As Jack was waking up from his emergency cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal), I got a call from his sister Mardell...with bad news. Jack's younger brother, Robin had been found dead at his home in California. He was 51. I hated having to tell him that. As more details emerged, we learned he had been murdered! (details here) Stabbed seventeen times! It was horrible. Two weeks after Jack's surgery we flew out to California for the Memorial Service. I think Jack needed to be with his family at that time. It was a nice service and a good family gathering but we were exhausted. We flew out and back in less than forty-eight hours. Not something I want to do again! Talk about jet lag...
In Novemeber we had tickets to a race in Charlotte. Bought them and made reservations months earlier. We were almost too tired to go and might not have, had we not already had the tickets. While there we visited Concord Mills, a huge outlet mall. We were looking in a jewelry store (a favorite pasttime of mine) and saw a lovely solitare at a great price. Jack asked me if I wanted it. I said "of course" and asked him if he knew what it meant. He said he did. I told him he hadn't asked the question...so he proposed right there in the jewelry store! I'm so glad we went to Charlotte! Oh...the race was fun too.
Novemeber rolled right into December...and Christmas...and color coordinated casts for Katie and Jackson!
Just before Christmas, Jackson experienced his first broken bone. He was racing Katie on his scooter and got his foot stuck...as he put it, "The scooter stopped and I didn't." He flew over the top and landed on his right arm, fracturing both the radius and the ulna. Damn, that must have hurt! He said, "I tried not to cry, but I screamed." My poor sweet boy. At the same time, Katie has been experiencing pain in her right heel. Turns out the growth plate is inflammed, a rather common occurence among athletic children (Sever's Disease). It goes away when they stop growing. In the meantime, resting it helps the pain, so Katie's right foot has been in a cast for the last few weeks to let her heel rest. The hope is that when the cast comes off, the pain will be gone...and not come back. Hope so!
That catches us right up to the present...awaiting the New Year. I am sure there are all kinds of things I've missed and lots of topics I could explore, but for now this will have to suffice. Until next time...
