First Dance

After 6 1/2 years of marriage, Scott and I had our first dance at a Michigan Youth Leadership Forum event last week that we attended as part of Scott’s participation in the Association of State Employees with Disabilities.

The Michigan Youth Leadership Forum (MYLF) for Students with Disabilities is a unique career leadership training program for high school juniors and seniors with disabilities. By serving as delegates from their communities at a five-day event in the state capital, young people with disabilities cultivate leadership, citizenship and social skills.

Hubby’s Bad Night at the Ranch

Hubby and I are cleaning out clothes to give to Goodwill and I decide its time to part with my Little Miss Virginia dress, previously featured in this blog post. I say something about something to which he responds:

So, you mean you didn’t win?

The contest? No, I didn’t win.

Oh, I thought you won [pause] Well, I mean, did you… ommm… like, I mean….

Was I a finalist?

Yes, were you a finalist?

No, I was not a finalist.

[Blurt] Well, did you beat anyone?

It’s not Survivor, dude, they don’t kick you off one at a time.

What We’re Reading, Matey

Me waited for A . to get on IM the other day for the cause that I wanted something new to illuminate meself. Me said, “I want something as good as Pirates by Reese – something young adult.” The good woman replied with the question whether I wanted pirate stories or strong female character stories. Me said the latter, matey, and after a few minutes she comes back with a list – of both. So this is what me will be reading over the next few weeks:

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of hte Curious Adventurs of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer

Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl’s Adventure Upon the High Seas by Tanith Lee

Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Me started with Bloody Jack – about a girl who passes for a boy to get work as a ship’s boy during 1797 London. This here book has the most useful diagram me have laid me eyes upon in many a year.

Hubby, on the other of me two good hands, is reading a 192-page Popular Mechanics books on Garage Make-overs.

Together, we’re reading Phantom Prey by John Sandford and The Appeal by John Grisham. Today we be off to the park for a hike, a picnic lunch of seabiscuits and grog, and a few hours of reading in the Mizzentop

Forever Proof

Hubby wanted to make sure everyone got the proof that he’d been prescribed Pepsi for his rose bush disease. Not just cola, ladies and gentlemen, the man has been prescribed Pepsi.

A Study in Home Life

I get home and hubby and I are hanging out on the deck catching up. Hubby says,

“Dr. D. and J went on a trip.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup, cruise to the Med.”

“Did you just say Med?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not cool enough to say “Med” for “Mediterranean.”"

“Yes I am.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“No you’re not.”

Pause.

“Are you making pizza tonight?”

“Yeah, with corn on it.”

Look to Her Mother

My Uncle N. has a saying, “If you’re thinking of marrying a woman, look to her mother.” Many apples don’t fall far from the tree.

This business with Hubby’s arm got me to thinking about the torn bicep from 6-7 years ago. He tore the bicep trying to impress me on our first date. My car had some funny sound that he knew what was and we drove out to the storage unit where he kept his tools so he could get what he needed to fix it. He tried to move a work bench and tore the muscle in his arm. But he didn’t want to interrupt our first date, so we kept going.

We drove to Ann Arbor for an outdoor concert at Gallup Park, a really lovely park with quaint bridges and a circuit of maybe a mile, mile and a half. We strolled. We sat in the grass and listed to music in the twilight. Then we went to visit with my mother.

Yes, on our first date I took him home to meet my mother. She made hot fudge sundaes with homemade hot fudge and we sat in her dining room and got acquainted.

I already knew that I wanted to marry Future Hubby. We’d had that book club going on for several years and I’d known him for? three or four years. And I was serious. Future Hubby: this is my family. This is my mother.

I told Future Hubby that he could court me as long as it took him to decide whether he wanted to marry me but I would not date him. I’m not old-fashioned, not right-wing religious, none of that. I have made a shocking and disappointing percentage of profoundly stupid relationship decisions. But not this time.  I knew what I wanted with Future Hubby.

So, I took him home to meet my mother.

Many thanks, Mom. He liked the hot fudge.

