Detroit Free Press
MICHAEL ROSENBERG: Cheek decides charity tops win
$25,000 donated to Right to Play
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
February 14, 2006
TORINO, Italy -- One way or another, the race was going to end with a gift.
As Joey Cheek loosened up before the final 500-meter race of his life, his girlfriend, Eleanor Collins, sat in the stands, knitting a scarf. She planned to give it to him for Valentine's Day.
Cheek had something much bigger in mind.
But first he had to finish skating.
Cheek won the gold medal Monday by two-thirds of a second, the speedskating equivalent of a three-touchdown blowout. Then the 26-year-old from North Carolina made real news: He would take his entire gold-medal bonus from the U.S. Olympic Committee and give it to Right to Play, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids in disadvantaged parts of the world.
"I think that's $25,000," Cheek said. "I've never won a gold medal, so I don't know."
It is indeed $25,000. (I've never won a gold medal either, but I looked it up.) And Cheek might give even more, because if he wins a medal in the 1,000-meter race Saturday, he'll donate that, too.
Of course, he could have donated his winnings without telling anybody. But Cheek wants to get the word out, and he is calling on Olympic sponsors to match his donation, which should bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to Right to Play. (You can help too: Go to www.righttoplay.com and click "Donate" under "how to help.")
"In the Darfur region of Sudan, there have been tens of thousands of people killed," Cheek said. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating it specifically to a program to help refugees in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."
A few days ago, while he could have been thinking about his chance at gold, Cheek walked into the Right to Play office in the Athletes Village. He wanted to make sure the money would really go to the kids, instead of administrative costs or red tape. And while he was there, he ran into Johann Olav Koss, who just happens to be Joey Cheek's hero.
Twelve years ago, Koss won three gold medals in Lillehammer. Then he got to work. He founded a charity, Olympic Aid, which became Right to Play.
Cheek and Koss sat down for a cup of coffee -- a gold medalist and a gold-medalist-to-be, in the Athletes Village at the Olympics, talking about children in the Sudan.
"I love what I do," Cheek said. "It's a great job. I've seen the entire world, and I've met amazing friends.
"But honestly, it's a pretty ridiculous thing. I mean, I skate around the ice in tights, all right? If you keep it in perspective, I've trained my whole life for this, but it's really not that big a deal. But because I've skated well, and because I now have 15 seconds of microphone time, I have the ability to raise some awareness and raise some money."
A pretty ridiculous thing?
Doesn't this guy have an agent?
A golden gesture
It's strange. We came into these Olympics talking about Bode Miller, who complains that the Games are all about money and medals, instead of the Olympic ideal. Then Joey Cheek comes along and wraps his money, his medal and the Olympic ideal into one giant package and hands it to us.
A couple hours earlier, Cheek seemed like just another medal hopeful in a not-quite-full skating rink. When he finished his first race (the 500 is a combination of two timed races), he was way out in front of the field, and he exulted.
It seemed like he knew he could win gold. He knew so much more.
Collins went down to the ice between races to say hi to her boyfriend and give him a kiss. She and her family wore shirts with "The Fastest Cheeks On Ice" written on them. Eleanor's sister, Kirsten Collins, and Kirsten's friend, Carissa Wodehouse, are also here blogging about their Olympics adventure.
It is the kind of support that comes with only the best intentions. But it can make an athlete feel like if he sneezes, the universe will shake. And for a day, why not feel that way? How many of us ever do anything as cool as win a gold medal? Why not bask for a day?
Here is why not:
"I've learned how news cycles work," Cheek said, "and I've learned that there is a gold medal tonight, and tomorrow there's another gold medalist. So I could take the time and discuss how wonderful I feel, or I could use it for something productive."
Mission accomplished. As soon as Cheek opened his mouth at the postrace news conference, you could feel the average heart rate speed up in the room. Reporters from the biggest papers in the United States were there, along with NBC cameras, and Cheek had just dropped a wonderful story in our laps. And we could all be pleased about it, because this isn't just a feel-good story -- it is a story you feel good writing. All of us. As Wodehouse said, "Our blog is gonna rock!"
