Beth

Another first day

I brought my daughter to school today, continuing a five year trend. Summer vacation ended, and fifth grade started today. Every year I feel really bad that summer vacation is over. While I want them to go to school and soak up every last bit of wisdom, I want them to be happy too… and who doesn’t think summer vacation is fun? Last year I did a mental double-take realizing Beth was…
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Family and Friends

Apogee revisited

I got another call from my father. He got another call from my mother. She’s had another sudden recovery. My dad is overjoyed. I think I disappointed him with my reaction… cautious and skeptical. “That’s cool, but I’d like to see it last more than a day.” I said. My new family title: killjoy. Queue the light-bulb… mom stops taking medication (or takes it…
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Family and FriendsImportant Stuff

Health insurance and mental health

One of the supposed hallmarks of the U.S. system of providing health care is choice. “Don’t let the socialist boogeyman come and force you to see a doctor trained in Guatemala!” You may not realize it, but that’s pretty funny (not the bit about Guatemala… the part about choice). Well, it doesn’t quite rise to the level of expelling fluids through your…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

Not so fast

On Friday I told a friend that last week was the first week I’d worked a full 40 hours since my diagnosis. As it turns out I was wrong. It was my second. I felt pretty good, a little tired maybe, but not exhausted. Or so I thought. I slept through most of the weekend. I hadn’t intended to… it just kind of happened. Last night, after we finished eating pork chops in a ginger glaze…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

What do I write now?

I’ve long ago run out of words. Everyone is in bed, it’s just me, and I want to feel better. A Mac keyboard has been my outlet for a long time… going back to the good old Mac Plus days after my high school graduation. Now? Nothing. It seems like even these words have graced my screen before. Simply put, my mind is a hollow shell. In this ongoing medical drama, I feel worst about…
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Family and FriendsPolitics

When?

There’s been good news and bad news this week, but I’ll start with the good. The tree scare is finally coming to an end. To date we’ve talked to five tree guys, four experts, and too many friends to count. Opinions have ranged from “cut it down,” to thirteen thousand dollars of pins, cables, fertilizers, and injected fungi, to trimming it up a bit. Depending on the…
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CoffeeFamily and Friends

Spoiling the grandkids, double-aughts style

This evening my son (he of three) asked my wife for “a vanilla bean.” “Come again?” my wife asked. (I’m taking a wee bit of license here… she probably just said: “what?”) “I want a Tall Vanilla Bean mommy.” Cheryl and I had one of those “meant for you” moments. We each came to the conclusion that a certain mem-may (re: my…
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BethFamily and Friends

Acceding to my wife’s demands

First of all, I’d like to give myself a great big pat on the back for spelling “acceding” correctly on the first try. I have it on good authority that if there’s a gene responsible for good spelling, the Kauffman family doesn’t have it. So what is this demand and why am I acceding to it? You wouldn’t know it from this site, but my wife has a lot to say about…
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Family and Friends

Pieces

This morning I got a troubling call… a hearing was going to be set to continue my mother’s involuntary commitment for another 30 days, because she wasn’t showing any improvement. There was panicked talk of lawyers, and… nothing for the rest of the day. It turned out half a day of hearings was all I could take (at work today). I went home and fell asleep; not having planned…
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