Riding The Wave – Multiple Myeloma

Hudson preparing baskets

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha

Our 23 year old son arrived late Saturday night from Tampa Florida to spend about a week with us before flying to Maryland to visit friends, before he begins his new job in the South Miami area for Valley Crest. He has graduated from University of Maryland with a Plant Science Degree, finished his Professional Internship at Disney World in Orlando and has landed his dream job. We are so proud of him.

I’ll be leaving to drive with our daughter Montana from California to Maryland (she has finished up her internship, work, and training with a top coach for the summer) and then Hudson and I will meet up and fly down to Florida together. We will get his stuff at Dave’s parents and move him to his new apartment, where I get to do the “mommy thing” and help him get his apartment functioning on the basics before he starts work. It feels SO GOOD to be doing these things again. I find I’m just exuberant when I wake up in the mornings to see what my day brings.

He was disgusted with our front yard and suggested he make me some hanging baskets for the front porch “Disney Style!”. Dave and I were excited about it and off to the nursery we went. What started as baskets turned into redoing the whole front yard!  Oleander, Wisteria Tree, Palm (Dave wants a palm), Rose Topiaries for the stone columns and a couple of crape myrtles and other plants. My week of things I needed to do has drastically changed… did I say I was exuberant about what the day would bring? Careful what you wish for right? I have so much left to do before I drive across with Montana – I’m going to be quite crunched for time and we are having a get together on Friday night with our neighbors and some friends to congratulate Hudson on his accomplishments. The house is dirty and I need to prepare snacks and drinks. Sigh…

Finished Baskets

Oh well, it will all come together somehow and it will be just fine. Its funny how things that use to stress us out to the point of not enjoying ourselves has changed dramatically. Part of it was the journey I was already on, but Dave’s cancer and ensuing treatment seemed to shove me down that shoot much quicker to “get it” than might otherwise have been.

Special moments are also MORE SPECIAL!

Dave and Hudson were upstairs in the recreation room (no basements in California) playing pool one night. They were yelling, whooping and hollering like crazy for hours! Hetta (my summer house guest) and I were watching a movie downstairs and giggling every time they let loose. It was music to my ears and just filled me up emotionally.

Just planted roses

Tonight Dan P., who I grew up with (our father’s flew SR-71s together) and who Dave was staying with when he got sick has stopped by and is spending the night. His job has relocated its plant and he now has to drive near us to get to work and we talked about him staying over during the week whenever he would like to save on the driving. Hudson’s arrival spurred that discussion into fruition this evening and while he has to go to bed very early, I’m sure he and Dave will play pool during his stays, as Dan is a Pool SHARK! He plays in tournaments and takes NO PRISONERS!  Dave got a pool table because he enjoyed playing with Dan so much and he’s been “practicing”.

We are enjoying our lives so much right now and getting acclimated to living in California. Dave loves his job, I’m enjoying meeting folks and connecting with old friends from my childhood. We love the weather and our location and I don’t think Dave will ever go back east to live unless he has too, and its temporary.

With a six month reprieve from our visits to Little Rock for check ups, we don’t know how to act, but I think we are off to a good start!

Montana will arrive Saturday, late, with Hetta’s brother, my second son, Rusty. We will all go to a swimming hole in the mountains for the day on Sunday and then we all start leaving Monday and Tuesday. Dave says we are all abandoning him and he’s trying to pull on our heart strings. I said, “Tell your girlfriend she can’t come over until Wednesday when we are all gone!”

Tags: Dan, front porch, hanging baskets, Hud, pool, yard