How unselfish was this announcement? Well, after a decade of competitive skating, Cheek will start college in the fall -- possibly at an Ivy League school -- and the four-year bill will probably come to at least $200,000. So it's not like he has $25,000 stuck in the corner of his wallet.
But the $25,000 is only a small piece of it. On the biggest speedskating day of a life dedicated to speedskating, Cheek decided this would not be a speedskating story.
A speedskating circle
This is a speed-skating story. Four years ago, in Salt Lake City, Kalamazoo native Kip Carpenter surprised everybody by taking bronze in this very event. Carpenter went on Jay Leno. A young woman named Brittany Merchant was watching and concluded that Carpenter was "hot."
Merchant looked Carpenter up online. She e-mailed with him. A year later, she finally went to Salt Lake City to meet him, and for moral support, she brought her best friend, Eleanor Collins.
Carpenter and Merchant never dated. But Eleanor and Joey have been together ever since.
"She's really good about keeping him on task on some things," said Joey's mother, Chris. Eleanor is the organized one. Joey is the dreamer. But this time, Joey stayed on task himself.
When Joey Cheek said he was taking advantage of his 15 seconds of microphone time, he meant it: He announced his gift because that was the best way to get matching donations. He didn't do it just so everybody would think he was a great guy.
Heck, before he had his microphone time, he barely talked about his plan.
To anyone.
"He said he wanted to help out," Eleanor said after Joey's announcement. "I figured he'd just volunteer his time."
Contact MICHAEL ROSENBERG at 313-222-6052 or rosenberg@freepress.com.
Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Giving to others is Cheek's gold standard
By Tom Weir, USA TODAY
TORINO — Speedskater Joey Cheek regularly gives reporters lessons on how a length of PVC pipe, a can of hair spray and fire can be employed to make a cannon that launches potatoes 300 feet.
The T-shirts his friends are wearing at the Winter Olympics say, "Fastest Cheeks on Ice." And the self-described bookworm is the first to acknowledge that his last name, appropriately, rhymes with geek.
But the often-comical Cheek turned serious Monday after his runaway victory in long-track speedskating's 500 meters. (Related: Cheek skates his way to gold)
Cheek, 26, announced he won't keep the $25,000 that the U.S. Olympic Committee awards to gold medalists. Instead, he will donate it to a program to help the thousands of Sudanese children who have been turned into refugees by warlords.
With the gesture, Cheek is attempting to follow in the steps of his idol, Johann Olav Koss.
After Koss' triple gold medal performance in the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the Norwegian donated prize money to Olympic Aid, a humanitarian organization that helped war victims in the 1984 Winter Olympic city of Sarajevo.
"The things he has done have been an absolute inspiration to me," Cheek said. "He has lived his life in the manner that I hope to live my life."
Olympic Aid since has been renamed Right to Play, and Koss serves as president and CEO. Cheek has designated that his 500-meter prize money go to help youth programs for the Sudanese at refugee camps in Chad.
UNICEF's website says 1.4 million Sudanese children, including 500,000 age 5 or younger, have been displaced from the Darfur region by militia groups that have destroyed villages.
"For me, the Olympics have been the greatest blessing," Cheek said. "I always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back."
That chance seemed possible in late January, when Cheek won the World Sprint Championships.
Going into the 2002 Winter Olympics he had never medaled in an international competition yet took a surprise bronze medal in the 1,000. With the World Sprints championship — won despite arriving in the Netherlands from the USA with just two days to prepare — Cheek knew he again was on a perfectly timed roll.
"I thought I might actually have a shot at doing something great at the Olympics, and if I did, I wanted to make it meaningful," Cheek said.
Trying to put his skating fame in perspective, Cheek said, "What I do is great fun. I love what I do. It's a great job. I've seen the entire world and I've met amazing friends."
Then he added: "Honestly, it's a pretty ridiculous thing. I mean, I skate around on ice in tights, right?"
