Thanks to the folks at school from John Mycroft

What nice people

I've told all the teachers and the kids at school about my multiple myeloma and the support I've had has been great all round.  The teachers are all used now, I think, to having me tell them honestly "How are you?" in the morning (a 3 word report is enough - they don't want or need to know my blood count though I'm happy to tell anyone who is interested).
I told the kids that I teach about the illness and some of the side effects of the drugs they may be on the pointed end of (didn't bother with the flatulence and I tend to sit down rather than fall over when the knees get wobbly).  They've all been great when I have got a bit hyper on steroid days or a bit crabby on "coming down" days.  Haven't reduced anyone to tears yet so I suppose that's a good thing.
A few people have said they'll pray for me (which is appreciated regardless of their religion) though nobody has asked me to pray with them which is also appreciated.
Sandy Donohue at Oakley Elementary (where Sam went up til 5th grade and where Susan teaches) has kept me supplied with delicious comfort food - banana pud, apple pie and a new pie waiting to be demolished this weekend with a little help from my friends.
Even the folks in school admin have been more friendly.  The head of school - who told me "You are pissing me off" when I raised some concerns recently - has made passing "hang in there" comments.   Leesa in the business office has been her usual lovely self - nothing like getting a friendly note attached to an expense check.
Still don't know what next year holds in store - looks like a part-time job just as I am ready to ramp up a full time STEM course.  Odd that the school can afford to put in new floors in the basketball court but can't find a technology teacher's pay - nothing against my school, this attitude is endemic in education.  Hence the fact we have rah-rah signing ceremonies for people signing to play basketball at some piss-ant college while those heading to Caltech, MIT or Cornell just sneak off.  But, as is so often the case, I risk ranting (hey, I've been awake since 2 a.m. so I'm allowed)

Am I becoming my Dad?

I forgot my Google password (actually my computer did - that's what I pay it for) so I had to create another new one.  Time to revert to an old obscene generic one - if some hacker wants to hack my email, they're welcome.  Google wanted to send the link to my cellphone so off I bumbled in the dark (it's 5 a.m.) to find it.  Usual method of padding along the top of my dresser failed to turn it up.  At least I knew what I was looking for and didn't ask anyone else to help me.

Today's plans

I'm ready to roll on the few little projects I have in mind.  Job number one is to move the dead leaves off the side border now they aren't needed for thermal insulation for our bulbs.  Don't think Sam or the neighbours would appreciate the sound of my plastic wheeled barrow trundling over the deck boards just yet.  There's a small pile of crap at the top of the basement stairs to go downstairs - when will I stop hoarding packing materials?  And I want to write a Python program for website scraping, inspired by a quick and dirty I did on Friday to combine 127 links from a website into a single 258 page Word document.  And while I am messing with Python, I really should write the programming class's end of year project today (he said, immodestly).  I have learned that I may not be teaching programming next year - so much for 40 years' experience (to be fair, mostly not with Python).
We're also having dinner (burgers) with Susan's sister and her hubbie and I have a t-shirt I need to print.
Time for second breakfast.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where's the teapot?

Insomnia, where is thy stingalingaling? I can't really say I enjoy sleeping as I'm not there to appreciate it.  However, getting up to go to the bathroom at 2:15 and finding that my feeble brain thinks that's it for the night has a certain lack of charm, too.  So, having set myself a couple of deadlines ("If I'm not asleep by 3 a.m., I'm getting up.")  I've been up since 4:05 and what better or more traditional way of celebrating than with a pot of Typhoo.  Not a bag dunked in a mug but a proper laid out on a tray (no lace doily) pot of char complete with milk bottle, spoon and ramekin to drop the bags in when the time comes.  But somewhere hidden deep in the bowels of our expensive kitchen (thanks, Annie) lurks our big green teapot.  I can picture it in every cupboard - up front and centre in the plate cupboard, lurking with the weird half bottles of cooking tequila above the stove, everywhere.  But can I find it?  Nah.  I spread the searc...
Read more

A Last Day of Insanity

A Last Day of Insanity I start chemo at 8 a.m. tomorrow so today involved some last minute stupidity.  I'm supposed to get exercise to stop me feeling tired (they really expect me to believe that?) so I refereed three games at a soccer tournament yesterday and three more today.  I'm too miserly to buy a pedometer / Fitbit so I can only guess at how far I walk, jog, sprint, run backwards during a soccer game but it's not unreasonable to say that, as I don't really stand still much for the duration, I cover maybe 3 miles in a 1 hour game.  So now my legs ache and the muscles in them are slowly tying themselves in knots. The no-alcohol beer regime starts tomorrow and I plan to start tonight as turning up at the hospital with a hangover is generally frowned upon.  I have visions of having something like a football pump of bubbling green acid shot into my belly so I'm sure reality will be better. I'm not allowed processed meat at all (I think it's because all...
Read more

Thank you to my "support group"

The idea of a disease support group has always made me say "no thanks" and I still don't fancy the thought of sitting with a load of other people discussing symptoms.  However, I can't express how grateful I am to the people around me who are propping me up right now.  Susan, of course, is her usual unflappable, patient and understanding self, despite the crap she has to put up with at work.  To have to come home to discover that I have eaten tonight's dinner for lunch can't possibly fill her heart with joy. I enjoy the regular phone calls from Ithaca where we talk about nothing in particular.  Susan's sister Jean keeps me up to date on what's happening in Texas and shares, just a little, her own experiences with cancer.  Folks at school are, as always, curious and cheerful and put up with my actually answering the traditional greeting of "How are you?" honestly.  I feel I owe it to them to tell them I feel like crap, a bit wobbly, starving ...
Read more