Armies

If you’ve been around me and hubby lately you’ve probably seen that hubby has a weird, disquieting strangeness going on with his right arm and hand. It started last fall with marble-like hardnesses in his forearm. Over the past 8 months – through 4 doctors, X-rays, MRIs, and, finally, a biopsy – it has spread. His fingers on his right hand are swollen and hard and he can’t make a fist any longer.

We’ve had lots of time to be weirded out by this as it has steadily spread. To complicate matters, this is the arm where he tore his bicep six years ago and had surgery to repair the muscle. AND he re-injured the muscle fishing last fall. So we really couldn’t figure out what’s going on.

Two doctors ago we were dealing with the surgeon who did the biopsy. He was going over the possible causes and treatments at an appointment with Hubby and said, “And if we have to amputate, we’d do it here,” drawing a diaganol line above Hubby’s elbow. Amputate? Hubby was freaked out and mournful. I was freaked out and really pissed off.

After the biopsy Surgeon H. called me in to report on how the procedure went and I b*slapped him. “Amputate? You scared the hell out of my husband and me. What is the likelihood this will be necessary?” Turned out always to have been extremely unlikely and since the biopsy was definitely off the table (kind of like his arm would have been off the table after the amputation). I glared at him. And said a few more things that in retrospect I’m not terribly proud of.

In any case, after eight months we finally have a diagnosis! He has sporotochosis. It’s an earthy infection – you get it from farming or gardening.

“Do any gardening?” the infectious disease specialist asked. He’d consulted with numerous other doctors, seen the results of the tests, and, in particular, the biopsy. They had already come up with sporotochosis as the probable diagnosis.

“That’s really her area,” Hubby says, pointing to me, “But I dug out some window wells in the fall.”

“Do you have rose bushes?”

“Yeah, took one out in fact when I was doing the window wells.”

Ding, ding, ding!

Sporotochosis comes from, primarily, being scratched by rose bushes and in bean fields. Treatment is 6 months of antibiotics taken – get this – in an acidic environment. The doctor suggests either cola or orange juice. Hubby’s two favorite beverages. He has now had Pepsi and orange juice PRESCRIBED twice a day.

We’re all very much relieved around here.

Library Brew Pub

I got this T-shirt for Hubby from the Library Brew Pub in Houghton, Michigan. The library in town, the Portage Lake District Library, calls itself “the library without beer.”

Happy Birthday from Hubby

Today is my birthday. Hubby’s birthday cheer: Your age is still under your bra size!

Men.

Dear Mr. Hubby

Sometimes Hubby goes to elementary school classes to talk about what its like to be blind. Recently, he attended a fourth grade class (organized by the school librarian). He got a stack of thank you letters and here are a smattering, on stationary that gives the kids a bunny, a bug and a big pencil to color in.

Dear Mr. __. Thank you for showing us your cell phone. It’s really cool. I learned that people that can’t see have a cane to feel where there going. Sincerely, A.      P.S. Where is your library?

(Note: hubby’s cell phone reads the menus out loud. Hubby got lots of kids saying his cell phone was cool. This made Hubby vvvveeeeerrrrry happy. He thinks his cell phone is cool, too.)

Dear Mr. __. Thank you for typing our names in braille! I learned how to read my name in braille. I really liked the Braille alphabet cards! Gratefully, A.

(and A. signed her name in print and cursive, and in Braille, too, using the Braille alphabet cards that Hubby gives all the kids. He also does all their names in Braille on individual cards. Big hit.)

Dear Mr. __. Thank you for everything. I’m scared of blind person. When i see you, I get not scared. I think wrong thing maybe spells wrong. Can you understand? From Y.     P.S. I learn many thing of you.

(Y signed their name in English, in Braille, and in Korean)

Dear. Mr. __. thank you for coming to our school. My favorite part is when you gave us our names in braille. I liked the cane. Sincerely, L

(L. also signed her name in Braille. The part that Hubby liked best about the Braille name signing is that they all remembered to capitalize their names, which takes an extra character. He thought that was super cool of them.)