Saturday night. All is quiet here at 7:26PM. Boys were in bed early due to a lovely stomach bug that has traveled from JP to Aaron to Seth. Girls are with their dad. Dog is sleeping very soundly on the floor next to me and Stella is... well, she's around here somewhere.
I have to brag right now about my boys' sleeping habits lately. They are in bed every night at 7PM and asleep by 7:05. They don't fuss, they don't cry. They just lay down and go to sleep. And they stay that way (unless they are sick) until 6:30AM. A long, hard time on the way to this point. Sleepless nights were countless. I remember very clearly going to work on an hour or two of sleep. I believe coffee was created by God very shortly after the first twin birth happened as an act of mercy.
On a more serious note:
My sister called a little bit ago with some bad news. Wait... let me start this over.
Yeah, this is gonna be long.
I grew up in a bitty little town here in Mass. By bitty, I mean I graduated with 48 other people. My street was a little side street, unless you lived there or were visiting someone who did there was no reason to go on it. That meant lots of kids riding bikes, hide and seek, drawing chalk race tracks on the roads, lemonade stands, hide the belt, playing in the woods that surrounded us, mucking through the swamp towards the golf course, fishing in Manmade Pond, visiting the Grandfather Tree, playing Monopoly or Clue with neighbors. It also meant that we knew each other's business.
Across the street, to the left, was a family we'll call the "R" family. Big family. They matched us 5 kids in ages pretty well, so everyone in my family was pretty close to everyone in their family. To this day one of them still lives in the neighborhood. She actually owns my dog's siblings. And she even has her old phone number. Another of the sister's is still very close to both my sisters. My sister Kathy and her are as close now as they were years ago. They spend weekends hanging out still, talk on the phone, yada yada. This big ole family went through some very, very tough times.
The oldest male of their family, Jimbo, was killed in fire at the age of 21. He was my brother Jim's best friend. He died on New Year's and for years and years (it must over 20 years right?) now not a countdown goes down without all of us remembering him and saying a silent little hello to him. I remember that first New Year's Eve without him. Our two families were in our living room. We counted down to that first anniversary and then it was just quiet. To say that his death affected our two families is like saying there a couple of stars in the sky.
Other things that happened are private and I won't go there on here. Suffice it to say, they never had it easy. Jimbo's death set into motion a devolution of the R family.
The youngest son Ted, my good friend growing up, years later had a brain tumor. He was very touch and go and the surgeries were ultimately a success. He is a sportswriter now, nothing could suit him better. I remember him SCREAMING at the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and even the Bruins. Good lord but he loved him some sports!!! In 1986 I think Buckner himself heard the primal screams coming from that house.
Through all of this, the matriarch of the family was a figure of strength and grace. Mrs. R is a survivor of so much. She was and still is a power house. She was also a great source of comfort and trust to my sister Kathy. Kate goes to visit her nearly every weekend. They have a connection I cannot put into words. I think it has to do with that inner strength that they both have. Even though I think sometimes Kathy doesn't realize hers. (Yes you)
Mrs. R was rushed into the emergency room tonight for abdominal pain. She has cancer. Tomorrow she will have surgery. The prognosis is not good.
So tonight, I'm thinking about the R family. I'm thinking about the skating rink in their backyard. I remembering Jimbo's big laugh and the time when he broke his jaw. How he would blend up anything and drink it through the wires in his mouth(Big mac Jimbo? Blend it up!). I am thinking about Annie's long nails and how she would spend hours with Beth doing my hair and makeup. I'm thinking about Robin's amazing shoe collection. Lisa riding around on her ten speed with me on the handlebars. I'm thinking about their playroom in the basement and how everything was a competition with Ted. Fried bologna. Pickles, they always had pickles in their fridge! I'm thinking about the races, the kick ball games, the sleep outs in little tents in the backyard. I'm thinking about all of them.
Mrs R... I'm thinking all good thoughts for you and praying that everything goes well. You've battled much bigger than cancer. And you've always won, so kick some ass okay?
Kathy, it's all gonna be fine. Take a deep breath and know that it's all gonna be okay.
