You know how when someone gets a new car, and you look at it and think, "I am not sure if I have ever seen one of these before..." But then from that moment on, every other car on the road is that very same car? I kind of feel that way with cancer. Yes, I know it is out there, I have stood by my friend Johanna in her battle (well, one of them), my Auntie GeeGee, my Uncle Bill, I have seen glimpses of the devastation. However, it just seems like now, it is all around. My friend Kristin lost her Mom in 1999 to a glioblastoma. It all happened so quickly, and it was just shocking. Kristin was one of the first people I called when I found out. She has been nothing but supportive and reassuring as we go down our road with this nasty tumor. She emailed me tonight to tell me that she is going to come down from Vegas on September 13th to walk with us. She is creating a team in honor of her Mom...Bama's Blessing...The name she was given by her first grandchild, Wyatt, when he tried to say Grandma, it came out like "Bama." With our teams walking together, we will be a force to be reckoned with.:)

She also told me that her college roomate's uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March. But even more unimaginable than that, this poor girl, she lost her father to lung cancer in March, and just lost her Mom two weeks ago to pancreatic cancer. And she is in her early 30's. So, keep her in your thoughts tonight.

So, more thanks for donations! Thank you to the Guerin's and special shout out thanks to Scott...What an unexpected and pleasant surprise! I can't believe how thoughtful and generous everyone is...But acting on that generosity is just amazing.

Tonight was a good night. Dad was in good spirits today already, and then we decided to surprise Dad with Phil's Bar B Q for dinner. We had some ribs, chicken, pork, macaroni salad and baked beans. Dad kept closing his eyes, "mmmmmmmmm"-ing and saying "this is sooooooo good!" He really enjoyed it. It was the first time that we ate as a family in a few weeks. We usually sit with Dad when he eats, but we don't eat until we get home...Which is probably why my Mom is so thin I am afraid she might blow away. I think we are going to eat together once a week...Now if I can just load Dorothy's food up with lard, she may actually fit into her size 2 pants again...I keep telling her she needs to eat more, and so does everyone else...I guess she does her best, but it just does not seem to be good enough. She is just so tiny. She was telling me that she likes to "go out for a pancake...(That is right...A PANCAKE) or an egg and piece of toast for breakfast..." I told her she should have and egg, a piece of toast...And an ice cream sundae...

I cracked my folks up tonight...At work today, I was looking at my parents accounts to see what checks have cleared, and I usually do that from my Dad's computer. Logging on to the bank from your home computer requires a login and a password...But when you login from a satellite computer, it asks you another random question that you have set up...So, up comes the question..."What is your paternal grandfather's first name..." Now, keep in mind, I am supposed to be logging in as my Dad...And his paternal grandfather died not too long after my parents brought me home...Ummmmmm....So I type in "Edward," but somehow that is not right, because my Dad is a junior, not a third...And suddenly it hits me, I think I know...So I type in "Edwin," and hit "submit..." And it works! So, I tell them this story, but I finish it up with "how the heck I pulled Edwin out of my butt, I will never know..." Well, this got both my folks laughing up a storm!

I did talk to my "friend" Debbie the case manager this morning. I called and told her that I heard she came to see my Dad yesterday, and I am so sorry she missed him, and to thank her so much for pushing for the PT...She was a little taken aback I think...That is fine with me.

We did find out today that starting Monday, they are moving Dad's radiation time to 10:00 a.m. So they will probably pick him up right after breakfast, around 9:00, and he should be back each day by Noon to eat his lunch. It may make his days a little longer, but it will probably be better for visits.

Much love to all!