Sunday night

I remember when I was little that Sunday night always was a time for comfort food and ritual, and it still feels that way. Just a bittersweet, poignant feeling....and here I am, 51 years old, and still feeling that way.

I'm making cheerfulness by playing a soft jazz cd, and cooking, cooking, cooking! I'm making shredded chicken barbeque and mashed potatoes (one bowl with spinach and onions, one plain) and split pea soup, all for tomorrow night when we are having Randal over for dinner. And for tonight, baked potatoes and chicken breasts baked in foil, with tamari.

I'm feeling a little tentative the past couple of days, as if I can breathe easily, but don't quite dare. The last couple of weeks were so stressful emotionally. Abby came down with a fever and chills, which became bronchitis, which became pneumonia. Seeing her, with each breath hurting her chest, dark shadows under her eyes...it was really hard. Thank God for antibiotics.

Now that she feels a lot better, she's been working hard all weekend on her homework, and has gotten so much done. We're putting a lot of laundry through right now, for a good start to the week.

I drove up to Mom's yesterday and bought a microwave at Target near her house. She had given us her microwave about a year ago, thinking that she didn't need it, but then confessed to me recently that she did miss having it. So, we set it up and went out for lunch, to Steak and Shake for some good chili.

I've gotten so that each time I'm in Kroger's, I HAVE to buy one of those grocery bags for charity, and each time I pass a Salvation Army kettle, I HAVE to put in at least $3 (one dollar to thank God for each of our wonderful children).

Here I am, daydreaming all the time about the new house, and how wonderful it will be to decide where stuff goes....how to decorate....being able to walk places from there...

I'm a lucky, lucky woman, and I know it. Jordie and I are going to have a "money talk" tonight and one thing we need to decide is what charities to give some money to...we're giving Amalia a plane ticket home for Chanukah, and Abby's present is the trip to Disney World over Martin Luther King weekend in January...and Adam will probably get a printer and some cash...and we'll give some money to some good causes.

So, there is no way I could ever walk by the Salvation Army kettle without dropping some money in, to say thanks to God for everything I have, material and child-wise and husband-wise and job-wise and friend-wise...an abundance of riches.

Back to cooking.

Sabrina is home, Abby is better, all is well

Last night, as I drove near our driveway, I saw our grey cat Sabrina. She always comes out, but stays out of the way, when someone comes home. And I was furious! I called and called for her, but no response. I went inside and was mad at Jordie for letting her out when the forecast called for a low of 14 degrees during the night. But, he hadn't let her out. And neither had I. I figured she might have slipped out when i carried a box out to the car in the early morning.

So, during the very cold evening while Jordie was away, I took Sadie for a walk and called Sabrina. No response. I called from the front door about every half hour. No response. I eventually went driving around the neighborhood for a bit, calling out the window. No response. My heart was heavy. I knew she could die outside with temperatures that low.

I called this morning. Icalled from the front door tonight, several times. When Jordie walked the dog tonight, he called for her. No response. We were both feeling so sad that Jordie even said "I've heard that dying from the cold is quick and it doesn't hurt." So sad.

Then, just a few minutes ago, Jordie turned on the movie To Kill a Mockingbird downstairs while he fooled around with the wood stove. And Sabrina came strolling out of the laundry room! We figure she must have come back in while he was hauling in wood.

Very glad to see our furry beautiful cat!

Abby is better, looking much more like herself, and Bonnie is coming over to visit her tomorrow morning. I am so glad it is not last week, when Abby was looking so wan, with dark shadows under her eyes, and coughing, and pain in her chest. VERY glad it is not last week!

Tonight on the phone, Amalia told us she has an audition for a recycling commercial for the Discovery Channel tomorrow. And she told me that a man she recently went out on a date with -- well, he was disappointing. And I said "There's some wonderful man out there for you, honey." She replied "No, there's not, but don't worry. Someday I'll have in vitro so you can have grandchildren!"

But I know there is some man out there who will be right for our beautiful, talented, wonderful girl! I said "Look at all my friends who have finally found wonderful, loving men and are so happy with them..." And she said "Mom! Your friends are all at least 45!"

What a week...

Just finished making some matzo-ball soup, a good thing on a cold winter night. I usually make it vegetarian-style, with some great chicken-tasting soup powder from Bloomingfoods, but this time I put in chicken as well, because Abby's iron is low.

Abby has bacterial pneunomia, which sprang from bronchitis, which sprang from a virus, which she woke up with while at her friend Savvy's for the night, a week ago Friday night.

We had planned to pick up Abby, go to the holiday Farmers' Market, have brunch out at the Encore, then maybe walk down to the IU Art Museum and schmooze around.

Instead, we have spent this week worrying, watching Abby, refilling humidifiers, taking her temperature, trying to get Abby to eat and drink, worrying, taking her temperature, going to the doctor three times, and juggling our work schedules. She had a fever for days and days.

I didn't feel well at the beginning of the week, and then I felt guilty because I wasn't worse and Abby was...

A few days ago, Abby had dark shadows under her eyes, constant chest pain, coughing all the time....it feels absolutely wonderful to see her eating today, and feeling a little crabby because of boredom! She's still weak enough that she isn't reading, but just watching TV. We have watched the entire Ninth Season and Third Season of FRIENDS! Now she is watching a DVD of the tv show NORTHERN EXPOSURE, which Malinda loaned to us.

Tomorrow I will pick up some homework at school for her.

Mentally and emotionally, I am tired. But also, it is nice to think back about how kind people have been this week. One memory is noticing that Bob Z just went ahead and did extra work, formatting columns for the weekend, because I was just going crazy, juggling my schedule, making up for when I missed earlier in the week, and doing an extra project -- a Power Point presentation for Doug Wilson to use at the HSPA seminar. Carol Thompson, my office-mate, was gracious as usual about having to do extra stuff in my absence. Rod also did extra work to help me out, as he always does...friends were emailing me, asking what they could do.

Yesterday, Jordie stayed home all day so I could go ahead and attend the Hoosier State Press Association seminar and contest awards luncheon in Indianapolis. I really enjoyed it -- rode up to Indy with my friend Marci and other friends from the newsroom. And among the awards our paper won were the best editorial page in our division (which thrilled me, because I paginate the editorial page -- and then Bob said afterward "Couldn't do it without you, Lynne.") and the Community Service Award, which also thrilled me! We also got the General Excellence Award for our division. I coordinate the contest entries for our paper, so I love to see my newsroom friends getting awards.

Today, I went to the Y early in the morning, then came home. Jordie had a meeting with some teen mediators (they have a presentation in front of the School Board Tuesday night) and now he is attending a wake for George, a hospice patient where Jordie has been volunteering...he really liked George a lot and wrote a letter about George for his family.

Time for me to go and watch NORTHERN EXPOSURE with Abby, and have some matzo-ball soup. And stay cozy on a winter Sunday night!