I have to brag right now about my boys' sleeping habits lately. They are in bed every night at 7PM and asleep by 7:05. They don't fuss, they don't cry. They just lay down and go to sleep. And they stay that way (unless they are sick) until 6:30AM. A long, hard time on the way to this point. Sleepless nights were countless. I remember very clearly going to work on an hour or two of sleep. I believe coffee was created by God very shortly after the first twin birth happened as an act of mercy.
On a more serious note:
My sister called a little bit ago with some bad news. Wait... let me start this over.
Yeah, this is gonna be long.
I grew up in a bitty little town here in Mass. By bitty, I mean I graduated with 48 other people. My street was a little side street, unless you lived there or were visiting someone who did there was no reason to go on it. That meant lots of kids riding bikes, hide and seek, drawing chalk race tracks on the roads, lemonade stands, hide the belt, playing in the woods that surrounded us, mucking through the swamp towards the golf course, fishing in Manmade Pond, visiting the Grandfather Tree, playing Monopoly or Clue with neighbors. It also meant that we knew each other's business.
Across the street, to the left, was a family we'll call the "R" family. Big family. They matched us 5 kids in ages pretty well, so everyone in my family was pretty close to everyone in their family. To this day one of them still lives in the neighborhood. She actually owns my dog's siblings. And she even has her old phone number. Another of the sister's is still very close to both my sisters. My sister Kathy and her are as close now as they were years ago. They spend weekends hanging out still, talk on the phone, yada yada. This big ole family went through some very, very tough times.
The oldest male of their family, Jimbo, was killed in fire at the age of 21. He was my brother Jim's best friend. He died on New Year's and for years and years (it must over 20 years right?) now not a countdown goes down without all of us remembering him and saying a silent little hello to him. I remember that first New Year's Eve without him. Our two families were in our living room. We counted down to that first anniversary and then it was just quiet. To say that his death affected our two families is like saying there a couple of stars in the sky.
Other things that happened are private and I won't go there on here. Suffice it to say, they never had it easy. Jimbo's death set into motion a devolution of the R family.
The youngest son Ted, my good friend growing up, years later had a brain tumor. He was very touch and go and the surgeries were ultimately a success. He is a sportswriter now, nothing could suit him better. I remember him SCREAMING at the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and even the Bruins. Good lord but he loved him some sports!!! In 1986 I think Buckner himself heard the primal screams coming from that house.
Through all of this, the matriarch of the family was a figure of strength and grace. Mrs. R is a survivor of so much. She was and still is a power house. She was also a great source of comfort and trust to my sister Kathy. Kate goes to visit her nearly every weekend. They have a connection I cannot put into words. I think it has to do with that inner strength that they both have. Even though I think sometimes Kathy doesn't realize hers. (Yes you)
Mrs. R was rushed into the emergency room tonight for abdominal pain. She has cancer. Tomorrow she will have surgery. The prognosis is not good.
So tonight, I'm thinking about the R family. I'm thinking about the skating rink in their backyard. I remembering Jimbo's big laugh and the time when he broke his jaw. How he would blend up anything and drink it through the wires in his mouth(Big mac Jimbo? Blend it up!). I am thinking about Annie's long nails and how she would spend hours with Beth doing my hair and makeup. I'm thinking about Robin's amazing shoe collection. Lisa riding around on her ten speed with me on the handlebars. I'm thinking about their playroom in the basement and how everything was a competition with Ted. Fried bologna. Pickles, they always had pickles in their fridge! I'm thinking about the races, the kick ball games, the sleep outs in little tents in the backyard. I'm thinking about all of them.
Mrs R... I'm thinking all good thoughts for you and praying that everything goes well. You've battled much bigger than cancer. And you've always won, so kick some ass okay?
Kathy, it's all gonna be fine. Take a deep breath and know that it's all gonna be okay.
your right she has been and will continueto be one of my best friends she's to strong to let this get her and no bo you can't have her yet she has to meet tommy THIS SUCKS THOUGH !! ITS HARD TO SWALLOW, LOVE YOU JENN
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