Tag: Outdoors

I made a new friend and I know you are going to look after her.

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Ronan. Today is 28 months without you and it’s pouring down rain in AZ, naturally.  You always bring me the rain when I am the saddest. I was up on and off through the night.  Waiting for that 3:25 a.m. time when you left this world.  I felt like screaming and throwing fists everywhere until I looked over at your Poppy sister who was sound asleep beside me.  No screaming and crying fits allowed when a peaceful baby is sleeping beside you.  I sent an email to Sparkly instead and screamed and cried to him.  FUC.  I hate cancer.

Dr. Sholler is in town. I took her hiking up Camelback last night. Holy hell it was hard as I have not hiked Camelback since I was about 8 weeks pregnant with your sister. It felt good though and we ended up totally making it a danger day since it was dark as we were coming down. That Dr. Sholler is such a badass that she was fine with it.  We talked a lot about life, loss, this cancer world and how wrong it is.  I like spending time with her as not only a doctor, but on a personal level as well.  I’ve never met a doctor like her who just as passionate about her research, as she is the kids she is treating. She never forgets the faces behind this disease which is a big reason why I love her so much. She won’t ever forget your face and she never even got to treat you.  One of my biggest regrets in all of this is that, but as I am learning, regrets in life will get you nowhere.  It’s about moving forward and making the changes you can with the cards you are dealt. Even if it is the shittiest deck.

Our weekend was spent hanging around at home. Brianna and her girlfriend, Taylor who both just moved here to go to ASU, came over and stayed the night on Friday. Things like this that make me so happy, yet make me so sad, too. Your Brianna Boo, who loved you so much has finally moved here and we get to do such fun family things together, all while you are not here. I spent all Friday night and Saturday morning doing her laundry, your Daddy and I cooked her homemade meals, everyone went to your brothers basketball game, and I took the girls for mani/pedis, too. All while you are not anywhere to be found and I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this reality, our reality which I know is also the reality for so many others out there who are dealing with the loss of a child. It’s a reality that you never get to escape from or take a break from. It’s a reality that is a lot to carry around and the load never gets any lighter. But hey, thank you White House for saying NO to our little petition and thank you Empire State Building for also DENYING our application to light it up GOLD one day in September. So nice to know you will turn The Empire State Building Orange in honor of Nickelodeon on September 16th though. BARF.

Are you freaking kidding me?! This is an outrage and beyond insulting. Does anybody have any pull with the Empire State Building? Maybe if we all send in 5000 applications, they will listen. Here is the form if you so kindly, want to fill it out.

http://www.esbnyc.com/documents/ESB_LP_Questionnaire_FINAL.pdf

Today, I did my Skype interview for Emotional Mojo. I think it went well. I had a lot of fun doing it and one of the producers I’m working with, is awesome. I sent her a little email this morning, just to cover my bases. It went a little something like, “Hey CeCe! Can I cuss on air?” She replied back with something funny like “Noooooo! We are LIVE! If you cuss, you will be thrown into a black abyss and your message will not get out!” She told me to tape a sign to my computer that reminded me so cussing allowed so that is precisely what I did. Worked like a charm as no F bombs were dropped. They are going to check in with me every couple of weeks to see what it is that we are up to. I’m totally excited for this new little awareness outlet. I even rocked my red lipstick on air because we all know shit gets done when it’s a red lipstick kind of day. I’ll post a link when it goes up so you all can check it out. I hope I made you proud today, Ronan. I hope I make you proud everyday as making you proud is what I live to do.

It’s still pouring down here.  After a very productive pow wow lunch with your Poppy sister in tow, I’ve decided throughout this journey, adventure, or whatever you might call it, I am still learning some very hard lessons.  Lessons that are hard, lessons that are sad, lessons about how I need to be a little more protective of myself.  Lessons about how people at the end of the day, do not have my best interest at heart. I feel let down, but I realize I have to take the higher road with some things and just let them go. I have too much darkness in my life already, and I do not need to be dragged down more. As I was told today, “If people are taking away from this cause, and taking away from what you are doing, because of your DEAD child, those people do not need to be in your life. They have forgotten the true meaning behind this and are taking advantage of your situation. You have to just let all of this go, because at the end of the day, we are here because of your dead son and anybody that takes away from that, is not worthy of being a part of this story.” Wise words from a wise lovie whom I should have listened to a long time ago. I have enough weight to carry around with me and at the end of the day I have no more energy left to take on others issues.

