Thought-provoking light-bulb moment occurred tonight. I realized that I will never compete in the 2012 London Olympics. Not because I’ll be the ripe old age of 52 (there were all those admirable mature athletes at this past Olympics – the 41-year-old American swimmer, the 33-year-old German gymnast.) No. It’s because - gasp – because I’ve been using steroids.
Yes. It’s true. I use dexamethasone 3 days each chemo treatment. While clearing my heart and lungs of fluid (and keeping me awake at night,) this also obliterates my chances of future athletic competitions. (Jacob will be so sad to learn his mother doesn’t even qualify to play professional baseball. What a shame. I’m now in league with Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds...)
As I figure it, even if the steroids aren’t still in my blood by then, they could always eliminate me by use of the hair test. All they would need to do is take a sample of my almost-existent hair (I have little 1/8” transparent swirlies up on top) and this would prove my use of steroids.
I’ve been thinking what events I’ll be absent from in 2012. The hurdles? I loved running them in junior high. Diving? At fifteen I was a daredevil and would dive off the high dive - usually landing on my back - ouch! Gymnastics? In High School I successfully completed a cartwheel on the balance beam. Or, maybe the vault – that was my real passion. I loved to run, jump, place my hands and throw myself over the vault – woohoo wee! (Can you see me trying that now?)
Well, I guess I’ll have to inform the Committee that I’m no longer available for consideration. I’ll bow out now and clear the way for others to take my place. Sigh…..
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Mormon Meals on Wheels
We Mormons are great when it comes to taking in food to someone who's not feeling well. Or when someone has a baby. Or when someone dies. I've been on the receivership of this as I've been going through chemotherapy. What a welcome relief to know someone is bringing us dinner and that all I have to do is sit down and dish it up!
Sometimes, though, everyone thinks of the same menu. I once took a tuna casserole to a family whose mom was having a difficult pregnancy. I invited myself in and discovered the remains of five tuna casseroles already on the counter. They'd been offered the same meal all week long. And the family didn't even like tuna! I helped out by putting each of the uneaten casseroles down the in-sink-erator and washed the dishes and returned them for her. But, I've often wondered since how many more tuna casseroles showed up at their home...
Sometimes the meals have been just plain funny. One dear lady brought me a green bean casserole - with the can lid included. Extra iron? I loved her the more for it. It lightened my day to know I'm not the only forgetful person on the planet! I've got a friend who enjoys serving up yak and other foreign tidbits. Hmmmmm... Our family was ecstatic over the pizza & rootbeer floats. Seven-layer bean dip and chips. Ice cream cones and a variety of ice creams. Yum! True Saints all!
I'm always amazed at how caring and giving people are. I know how hard it can be to get all or part of a meal to someone else at the exact same time you're supposed to be feeding your own family or getting the kids to/from practices. It's expected that not everything run perfectly.
I myself am guilty of forgetting to take over a main dish on my assigned day twice in the past few months. How embarrassing! When it was our turn to be overlooked, I figured it was our just desserts! Max simply took the lettuce salad that had already arrived and added black beans and cheese and we had an excellent taco salad! (And the main course arrived a couple days later - when it was also VERY much appreciated!)
The bishop in one of our married student wards decided that the whole process was too overwhelming for families going to school and working. He forbade the doling out of meals for the sick. He said that the spouses were perfectly capable of preparing basic dinners. What a concept! It relieved us of "having to serve," but it also took away the blessings we'd been receiving from "getting to serve." And after being so richly blessed by being on the receiving end of things here, I look forward to "getting to serve" again sometime soon!
Sometimes, though, everyone thinks of the same menu. I once took a tuna casserole to a family whose mom was having a difficult pregnancy. I invited myself in and discovered the remains of five tuna casseroles already on the counter. They'd been offered the same meal all week long. And the family didn't even like tuna! I helped out by putting each of the uneaten casseroles down the in-sink-erator and washed the dishes and returned them for her. But, I've often wondered since how many more tuna casseroles showed up at their home...
Sometimes the meals have been just plain funny. One dear lady brought me a green bean casserole - with the can lid included. Extra iron? I loved her the more for it. It lightened my day to know I'm not the only forgetful person on the planet! I've got a friend who enjoys serving up yak and other foreign tidbits. Hmmmmm... Our family was ecstatic over the pizza & rootbeer floats. Seven-layer bean dip and chips. Ice cream cones and a variety of ice creams. Yum! True Saints all!
I'm always amazed at how caring and giving people are. I know how hard it can be to get all or part of a meal to someone else at the exact same time you're supposed to be feeding your own family or getting the kids to/from practices. It's expected that not everything run perfectly.
I myself am guilty of forgetting to take over a main dish on my assigned day twice in the past few months. How embarrassing! When it was our turn to be overlooked, I figured it was our just desserts! Max simply took the lettuce salad that had already arrived and added black beans and cheese and we had an excellent taco salad! (And the main course arrived a couple days later - when it was also VERY much appreciated!)
The bishop in one of our married student wards decided that the whole process was too overwhelming for families going to school and working. He forbade the doling out of meals for the sick. He said that the spouses were perfectly capable of preparing basic dinners. What a concept! It relieved us of "having to serve," but it also took away the blessings we'd been receiving from "getting to serve." And after being so richly blessed by being on the receiving end of things here, I look forward to "getting to serve" again sometime soon!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Travelling on 4th
The TriCity Herald just e-mailed me to let me know my note about 4th Avenue has been selected as Editorial of the Week. It will be in Sunday's Opinion Page. Imagine that! They want a photo of me. I had to decide which I would include - a bald photo (current) or one with "hair" (pre-June 2008.) I called Mom Rickords and asked her opinion. She and I chose the latter. Playing it safe. Heather thinks I should have sent them a bald one:
It's been noted by a few of you in letters to the editor that Kennewick's Fourth Avenue is pretty lumpy. What many fail to realize, however, is that it's SUPPOSED to be that way! Don't you realize that we pay good tax dollars to maintain those speed bumps/dips disguised as pot holes and road patch? It keeps traffic to a minimum, eliminating the need for expensive stop lights. It slows down traffic which keeps the neighborhood children and pets safer. So please stop whining - travel Tenth Avenue or Clearwater if you need to cross town. Leave Fourth Avenue to bicyclists wanting a true off-road experience. Or to those pregnant women wishing to induce labor. And to me so that I can cross town without stopping at dozens of red lights!
It's been noted by a few of you in letters to the editor that Kennewick's Fourth Avenue is pretty lumpy. What many fail to realize, however, is that it's SUPPOSED to be that way! Don't you realize that we pay good tax dollars to maintain those speed bumps/dips disguised as pot holes and road patch? It keeps traffic to a minimum, eliminating the need for expensive stop lights. It slows down traffic which keeps the neighborhood children and pets safer. So please stop whining - travel Tenth Avenue or Clearwater if you need to cross town. Leave Fourth Avenue to bicyclists wanting a true off-road experience. Or to those pregnant women wishing to induce labor. And to me so that I can cross town without stopping at dozens of red lights!
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