By Olympic standards, Cheek won the 500 with ridiculous ease.
The results were determined by combining the times from two rounds of the 500. Of the 37-man field, Cheek's times of 34.82 and 34.94 seconds were the day's only sub-35-second performances.
"I don't know how I skated that fast," Cheek said. "I'm grateful that I did. I've always dreamed I would skate that fast."
The key to his recent racing, he said, is that he has been more relaxed than ever.
Cheek said he arrived in Torino in a comfort zone, because he already had an Olympic medal.
"This Olympics has been 10 times easier for me," Cheek said last week. "The only impression I want to leave is just how grateful I am to get this chance again."
That inner peace grew after talking with Koss during the weekend and putting his donation plan in place. At the starting line, he was skating as much for those African children as himself.
"I think on some level it is empowering to think of somebody other than yourself," Cheek said.
Cheek glided through both rounds while other greats struggled. World recordholder Joji Kato of Japan placed sixth. The USA's Casey FitzRandolph, the defending gold medalist, slipped in the first round and placed 12th.
Cheek's mother, Chris, wasn't surprised by her son's donation.
"He's always been willing to take a stand and speak up for what's right," she said. "If there was a kid that somebody was picking on, he would be nice to that kid."
But, with a smile, she also addressed her son's nerdy side.
"He was really geeky," she said. "If he hadn't had skating, he wouldn't have been a well-rounded person, I don't think."
She added that she gave Cheek a copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull when he was in the sixth grade in Greensboro, N.C., and that he still reads it before races.
"It's all about the journey, working hard and taking the risk," she said.
Cheek's girlfriend, George Washington University business major Eleanor Collins, also addressed Cheek's quirks. She noted the only thing Cheek wears beneath his racing skinsuit is Bjorn Borg underwear, sold only in Europe. Collins said she got a little tired of seeing him rotating the same two pairs.
"In the last year, he ripped a hole in both pairs," Collins said. "So I got him new ones when I was over in Sweden and gave them to him for Christmas."
Cheek's next speedskating journey will be Saturday in the 1,000, where he's considered a stronger competitor than in the 500. If he medals again, that prize money also will go to Right to Play.
After that, he'll have the World Cup finals, then be headed into skating retirement and his first days as a college student.
He has been turned down by Harvard, but he has applications pending at Yale, Stanford, North Carolina, Georgetown and Duke.
"I don't know who will let me in," Cheek said. "I hope somebody will."
After his performance and generosity Monday, one guesses there will be a few takers.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Moving is hell!
Just a note in case any of my good buddies look, because I have been completely neglectful...now the move-in date is looming, and the packing has to intensify...HAS to! Boxes everywhere. I've been sick with some kind of bug for a few days. I was out of sorts and aching Friday, but made it through the busiest day. Came home, too out of it to eat, went to bed, and then was sick all weekend, aching and headachy and chilling.
THe only thing I accomplished was to try and understand curling (on the Olympics). still don't.
This afternoon I got itchy and packed a few boxes full of videos. Abby did the DVDs. Late in the afternoon I realized that the dump was probably open -- not closed on President's Day. I quickly dumped a couple of big recycling containers -- all unsorted -- into trash bags, emptied wastebaskets into trash bags, and took six orange bags to the dump. (My mom says I won't go to hell for putting recycling in the trash this one time.)
Then, I came home and would not let myself rest until I had put three white bags (for charity) in the car, plus 7 or 8 boxes, to go to new house tomorrow. If I just do SOMETHING every day...
But nagging at me is the fact that I have not answred five or six emails from girlfriends, wanting to know how on earth I am and I am too tired mentally to answer individually. My head hurts really badly but I AM going to the Y in the morning and to work and to the Beth Shalom board meeting -- it's making me crazy to lie around at home.
Bye for now, and hope sanity returns soon to my life and our house!
THe only thing I accomplished was to try and understand curling (on the Olympics). still don't.