It’s days like today that I am just so fucking over the petty once again, BULLSHIT. Your Sparkly called me a few months ago and left me a voicemail telling me about a little girl he had just met and said something like, “You are a hero, you helped to save her life.” I listened to him go on about how a little girl came into the hospital and as he was treating her, this little girl’s mother, got to talking to him. She mentioned my name and told your Sparkly thanks to me, her daughter may end up being o.k. Nela’s mom started reading my blog about two years ago. Nela’s story started off much like ours. It all started with an “off looking eye,” where the doctors told Nela’s mom it was just allergies and she was over reacting. Nela’s mom said thanks to us and our story, she pushed and trusted her mother’s intuition and insisted on an MRI. The MRI showed a mass behind Nela’s eye and it turned out, Nela did not just have allergies. She has been diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, but luckily, it has been caught early, at Stage 1. Nela’s mom and I have been cooresponding via email messages and just lately, through text messages. I’ve been trying to set aside some time to meet up with her and to meet Nela, but things around here have been beyond slammed. I was coming out of my friend Katie’s kids store the other day and loading Poppy into the car when I saw a mom from across the street, carrying a little girl and she didn’t have much hair. I, of course did a double take as I always do in these situations now. She looked at me and said, “Are you Maya?” I said that I was and she introduced herself and Nela to me. I was a little caught off guard, but in a happy way. I’ve been really wanting to meet this family for a while now. We chatted for a few minutes and I ended up saying, “What are you two up to now? Do you want to come over?” It was so spur of the moment but she had actually been trying to meet up with me on that day, anyway, so it worked out perfectly.

Our new friends came over for about 45 minutes. I watched as Nela ran all about our house. The little thing had so much energy and seemed so happy. I listened to her mom tell me their story as I held on to your Poppy sister. She kept telling me thank you over and over again, even though she said she knows how I don’t like to be told, thanks. I smiled and told her I was happy I could help and if they needed anything, to please let me know. I only teared up after I watched Nela’s mom plop a big, fat kiss on the top of her sweet baby girl’s head. It was at that moment, that my heart sunk a little bit. Moments like that are always bittersweet for me. I am so happy Nela is here and is going to be fine, but gosh, how I miss kissing that sweet little head of yours. And then my mind goes to where you are now, all ashes in an urn. No more bald head to kiss, no more blue eyes to look into, no more hands to hold because they are burnt to a crisp. Is that too morbid? It’s my reality, try living with that every single day. It’s a wonder I am still here.

After our friends left, it was breakdown city. I held your Poppy sister and cried and cried and cried. Your Sparkly ended up calling and I told him, as I was bawling, that I was having a sad day. “I’m sorry,” he said. I miss him, too. C’mon, you have survived sadder days, you are going to be o.k.” I told him I knew as I tried to pull myself together. It didn’t work. I let myself cry a lot for you the next couple of days. All while I continue to fight on and go non-stop because cancer doesn’t sleep so why should I?

Ronan. As you can see, I started this days ago. I am exhausted tonight and I finally had a great run with my friend, Katie, tonight to get some of this angry energy out. I am finally starting to feel like I can get back into a good running routine and I have missed it so much. Tomorrow, we shall inferno hike. Tonight, we sleep.

I miss you. I love you. I hope you are safe.

xoxo

 

Nela, you give me hope.
Nela, you give me hope.

