Rain, rain, and more rain...

Well folks, I sure hope the weather channel is wrong. They're forecasting rain for the whole week, including Saturday and Sunday. While it is helping the leaves grow and making the scenery a bit more green, it is still quite depressing! I suppose it might make it easier to stay inside and do housework... But, unfortunately, rain usually makes me feel like shopping! Yikes! The house is coming along. I actually visited some open houses this weekend in an effort to compare properties and prices for my own lisiting. I guess all the nice houses sold really quickly, because the ones I saw made my house look like a castle. I guess I shouldn't get overly optimistic though. Wouldn't want to be disappointed.

The moving truck has been reserved, and I've rented a storage space to store my stuff and declutter the house - it's not full yet, but it won't be long. I'm still on 3 days/week at work. I should be up to 4 days/week next week and, if all goes well, I will be full time on May 19th. I'm hoping to get to the gym on Wednesday... I really need to... I haven't been since last week. Working really cuts into your free time!!!

I want to wish my father-in-law and my friend Debra a happy belated birthday! And, my congrats to my baby sister who just bought her first house! We'll be christening a few decks this summer, I guess. I spoke to Joe tonight and Ella is still in Washington doing well and recovering from her surgery. She is making good progress.

Rich and I were discussing the possibility of him going to Belfast this summer. We were looking at flights and dates, and it's a definite possibility. We're still waiting on a date for Mathieu's surgery and I've been researching and talking to doctors in an effort to determine what type of surgery would be best for him. I guess avoiding the issue will not make it go away, so I'll simply have to face it and forge ahead. Tony's going to have to help me with this one.

The boys, my sister Michelle and I went to see the Canadiens play the first match of this second series of the playoffs against the Flyers. It was amazing. It went into overtime and Rich, a fervent Leafs' fan, was actually wearing - for the first time ever - a Canadiens' jersey and a smile. I think Michelle has a photo.

There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to this blog, but these days, my brain is in constant overdrive and there's not much order to my thought process. I suppose I could reorganize the paragraphs to camoufflage this, but you'll have to forgive me, I'm just too tired.

That's it for now.

Take good care!

Renée

Spring has sprung... and change is in the air

Call it a bold move, maybe done in large part on a gut feeling, nevertheless, I've gone and done it... I bought a house. I visited one house and just had to have it! It is within walking distance of the boys' schools and close to many good friends. It will make life simpler - and it is newly renovated. Only Richard's room will need to be repainted - it's now lime green!

Purchasing that house was the easy part. The difficult part will be leaving the home that we shared with Tony. I try not to think about that too much. The time will come soon enough. I've hired a friend of mine to help freshen up the house so that it is ready for sale. So far, he's redone the ceilings and repainted the walls in the dining room and living room. He's replaced the light fixtures in the kitchen and the dining room. The kitchen is the biggest eye-sore, so I've ordered a new counter and bought tiles for the floor. Hopefully that will help. I'll be replacing the bedroom doors and the light fixture in my room. My room will also be repainted. I've had a homestager come for a consultation. Her recommendations were all things I had already thought of. I have a lot of decluttering to do. YUK!

I get possession of the new house on my birthday. I wanted to ensure that we were moved in before Mathieu's surgery - the date of which has yet to be determined. It'll will be after the school year. So I will be working until the end of the school year and will then be off until September so that I can be there for Mathieu. I am still on a progressive reinstatement program and am working 3 day a week. I should be full time in May.

Well, I should get back to my decluttering... Lots to do.

Take good care everyone.

Renée

Belated Happy Easter!

It has been quite busy! Even working just 2 days a week, this week and last... has got me running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Not a pretty picture! The boys are doing okay. Richard took part in the Elite football team tryouts for his league last Friday (4 hours of drills and scrimmage) and then went to his friend's sleepover birthday party. Well, he hasn't been the same since. Saturday, he came home and fell asleep at 6 pm and did not wake up until 9:30 on Sunday morning. Mathieu, on the other hand, has been all hockey and excitement. His team won their semi-final game last night and will be playing in the finals (a best of 3 series) starting next weekend. They will also be participating in a local hockey tournament. Also, I have registered him in a acting workshop starting in mid-April... Hopefully, hockey will be over by then because I think football and soccer will be starting their tryouts. HELP!!!!

My mom had us all over in her new condo for Easter brunch on Sunday. It was great. Luckily, my dad and everyone were very helpful and contributed to the culinary delight. Mom was great! I was lazy... and Richard was not well and stayed home.

My friend Ella had an appointment with Dr Sugarbaker in Washington today, and he has agreed to operate on her during the first week of April; so, next week... Hopefully, the RAMQ will come through for her as the procedure he proposes, the Sugarbaker procedure, is her only hope and is quite expensive.

Well, that's it for now. I'm off work tomorrow, and will hopefully make it to the gym to burn off all the chocolate I've been eating!

Take good care!

Renée

Anneke: I would love to get in touch with you. Please send me your e-mail address via this blog and I will contact you. I will delete your information from the blog as soon as I copy it.

Ola! la!

Well, we're back! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and after minor delays (15 hours) due to a snow storm in Canada, we returned from Cuba yesterday, where it was at least 28 degrees everyday, to Montreal where our flip flops were no protection against the -10 degree temperature that greeted us (that's -20 with the windchill).

We truly enjoyed our vacation. We went for a few rides on a catamaran (and I have the largest bruises to prove it), we went pedalboating and swam with the fish, we swam with the dolphins, we ate too much, drank too much and slept too little... Luckily, or not, the resort was quite large, 3 km around - I believe -, so we also got some exercise in spite of ourselves. I tried not to let the fact that I lost my watch and digital camera put too much of a damper on our vacation. I bought a disposal camera and had luckily brought my sports watch to go to the gym (although I did not make it to the gym).

