• Mixed feelings

    The more I learn about my unconfirmed disease, the more I think I may have been sick for some time. I’ve been really tired for a long time, and sick quite a bit… both signs of the suspected flavor of Leukemia floating around in my blood. In a sick kind of way, it’s a kind of vindication. All of those times I told Cheryl she had no idea how tired I was… all those times she gave me that “I birthed two of your children, so don’t talk to me about tired” look… suddenly I’ve got something approaching equal footing.

    Hooray for me!

  • The little boy that could

    Have you ever known a child to enjoy washing his or her hands too much? I’m not a regular on the parenting circuit so I can’t claim to be an expert; but I can tell you it’s a 50/50 proposition in our modest household. Our daughter exhibits many of the signs of phobia. She has little time for cleaning, and little use for clean hands. I didn’t think much of this… I always thought this was the norm.

    Then we had a little boy.

    Adam is a walking contradiction. Compared to Beth’s hands, Adam’s look like a superfund site. We have the EPA on speed dial so they can check the bath water… to make sure it’s safe to release into the sewer system. His penchance for soiling not withstanding, he’s a consummate hand washer. Now that he’s learned the intricacies of the standard bearer of personal privacy – the door knob – he’s become quite familiar with a knob of another kind: the one adjacent to the faucet in the bathroom.

    A few weeks ago my wife had a brilliant idea.

    “John, could you get a couple of foot stools at Target the next time you’re there?”

    “Why?”

    “I want Adam to start washing his own hands.”

    Measured solely by comparing pre- and post- stool handwashing frequency – it’s been a smashing success.

    It’s also got me thinking… how hard would it be to install a drain in the middle of our bathroom floor?

  • A new reality

    Have you had one of those moments in your life when you felt you had rounded a corner, and you suspected you’d never see the other side again? I saw my doctor this week – Wednesday in fact – and she told me she thought I might have Leukemia.

    “But my cholesterol is o.k., right?”

    I was in to discuss the results of a routine blood test – part of my routine maintenance program. I had spent the better part of two weeks worrying about my cholesterol. I was sure it was going to be bad. It (the cholesterol) wasn’t.

    My doctor spent five minutes talking about neutrophils, monocytes, red blood cells, and platelets. I was sitting there, stupidly thinking about my diet.

    It just wasn’t real. It still isn’t real. Sure, I feel tired… but I don’t feel like I have Leukemia. At least, I don’t think I do.

    Well fuck me.