Turns out Maybelline Great Lash Mascara isn’t so great when you’re a bloody mess

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Ronan. Finally, I can sit down and have some time with you. I hate that I haven’t been able to write, let alone breathe lately. I’ve been so unbelievably busy that I swear by the time my head hits the pillow at night, I am out like a light. Such a change from how things used to be. I miss my insomnia nights where I used to stay up and write to you. Poppy has been keeping me incredibly busy. I forgot how time-consuming this whole breast-feeding thing is and your little sister has such an appetite that I swear I am feeding her around the clock. I know it’s what’s best for her and I love spending the time with her doing it, but it does leave little time to get things done around here. I’m just trying to soak it all in still because I know how quickly this time passes. Things are still going amazing with that little sister of yours. She is still a happy girl and is sleeping at night like a champ. None of us can get enough of her. I won’t let her out of my sight and she goes everywhere with me. She even went to her first board meeting the other night and didn’t make a peep as everyone passed her around to love on her. The amount of love for this baby girl blows me away. It’s like she’s getting double the dose from everyone due to the impact you’ve had on all of us, Ronan. She is so lucky to be surrounded by the most amazing souls. I can only imagine what an amazing little human being this will make her. Tomorrow, she will already be 2 months. It has flown by so fast and she is changing so much. She’s now doing really cute things like smiling and cooing at us all. Macy swears she can understand everything we are saying and she trying to have a conversation back with us. The way her eyes look at all of us while we are talking to her makes me think she is right. This Poppy girl already seems to know so much.

Your brothers are out of school. Normally, we would be in San Diego by now but this year we decided to take a little break. Your daddy was burnt out on it and I don’t blame him. One more year of going to the same spot where we always took you, without you was going to be too much for me to handle. I almost had a nervous breakdown last year. Too many almost 4-year-old blond-haired boys running about. Too many swimming pools without you in it. Too much of everything I pretty much never care to see again. It wasn’t therapeutic and it wasn’t healthy for me to be there last year and I have no interest in returning back to a place that I so desperately want to be the same, but it never will be the same again. So we are still in AZ. Your brothers have started a basketball camp which they love but it’s only for a couple of hours a day. The rest of our days have mostly been spent just hanging out having play dates, swimming, and they have helped me with a lot of things around here. We have our little, Rachel, in from NYC. I love having her here so much. We all do. Just another one of those amazing things to come from this blog and from you. She is our family and I love seeing her with your Poppy sister. Now, if I could only get her to move in and be our nanny;) Something tells me that would not be enough to keep our little smarty pants I just graduated NYC and now am working at Columbia University entertained. I am so proud of her and all she is doing. Macy calls her Saint Rachel because she is that amazing at 22. I feel so blessed to have come across this soul who is now a part of our family. We are all going to miss her so much when she leaves. Hopefully she will come out to Washington and visit us when we are there this summer.

That is what we are doing this summer. I am taking your brothers and sister to Nana and Papa’s house. It’s all your brothers have been talking about for months. I’ve been having to listening to them begging to go out earlier, but we had some things to take care of around here first. Believe me, I am just as excited as they are. I miss my parents and my childhood house where I always feel so safe and sound at, even under the shittiest of circumstances. It will be nice to have help with your sister and brothers. Washington is my place of peacefulness where I feel like I can actually breathe for a little bit. And no almost 4 year old blond boys exist. It will be nice to take a little break from the rat race that I often get caught up in here. I have lots of plans that mostly consist of no plans at all, besides spending a ton of time with your brothers and Papa Jim doing our favorite things like fishing, hiking, playing hide and seek until dark, and enjoying all the beauty the pacific northwest has to offer this time of year, including hopefully many days of rain. Please, please, please Washington rain gods, work your magic. I have been missing our rain so much, Ro.

We had a board meeting the other night. We have so many things in the works and so much coming up. A few top secret things that involve a kick ass rockstar. We still have not heard back on the petition to light the Whitehouse Gold for September. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I am still hoping for the best. After the board meeting, I told your daddy I would have Fernanda drive me home because I needed to spend some time with her. We had a lot to talk about and as always, it circled back around to you. I know you know how I am. I don’t let my guard down in front of many people. I much prefer to do all of my crying alone, and don’t often do I do it in front of others. There are only a handful of people who I am comfortable enough with to let everything out. I’ve never had a guard up with Fernanda which is why after our little pow wow, I could barely get my ass back into our house because I was seriously blinded by my tears and the fucking cheap ass mascara I wore that day. Remind me never to wear a different brand of mascara than I normally do. I came into the house, my eyes were black and stinging so badly from the mascara running in them, that I had your daddy in a complete panic. I ran to the bathroom to take out my contacts and wash my face while your daddy hovered over me begging me to tell him what was wrong. It’s the same thing it always is, Ronan. You are dead, I would give anything to have you back, I sometimes still don’t want to be here, because I just want to be with you, where are you? who is taking care of you? and why can’t it be me? Everything in my body still yearns for you, screams for you, begs for you in the worst way. Sometimes your daddy and I sit and bed at night and whisper secrets.

