Jack is sneaking a slap at Jake’s hands, since they played with their eyes closed, relieving a bit of his own frustrations, as well!

Did you see that the TV is on in the background, and it says, “no signal.”  Yeah…we still have the habit of turning the damn thing on, but, we just have no programming!  That, or, the kids turn it on every day, in hopes that it’s all been a bad dream, and their beloved Nickelodeon is back!! 

Super Star…

The One Who Doesn’t Say Much…blew me away, today. 

This time last year, Lily watched the school’s Talent Show.  She watched the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders, show off their stuff, for the whole school.  She came home from school that day, about a year ago, telling me that she was going to try out for the Talent sShow, the very next year. 

I encouraged my baby girl, but, didn’t think too much of it.  After all, I don’t call her The One Who Doesn’t Say Much, for nothing.

Periodically, over the past twelve months, she would announce that the song that was playing on the radio, would be the one she would perform for the Talent Show.  I always shared her excitement, but, I have to admit, I didn’t believe that she would have it in her.     

A few days ago, Lily had me sign the permission slip, for her to stay after school, and try out for the big show.  I signed, and made her a CD, of the song, that she wanted to sing…SOLO, I might add!  I asked her if she wanted to recruit some of her friends to take the stage with her, to take some of the pressure off…she said, “Nah, Mom…if someone is up there with me…they’ll just mess it up!  I wanna do it by myself.” 

And do it by herself…she did!!! 

My little girl, who still looks like this, in my mind’s eye…

sang a Miley Cyrus song today, for a panel of judges.  And if it has been relayed to me correctly…she will be singing, while her best friend dances (since both of their acts were to Miley songs, they combined them, so they could both participate, since only a handful receive the privilege), to a Miley Cyrus’, “Party in the USA,” at next week’s Talent Show!!

She’s a super star, in my eyes…and I may just have to change her nickname on my sidebar, to, “The One Who Does the Shit She Says She’s Gonna Do!”  Or, “The One With Chick-balls!”

A public service announcement...

On what I would LOVE for people to know about organ donation!!

I chat in a few forums, and a couple of times, the topic of organ donation has come up. I'm very passionate about organ donation, and will share our story any chance I get.

I have heard people make comments on why they don't want to donate their organs, reasons being that they were afraid that the doctor would make a mistake, and they weren't actually dead.

In one instance, I engaged with a poster, who said that she heard a story that a guy was in an accident, his heart stopped, and they decided to harves his organs. On the way to the OR, his heart started beating again, and he made a full recovery. This poster was using this as a reason that she wouldn't donate her organs.

*Organs are not taken out of a dying person. They are taken out of a brain dead person...BIG BIG BIG difference!!! Also, they do not rush you from an ambulance to the OR to remove organs. A lot has to be arranged, before they even think about cutting the person open!*

More recently, a poster claimed that she'd read an investigation that if a doctor knows ahead of time, that a dying patient is an organ donor, that he might be likely to let that patient die, in order to harvest his organs. That the doctor might not do all he could to save that patient, so that another could live.

*Why would a doctor let one patient die, to save another? He wouldn't. Unless, maybe it was his mother, who needed the organs!! Even then, there are these pesky oaths, and ehical guidelines that doctors must deal with! And, again, organs are taken from a brain DEAD person, not a brain-DYING person! BIG BIG BIG DIFFERENCE!*

Misinformation like this makes my blood pressure sky-rocket, my heart race, and my emotions run wild.

This stuff couldn't be farther from the truth.

I just wanted to share our experience, so that people know exactly what goes on, behind the scenes of organ donation. We've been on both sides of it, so I'm speaking from our personal experience, particularly, in donating Joey's heart.

Organs are only harvested from a person who is brain dead. Brain dead is all dead. There is no recovery from brain death. When a person is declared brain dead...that's it. There will not be any miraculous recovery, and brain death is not the same as a coma. In a coma...the brain is injured, maybe impaired, but, not dead.

The doctors do several tests to declare brain death, before the organs can be harvested. We were allowed to be present for Joey's tests, so that we could see for ourselves, that he was indeed, gone. They did an EEG, to measure brain waves. They did a test on his pupils, to see if they reacted to light, and they pulled him off the breathing machine to see if he tried to spontaneously breathe on his own.

After this was done by one physician...they waited over night, and repeated them in the morning, by another physician.

The process to donate an organ is long, and tedious. It is not a hurried, rushed decision. There is a lot that has to happen and that has to be arranged, before they take the brain dead person (NOT BRAIN DYING PERSON) to the OR.

It took about 24 hours, or more, between the time that we signed the organ donation consent, and the time they took Joey into the OR.

I am very passionate about organ donation. A stranger's gift, gave us three months that we might not have otherwise had, with Joey...and his heart still beats in a precious little girl, named Daniela, today!

I hate that misinformation is used to scare people into making a decision against organ donation. I've lived it...both sides of it...and it's beautiful. It's incredible. It's AMAZING!! And, most importantly, it's carried out respectfully, and carefully, by people who genuinely care. For a few years after Joey died, I still talked to the nurses who came to harvest his organs, on the phone. I still send them Christmas cards, to this day.

I would be happy to answer any of your questions about the process. I love talking about it, and would be happy to share our experience, and even more happy to eradicate any misinformation out there!!!

My best shot…

A wedding photographer, I am not…but, that didn’t keep me from giving it a whirl.  It was a small, laid back affair…a cousin of a friend from high school.  It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding…which is one of the only reasons I thought I might be able to pull it off. 

Rule number one, in wedding photography…never, ever, trust the weather to do what it is supposed to do, or rather, what you need it to do!!

It rained…on the big day! 

Ironic…cliché…and a total a cog in the gears of my confidence!!

But, I did my best, and while the pictures weren’t as wonderful as I’d hoped…this one picture, made it all worth it for me! 

I only hope the same was so for the bride!!