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Thursday Update: 04/17/08

Well, I do believe that Spring has finally, FINALLY arrived. It was warm and breezy yesterday, and while it’s supposed to be cooler and rainy today…anything is better than the 30’s and 40’s we’ve been experiencing! I worked from home yesterday while the AC guys came and installed the new unit. It felt good to have one more thing to check off the DONE list for the new house! It was such a warm day I decided to put the screens in the windows and open them up a bit. It was SO nice! Both Steve and Buddy were in heaven smelling the air and watching what was going on. The house across the street was having their sidewalks poured, so I’m crossing my fingers that HOPEFULLY they can get to ours soon as well and we can finally put the yard in and bring Miss Penny back home. Since there was a lot of commotion over where I normally walk Buddy, and the yard was all dried up, I decided to take him out the back door and let him explore on the lead that I had bought and hooked up to the deck. He was so excited to check things out, but quickly realized he couldn’t go that far and just sort of stood there confused. It was SO funny! Buddy has always been known as the not-so-bright doggie in the family…but it was pretty hilarious to watch him stand there not knowing what to do.
He almost looked a little bit ticked off at the rope like he was trying to stare it down! We did enjoy sitting on the deck though, just soaking up the sunshine and breathing in the fresh air. Steve went from room to room checking out all the windows. It was a good day to work from home!!

Last night I also had dinner with Matt’s folks. It had been a while and it was nice to catch up. They also got to talk to Matt for a few minutes since it was my night to call him…and I think they enjoyed getting to hear his voice again. Matt said the weather is really warming up there too and Mary was going to go out and get him a fan for his room (there’s no air conditioning). He said it’s been in the 80’s there and sometimes they don’t get much of a breeze in his room. Because he’s been getting so warm, he’s thinking about shaving off his beard! I couldn’t believe it. So we’ll see how that goes! I know the doctors and nurses have been trying to convince him to do so…I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see him all clean shaven. He’s been feeling good too, and is starting to count down the days (only 39) until I get to see him again! It’s good to be past the halfway point! Can you believe he’s been there 48 days!? At times it seems like it has gone quickly, and others it seems to drag. I know that when we are reunited again this time apart will blur into a brief blip on the radar of our life together…but right now, it’s pretty difficult.

I read last week on the China Connection website (http://www.chinaconnection.cc/Devin/) about this man who will be coming at the end of April for treatment. He also had a brain stem bleed like Matt. His brother will be coming along and they plan to make a documentary film about his experience. That should be interesting! It’s neat that they’ll be there at the same time as Matt. Devin’s brother Doug has already e-mailed Matt to say hello and asked him if perhaps he’d like to participate in the film. It’ll be neat to see how that works out. Devin’s bleed was just 6 months ago, so it will also be interesting to see where he’s at in his recovery and to see if he notices changes faster. Either way, Matt is looking forward to meeting them and I think they’ll have a lot in common to talk about! I’m also looking forward to meeting them all in May when I get there. It’ll be good to talk to Devin’s wife about our experiences as well. Because they are really just beginning their rehab journey, I hope we can help offer them hope and strength to endure the days ahead.

In the mean time, we both keep on keeping on…looking ahead to a future that we know will be bright and full and good. We are so thankful for our friends and family who support and encourage us daily…and most of all we are thankful for the love and friendship we have with each other. We will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary this summer….ten years. Holy cow! We had often talked about maybe taking a trip to Hawaii, or perhaps a big road trip out West…but after all we’ve been through these past months, I think we’ll happily celebrate our anniversary any ‘ol place…as long as we’re together, that is all that matters.

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