I could
not be happier to see this year end. I told you what I was going to
say to 2010…. Adios Mother Fucker!!!! It started off great… and
I made some amazing friends whom have proved to me that they are
worthy of being in my life. For that, I will be forever grateful to
2010. But that is about the only good thing to come out of this
year. August 12, 2010 will forever be etched into my brain as the
absolute worst day of my life, and 2010 will forever be the worst
year of my life. I have never been so happy to put a year in the
past. 2011 is going to be Ronan’s year. His year of healing and
getting all better. We still have a long way to go to get him to
this point… but nothing will ever be as awful as having a doctor
tell you that your son has Stage 4 cancer. Things can only get
better from here. Bring on 2011! We cannot wait to see what it has
in store for us. Today, Liam, Quinn, Mimi, and Papa all returned to
PHX. It was a brutal day. I begged Woody to let the boys’ stay with
us and miss a few days of school. He wasn’t having it and I know it
really wasn’t a good idea due to what Ronan is about to go through;
but I am going to miss them so much. I cried all morning and was
bawling as we put them in the car to go to the airport. I had my
big sunglasses on so I don’t think they noticed. Well, Liam
didn’t.. Quinn of course did. Ronan didn’t really understand what
was going on, he just kept looking at me and saying, “But I’m going
to miss them so much.” I told him we would be home with them soon.
We spent the day spoiling Ronan rotten. We took him to our favorite
pizza place, right around the corner from the RMH and he ate a huge
lunch. We then came back here and played for most of the day. Ronan
and I curled up together and took a big nap. We were both tired.
Woody snuck out to go record shopping. As soon as he got back I
headed out for my dark Central Park run. It was a little scary
tonight… not a lot of people out. I only ran about 6 miles but it
felt good. Wasn’t too cold and it was fun to see all the people out
and about all dressed up going to their New Year’s parties. I tried
to think a lot about Monday and am trying my best to prepare for
what we are about to go through. I am trying to gather all of the
strength I have because I am going to need every ounce of it.
Tonight, Woody, Ronan and I had our own little party in our room. I
covered Ronan’s head in glitter and he put it all over my eyes and
face for me. I wore my silly feather headband and Ronan told me I
looked pretty. We ate cheese and crackers, Woody had his
beer and bought Sangria across the street for us as well. We
watched a Pearl Jam concert and Ronan was dancing and laughing the
entire night and has now decided he would like to be a rockstar
when he grows up. He is obsessed with Neil Young and “Rocking in
the Free World” is his favorite song. We did a lot of chasing him
around the RMH, going up and down the elevators. After we wore him
out, Woody and I put in “Easy A.” It was in my stocking from Woody
for Christmas. Love that movie;) Woody liked it too; it was the
first time he had seen it. He’s a tough sell too so I was
pleasantly surprised. Ronan is asleep, Woody is asleep, and I am
wishing I was asleep. Kind of want to stay up until Midnight, West
Coast time so I can make another New Year’s wish. No resolutions,
just wishes this year. I think you all know what I’ll be wishing
for. Cheers to 2011! I hope this year is filled with health,
happiness, and love. G’nite sweet angels. xoxo 
Tag: 2010
Hello Insomnia and Nightmares
Awake. Lovely. Fell asleep for about an hour. Woke up due to horrific nightmares. Not going back to sleep anytime soon. I talked via text messaging to Ashley’s mom today; the little girl who underwent surgery. It went very well and she is now recovering over in the ICU. Her mom told me to prepare myself. Fuck. How do you prepare for something like that. I sent Woody the text message she sent me about what to expect. His response? “Fuck.” Great. My rock who is usually my positive power, knows what we are about to go through is going to be hell. I am trying to mentally prepare myself…. but I don’t even know if this is possible. She did tell me that she is completely in love with Dr. La Quaglia though:) That makes me feel a little better. Cheers to Ashley and her successful surgery. So very happy for her and her family.
Today, we spent the day all together as a family. Liam and Quinn leave tomorrow and I am devastated. Ronan is going to be so sad; those boys are his life. We tried to soak up being together as much as possible and had a great day. Lots of laughing and throwing snowballs:) Tonight, Woody and Quinn ran out to get some dinner down the street a few blocks. Ronan was so upset after they left because he wanted to go with them. He screamed and cried the entire time they were gone which was about 20 minutes. I was dealing with him and I looked over to see the tears pouring out of Liam’s eyes. I immediately left Ronan to his temper tantrum to tend to Liam. I sat and held him and asked him what was wrong. He told me how much seeing Ronan scream and cry, bothers him. I wanted to die right then and there. Of course it all makes perfect sense. Liam has been spending a lot of time with Mimi and Papa on this trip because they are his safety, his security. With them, there is no chaos, no unexpected, no scariness. Liam lives for calmness, structure, and rules. With Ronan, you never know what you are going to get and every second is different from the next. Liam does not like this at all and seeing him tonight all I wanted to do was to take him home, and just be able to put him back in his secure environment where all this madness does not exist. I held him for a long time, let him cry, and just explained to him why Ronan was acting this way. Ronan got so mad that I was tending to Liam that he shut himself in the closet. I let him; Liam needed me. As soon as Woody and Quinn returned, we ate dinner and then he took the twins upstairs to watch football. I curled up with Ronan and fell asleep; for a little while anyway.
