For two years, while my mother-in-law was alive, this was my schedule:
5:30 am - wake up / get Priscille ready for school / get myself ready for work
7:00 am - drop Priscille off at Rich's so that he could drive her to school
7:15 am - find parking along Eucalyptus so that I could catch the M car to the Civic Center
8:15 - 5:00 - work
6:00 - get to Rich's / cook dinner/ have the family dinner to include watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune
8:15 - tuck Anne (my mother-in-law) in to bed and then drive to my apartment
8:45 - arrive home / climb 3 flights of stairs / get Priscille ready for bed and for school the next day / do laundry or chores / catch a breather / watch TV / veg out
12:00 am - 1:00 am - get to bed / fall asleep
At the same time, I had a very difficult and challenging work situation. Very negative ...Turnover was high. Lots of stop and go! It was very stressful!
And on the weekends? I had my catering job.
During these two years, I had so many episodes of upper respiratory infections. I had never been so sick so much in all my life! The last attack was diagnosed as walking pneumonia. I felt so beaten down and overwhelmed, I just wanted to cry all the time.
But through it all, I had many blessings and so much support. The best support, of course, was my incredible walk with the Lord! Rich was a great teammate! My friends were my other blessings! The parties and karaoke nights kept me distracted and uplifted! My family in Hawaii kept me in their prayers and called often to see how I was doing. And no matter what came my way, I kept thinking "God does not give us anything we can't handle." We all get tested every so often in our lifetime.
Why am I telling you this? Because this flood of memories rushed back to me today after a two minute conversation with Transplant Team member Pat. If you haven't noticed, he has been MIA from our dialogues and blogs. So I called to check on him...to make sure he was still alive! When he answered the phone, he did not sound like the fun and happy Pat we know....not at all. No...as far as I know, there is no serious medical issue going on in his life. He said, however, that he had been really sick for awhile during the holidays. But his life has changed drastically in these past few weeks. When he returned from vacation, he had to take a new and different job at work which he now has to learn. When I called, he was waiting for a call from Japan ...waiting to get some guidance. On the home front, Breanne was applying to colleges so completing and submitting applications had been time and energy consuming for everyone involved! Costly too, I'm sure. There are major shifts happening in his life right now! He is overwhelmed with changes! Talk about stretching oneself in the new year!
Hey, Pat! I hope you know that the Team is here for you. ..and we are rooting for your speedy success!!! Do what you need to do to take care of business. You're a smart and focused guy so you'll be okay. Let us know how we can help! We will keep you in the loop and you jump in when you can. Know that you can text us or call us and we will gladly and temporarily distract and uplift you with cocktails, silliness and other fun and meaningful activities! Hang in there!
If you need to learn Japanese, I can teach you a couple of words and phrases...and they're not swear words! Use them as you deem necessary.
"Watashiwa nihongo wakadimasen. Eggo wakadimashta?"
English translation: "I don't understand Japanese. Do you understand English?"
...and "Domo arigato, Mr. Robato. Domo. Domo."
English translation: "Thank you, Mr. Robato. Thank you (slang). Thank you (slang)."
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