This afternoon I got itchy and packed a few boxes full of videos. Abby did the DVDs. Late in the afternoon I realized that the dump was probably open -- not closed on President's Day. I quickly dumped a couple of big recycling containers -- all unsorted -- into trash bags, emptied wastebaskets into trash bags, and took six orange bags to the dump. (My mom says I won't go to hell for putting recycling in the trash this one time.)
Then, I came home and would not let myself rest until I had put three white bags (for charity) in the car, plus 7 or 8 boxes, to go to new house tomorrow. If I just do SOMETHING every day...
But nagging at me is the fact that I have not answred five or six emails from girlfriends, wanting to know how on earth I am and I am too tired mentally to answer individually. My head hurts really badly but I AM going to the Y in the morning and to work and to the Beth Shalom board meeting -- it's making me crazy to lie around at home.
Bye for now, and hope sanity returns soon to my life and our house!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Message to my girlfriends
I am writing this message as a public service to my girlfriends!
Once, last year, I was looking around on the net to see if I saw anything that would be good for my skin...I was unhappy with how coarse and yucky my skin looked. Some of the astringent stuff I had was just too harsh. I remembered that when I was younger, people used to say how beautiful my skin was. So, it made me sad when my son actually teased me about the big pores on my nose.
So, I found this stuff. It was kind of expensive, but I bought it and used it, and really liked it. Then, I talked myself out of buying more because of the price.
Then, again this year, I decided to get some. All right, the bottle costs $40. But, I started using my new bottle on Nov. 7. I just put on a teeny bit all over my face after I shower in the morning. I gave Amalia a pill-bottle-full to take home with her and try. And now, January 10, that bottle is a little less than half-gone. So, it works out to a little less than $10 per month, I figure.
My skin looks better than it has in years. The pores are smaller, my skin is more clear, and definitely tighter. I even think that the flesh under my chin has tightened up a little. I can look at my nose and not cringe. And it's not exactly astringent; it's milder than that, but it feels great to put it on my face.
And tonight Amalia called, telling me that she LOVES this stuff.
I had told her that for the first few days, if you have a little blackhead or something, the stuff seems to bring it out. The first week I used it I got a pimple, which is unusual for me. But after that, my skin just feels BETTER. Amalia told me that she discovered that, if one is getting a pimple, put a bit of the stuff on at night, and it's better by morning.
So, OK, go to the website if you want and get some. (I only wish there were some price break for buying this stuff in bulk!)
http://www.dadairs.com/I.html
Once, last year, I was looking around on the net to see if I saw anything that would be good for my skin...I was unhappy with how coarse and yucky my skin looked. Some of the astringent stuff I had was just too harsh. I remembered that when I was younger, people used to say how beautiful my skin was. So, it made me sad when my son actually teased me about the big pores on my nose.
So, I found this stuff. It was kind of expensive, but I bought it and used it, and really liked it. Then, I talked myself out of buying more because of the price.
Then, again this year, I decided to get some. All right, the bottle costs $40. But, I started using my new bottle on Nov. 7. I just put on a teeny bit all over my face after I shower in the morning. I gave Amalia a pill-bottle-full to take home with her and try. And now, January 10, that bottle is a little less than half-gone. So, it works out to a little less than $10 per month, I figure.
My skin looks better than it has in years. The pores are smaller, my skin is more clear, and definitely tighter. I even think that the flesh under my chin has tightened up a little. I can look at my nose and not cringe. And it's not exactly astringent; it's milder than that, but it feels great to put it on my face.
And tonight Amalia called, telling me that she LOVES this stuff.
I had told her that for the first few days, if you have a little blackhead or something, the stuff seems to bring it out. The first week I used it I got a pimple, which is unusual for me. But after that, my skin just feels BETTER. Amalia told me that she discovered that, if one is getting a pimple, put a bit of the stuff on at night, and it's better by morning.
So, OK, go to the website if you want and get some. (I only wish there were some price break for buying this stuff in bulk!)
http://www.dadairs.com/I.html
Sunday, December 11, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
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!"
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!"
Sunday, December 04, 2005
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!
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!
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