So, it is officially New Years Eve. I am so ready for 2010 to be over. Worst year of my life. 2011 is going to be much better; I have a great feeling about it.
My friend, Sandy, sent this to me today. It made me smile and I agree with almost everything on this list. Thanks, ho;)
Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio :
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”
Feathers, Glitter, and all things Sparkly
Today was a very productive day. My sweet, dear, Fernanda stopped by for a coffee drop off and a visit. She went over my “To do” list with me and helped me decide how to tackle it. We also talked about our little project we have in the works… she has an amazing business mind. More on that when we are further on down the road. Let’s just say the two of us, when Ronan is well, are going to change the world and make the most amazing things come out of this. It is a good, heathy distraction for me right now; something I am very excited about and I am so honored to have Fernanda by my side ❤ It’s so amazing to me, how you know someone through the years, and then something like this happens and your relationship either truly blossoms or bottoms out. Out of this, I have found a very special friendship that had always existed, I just never knew it until now.
After Fernanda left, one of our angels who writes on my blog a lot, but I have never met before, came over to help me out with some things. My new friend, Rita, came and did the mounds of paper work that has been looming over my head like a dark cloud. It took her around 3 hours and I am so grateful for her and her organization skills. There is no way I was going to be able to tackle that project this week. My mind is all out of whack and paperwork is something that has become totally overwhelming to me. Thank you so much, R. You saved my life today:) And Ronan loved having you here! I can’t believe how openly he welcomed you into our home. I am very thankful for that.
I cleaned out our pantry, caught up on all of our laundry, paid some bills, and cleaned and organized all of Ronan’s toys. If I leave here with things like that not being done…. I will drive myself crazy thinking about it. Stupid OCD. I will feel so much better going to New York and knowing that everything is organized and put away where it is supposed to be.
Ronan was a happy little boy today. He did a lot of playing by himself while I got things done. He snuggled up in my arms and we took a good nap together. Snuggling with him is one of my favorite things in the world. He fits so perfectly in my arms. Liam and Quinn came home from school and spent it playing with Ronan. I am trying to let them soak up their time with him as much as possible. They are such good big brothers. I am so excited to spend Christmas with them in New York. I have not done a thing as far as Christmas shopping goes this year. All of the gifts, cards, “stuff,” just seems so meaningless. Woody came home all excited about the gift he has gotten for me and I didn’t mean to burst his bubble, but I told him I didn’t want anything. That is not true; the only thing I want this year is the best doctor in the world operating on my baby. And he already got me that. I couldn’t ask for more at this point. I know I am going to have to get some things for Liam and Quinn, but I think I’ll leave that up to Woody. I can’t focus on stuff like that this year. One of my most favorite things about Christmas is sending out our annual Holiday Card. Not happening this year. Makes me sad; but I’ve got bigger fish to fry. I’ll send you all one on my blog, how bout that;) Think of all the trees I’ll be saving!!
We have a pretty good plan in place for New York. Woody, my in-laws, the twins, The Kotaliks, My mom, my oldest friend, Sandy, whom I have known since I was 5, and Tricia will be coming in and out. Trish and my mom will be with me on my birthday<3 So happy about that. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve as I always do as far as ways we will celebrate once Ronan’s surgery is successful. One of them involves glitter… and lots of it. I’m obsessed with anything sparkly and glittery and I used to be a very fun girl. I’ve been thinking of ways we can celebrate and make this milestone something to remember in a very positive, fun way. Trish and I went shopping for hats to wear in New York and I bought a silly feather white feather headband to wear on New Year‘s Eve. Who cares if we’ll be at the Ronald McDonald house…. we will still have sparkles, glitter, and feathers galore. This is our journey and I cannot wait to say goodbye to 2010. Remember how I told you about “Earmuffs??” Or maybe stop reading here….. You know what I’m going to say to 2010?? Adios Mother Fucker! Worst year of my life. 2011 is going to be all about getting Ronan better and healthy.
I heard “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls on Pandora tonight. It made me think of Ronan. Cheers to you, baby boy.
And I’d give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be
And I don’t want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it’s over
I just don’t want to miss you tonight
And I don’t want the world to see me
Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can’t fight the tears that ain’t coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything seems like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive
And I don’t want the world to see me
Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I don’t want the world to see me
Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
P.S. I totally heart Neil Young and Johnny Cash. They bring me peace and sing us to sleep every night. Goodnight to all of you beautiful souls out there. Wishing you all health, peace, and happiness. Love you ALL. So thankful for all of you and how you are always keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Ronan is a fighter, there is not a soul out there like him. I PROMISE you, he will get through this. I can feel it in every fiber of my body and soul. And through this journey, I’ve come to find out how true and right my insights are in regards to my life. I BELIEVE.
ROCKSTAR RONAN 