There definitely were moments when Tony was quite present and I could not walk by the spot we sat in throughout our vacation last year without feeling chocked up. One day as we were walking around the pool area, Mathieu noticed a lady reading the March issue of Canadian Living (e-version) and insisted I speak to her to tell that our story and photos appeared in her magazine. She was taken aback. She must've read the article quickly beacause when we walked passed her again she stopped me and told me that she was touched and that her father had also been diagnosed with colon cancer. Fortunately, in his case, it was caught early and he is still living.

It has been a difficult month. A friend of mine and Tony's, a hockey dad we always sat with during Richard's hockey games and practices, passed away on February 19th. We used to share a coffee and a chat and enjoy watching our sons play hockey together. It was sudden and quite a shock. As well, Richard's hockey coache's wife, my friend Ella, was operated for cancer. They could not remove all the cancer and told her that her best chance was a procedure that is only done in the U.S. So far, the Quebec government has refused to agree to pay for the much needed procedure. So, Ella, her husband and friends have started doing some fund raising. For more info see http://www.helpella.com/ .

I will be returning to work gradually as of later this morning. It is quite scary... I'm afraid I just won't remember how to do a thing... On the other hand, I am very much looking forward to seeing all of my friends and coworkers. They're a great bunch.

That's it for now.

Take good care!

Renée

P.S. I received an e-mail from a lady who's husband has been diagnosed with cancer. She wanted to know how Tony managed to get insurance to travel with a pre-existing condition. I'm sorry to say that we could not get him any insurance. Tony was pretty stable and in between treatments when we travelled both last year and in 2006. He really want to go and create beautiful memories for our children, so we simply went on a wing and a prayer. I apologize that I could not respond to you directly; I did not have your email address.

Happy birthday Mom and Jean!

Here I am... My head is just spinning. I was just trying to print off some information for Mathieu's surgery. The question is, do we perform an ileoanal or an ileorectal anastomosis? Big words (which I will have to study in depth) and, needless to say, a very big decision. Meanwhile, my friend Ella is out of hospital... I hope you're feeling better and know that you are in my thoughts.

While I look forward to going to Cuba, I am unsure about my return to work. I so want to jump right in and be back to normal but am seriously afraid of falling flat on my face. Mind you, I haven't been to the gym since Wednesday... So maybe a quick visit tomorrow morning will make everything seem brighter and will boost my confidence. (Those darn hormones...)

Mathieu was back on the ice for his first game (since his concussion) last week. He scored a goal and was quite pleased with himself (he's a defenceman). And, I was quite proud of my baby. Richard is still getting physiotherapy (ultrasound treatments) for his knees and hopes to join the tryouts for the league's elite football team when we return from Cuba. As for me, I will be attending my first bereavement support group meeting tomorrow. It will either make me feel better, or make me feel worse. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sunday (the 17th), both my mother and my mother-in-law celebrated their birthday. Although I could not be with them, they were on my mind. Happy birthday Mom! Happy birthday Jean!

Above is a photo of my friend Denise and I out on the town for her 40th. Denise and her family will be in Cuba with us as well... It should be fun.

I hope you all had a nice weekend. That's it for now.

Take good care!

Renée

Cuba!... Here we come!

Mathieu is back at hockey. Tomorrow, he will be playing his first full game since his concussion. He has been skating and seems much better. Richard started physio last Friday and will be returning to his activities in two weeks or so. And, we will be going to Cuba next month! We will be going to the same resort we were at last year and my mom will accompany me and the boys. It should be a welcome break for all. When we return, I will be going back to work. The time has come... I have to sort it all out with my bosses and HR; they have all been so good to me.

It was bitterly cold here today, so I just can't wait for the sun and beach. I'll need to go shopping because last year's summer clothes probably won't fit. I suppose I'll really only need a swimsuit! Not my favorite thing to shop for...

My mom's all moved in to her new condo. I visited today, and it looks great! Whenever she figures out all those buttons on her stove, we might get an invite for dinner... Congratulations Mom!

Well, that's it for now.

Take good care!

Renée

We're still here...

Cuba - March 2006

We spent the whole morning at the Children's Hospital. I wonder if they have a frequent visitor card that gives rebates on coffee or something... Mathieu was seeing the neuro psychologist to follow up on this concussion, and Rich was seeing the orthopedist to re-evaluate his knee situation. Next time, I will do two separate trips... They do tend to get each other going; and over three hours in a hospital is just more than I could handle today. I had to come home and have a nap.

On a good note, the doctor recommended ultrasound therapy for Richard's knees. Hopefully that will be helpful. As for Mathieu, he seems to be on the mend - if I can get him to take it easy for another few days. They just don't realize that this is hard on me too because they're just not quite their jolly selves when they don't exercise. I think I'm over-compensating for that at the gym. Monday I jogged 5km, did about 45 min of weights and was on the eliptical trainer for 30 min - mind you, I've been eating like a mad woman since... What's the point? Hopefully tomorrow will be easier - all around!

I was mentioning in my last post that my girlfriend had said that I should dive in and face my grief... Well I have both feet in the wading pool; for some reason I'm afraid to drown if I dive all the way in the big pool. I suppose there must be more than one way of doing this; grieving, I mean? I'll have to discuss this with my therapist. Hopefully, she'll make me feel sane. It would definitely help.

That's it for now.


Take good care!


Renée