“Do you ever think Poppy has parts of Ronan?” he asked me the other night.
I quietly said, “Yes.”

“Me, too.” he said. “Is that wrong?”

I just told him through my tears, “If it gets us through this, does it really matter?”

I don’t think that it does, Ronan. She is parts of you without a doubt. Just like Liam and Quinn are, too. Many days I catch glimpses of you through your brothers and it helps me in a way. I see you in Quinn’s still sometimes with his mischievous ways. I see you in Liam’s strength and the way he carries himself so proud, like you always did. Poppy feels like you. She reminds me of you. I know you sent her to me to give me a little piece of you back. And some days I think you sent her to me to give me a lot of you back. I don’t care how whack-a-doodle that sounds. Thinking that way helps me to survive this insanely painful life without you here. I can’t tell your baby pictures apart. I can’t get over that she has the same little secret dimple that you had only when you smiled in the same exact spot. It gives me goosebumps and butterflies at the same time. I like living in this Poppyland. It feels o.k. again. Some days it even feels good.

Alright little man. I miss you so much. I miss you. I love you. I hope you are safe. Sweet dreams baby doll. G’nite.

xoxo

P.S. Please keep our Kassie safe while she is away on her amazing African adventure. I know she took you with her. Thanks, baby.

P.P.S. Does anybody know anybody high up at our local cable company Cox Communications?? Woody went to tour one of our Ronanld McDonald Houses here today because we are looking to help them with some of their wish list items. We would like to make some things better for the families that have to stay there. Turns out, they don’t have the place wired for cable because Cox wants to charge them full price and won’t give them a discount. Seriously? That makes me so mad. I love it when people try to make money off of people who are going through a hard time. It’s a freaking non-profit, Cox Communications. Give me a break. I might like to write them a little letter or speak to somebody who is higher up over there. Thanks, lovies for anything you can do.

xx

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A tutu, mustache wearing, dance party, hike with a little badass Bee

Ronan. I cooked the eggies this morning. And the sausage. And bacon. Fruit. I had croissants that Rita gave me last night, but I forgot to take them out of your daddy’s car. They were the kind that are frozen and you leave them out over night, to rise. Your daddy called me this afternoon. “Did Rita give you croissants or something last night?” “Yeah! I can’t find them!” I said. “They are in the back of my car. They are rising as we speak. I’ll run them home for you.”

I chuckled. Grief brain. What an asshole it is. I cooked them anyway for your brothers. They were an awesome afternoon snack for them. I felt like a good mom for not burning them. I played baseball with your brothers, too. I tried really hard to be a good mom today. I’m exhausted from it all. It was a long day of missing you.

I ran around and got some things done this morning. I met up with Mandy Bee. She has been gone a lot so I have not seen much of her. I miss her and the ability she has to make me forget about all this pain for a bit. Even if it’s only for a few hours. I told her I had to get my hike in for the day. She offered to come, even though she had already done some crazy work out early in the morning. I told her I would love for her to come with me. We both decided that we needed to hike in our tutu’s today. We ran to her house and got hers and then met back up at our house. We drove to the mountain and went on probably one of the best hikes I’ve had since you’ve been gone. We bolted up the mountain for 90 minutes of pure craziness. We went on a different trail with music from her iPhone blaring, and we full on had a dance party the whole way to the top. I laughed. I wore my mustache sunglasses. I didn’t cry hiking that mountain today with Mandy Bee. I got lost in the world that she creates for me which is either really, really sad when I need it to be. Or else it is really, really happy. In the craziest way possible. We looked like we were nuts today. It felt good to look nuts and not in the way that I normally look hiking that mountain with red eyes and black mascara running down my face. The break from that was much needed, especially after last nights heavy-hearted hike. I know I desperately need more days like today where I am able to laugh and let go. They don’t come very often but when they do…. watch out. They make me feel like I am on top of the world with you right by my side, holding my hand. My best days always remind me of you.

I did not decide on our trip today. I am procrastinating in a big way.  I deserved today. I just could not deal with the pressure of making any big decisions about fucking May. Maybe tomorrow.

Short post tonight, baby doll. The little sleep I had last night is hitting me. I miss you. I love you. I hope you are safe. G’nite. Sweet dreams

xoxo