JoAnna and I are suffering through a second week of a summer cold. Actually, "suffering" is probably too strong a word. It's not like we've been down and out. What started out as a slight sore throat gave way to clogged sinuses accompanied by a cough and a lack of zip. We haven't missed any work. Until last night, JoAnna hadn't been sleeping too well. A dose and a half of NyQuil took care of that problem. I've limited my drug intake to an occasional Vicks cold and cough fizzy drink. I usually wake up in the morning feeling worse than when I went to bed, but once I start moving around -- stretching, doing my usual 20 minutes of Walkfit -- I start to feel better.
The boys have remained healthy. They both started their baseball seasons Monday night. Same time, different diamonds. I watched the first couple innings of Eddie's couch-pitch game, long enough to see him run out an infield hit. None of his teammates could bring him around to score. On Saturday, I thought Eddie's baseball season might be over. He didn't want to attend his practice. At first he was reluctant to tell us the reason why. Not completely successful in holding back his tears, he said, "Some kids don't like me." JoAnna and I exchanged wounded glances while Eddie tried to compose himself. Eddie knows a few of the boys on the team. In fact, one of them, Derek, has been his best friend through most of 1st grade. Through gentle prodding, we convinced him to attend his practice. When we picked him up, he appeared to be in good spirits. On Monday, he seemed to be eager to get to his game, especially after I told him that his coach would have a t-shirt for him. (For some unexplained reasons, he didn't get his shirt last week when the rest of the team did. When I asked him about it, he didn't seem to want to acknowledge the question.)
Andy's team was playing just a short walk away. I let Eddie know where I was going and he didn't object. I was able to watch Andy pitch the 3rd and 4th innings of his game. He struck out the first two batters in the 3rd, but the next batter, his good friend Rex, popped a basehit to left-center. He was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, so Andy was out of the inning. In the 4th,k Andy struck out the first batter and threw the next two batters out at first. The second ball hit to him was a bullet I didn't think he had a chance to catch, but, as he told me later, he looked in his glove and there was the ball. He really played well. JoAnna and I were very proud of him.
This weather we've been having makes me wonder whatever happened to global warming. Saturday was cool and overcast, with occasional showers. JoAnna and I painted Andy’s bedroom. We moved Eddie into the blue bedroom. On Sunday it was warm enough for the boys to swim at the new outdoor pool. Monday night I bought along a sweatshirt to Eddie’s ballgame and put it on before the end of the first inning. I found JoAnna in her hooded sweatshirt at Andy’s game. Tuesday was downright ugly. Rain all day. The temperature barely reached 60. Today’s a bit of an improvement, as the sun is finally starting to burn through the cloud cover. I may actually have to wear my shades to the game tonight.
Boxer must wonder why his family spend so little time at home during the week. On Monday, for example, we’re out of the house shortly after 8. I make a brief midday appearance for lunch. We’re all in and out of the house prior to the boys’ baseball games and then gone for another 2½ hours. At least he had some company yesterday evening, but tonight will be a repeat of Monday’s schedule. He got a booster shot this weekend but the vet suggested that we wait until he’s 12 weeks old to get him declawed. He loves to play. This morning he was around my face at 3:30. “Too early, Kitty Meowsers,” I saw as I carry him out of the bedroom and close the door to prevent further interruption of my sleep. For the past two nights, he’s been going to bed with Eddie, who almost takes it personally when Boxer, in a playful mood, scoots away as Eddie tries to pick him up.
My mom wrote us a letter last week but included no additional information about my dad. In the Nelson family, no news is not necessarily good news, but I take it that the bed set up off the kitchen and the specially designed chair have helped for the present. Dad has no upper-body or arm strength left. The couple time he fell recently, Mom had to get one of my brothers to help out. I’m thankful that Lar, Barb, and Dale still live in Warren. Otherwise, we’d have a family crisis on our hands.
Sorry to end the letter on such a down note.
We enjoyed your recent visit and look forward to your helping us host our Bastille Day party.
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