Tuesday, February 8, 2011

A litany of excuses

Good morning. Well since the inception of my blog there had never been a week go by that I have not written. What can I say? It was a new first. It is not one I was particularly happy about but the fact was, I had never been so busy. Over the last week we had an ice storm that kept the kiddos home from school for 4 days. On top of that, my mother slipped on the ice and did an excellent job of breaking her arm which landed her in the hospital for a few days. In the meantime, I was due in California for a presentation at a 3 day NANT meeting. And, finally, what week would not be complete without a nice burst water pipe for good measure.

And that was all of just the non work stuff.

It has been chaotic.

The good news is that DeeDee is on the road to recovery. Luckily, all the king's horses and all the king's men were able to put DeeDee back together again. She had fallen on the ice while trying to make it down the driveway to close the lid on her trash can. We are hopeful that she has learned her lesson and that the next time she will just let it be. It was a stiff price to pay for cleanliness.

In the meantime, there was much chaos going on around the house. A few days of being shut ins and it seemed everyone was becoming a little stir crazy. No one was affected more than Lynley who could probably use a weeks vacation - sans kiddos. She reached her melting point. And where was her useless husband in her greatest hour of need? He was off gallivanting on the sunny beaches of California, soaking in the sun, and drinking margaritas with little umbrellas in them.

Well, that was her impression anyway.

The truth of the matter was that I was being churned in a 60 hour whirlwind of neuroblastoma research. I am sure I will write about it in the days to come but suffice it to say that I don't think I have ever came out of a NANT meeting with more hope for much of the clinical research they have planned but with more frustration regarding pharmaceutical companies. Mark my words - the biggest problem with neuroblastoma research is not a lack of funds (although it is one). Right now, the biggest challenge facing neuroblastoma is a lack of drugs. Every time I turn around another drug has disappeared, has become "unavailable", or simply just can't be "got." It is this challenge that continues to set research back years.

The good news to come out of the wake of the stunt speed boat that was last week is that the kiddos just seemed to ride the waves. Yesterday was their first day back at school and they slid back into routine without a hitch.

Clearly, they have become used to chaos.

On the other hand, as I age, I become less tolerant of it. When things get crazy, my only response is to just keep my nose to the grindstone and keep placing one foot in front of the other.

I figure, if I keep focusing on my purpose, we will eventually make it through.

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