Witnessing about pontine strokes

Linda and I met another couple today, like us but reversed. The husband has had a stroke like Linda's, and they are still early in the recovery process. From 2-3pm this afternoon, his wife and son asked us questions about Linda experiences. Being at the beginning, they naturally have a lot of work ahead of them. They were fascinated by how well Linda has done, getting a glimpse of a possible future. It was nice to be able to do a good turn for the next person.

Linda had her 6 month checkup. They seemed pleased with how she is doing. We'll be back in another 6 months.

Tears wash out your eyes

Ellie has pink eye, so I'll be taking her to the doc today as soon as I can get her in. Her class has a field trip to a petting zoo today, and she doesn't know yet, but she won't be able to go. She has to spend the day with Dad.

Knowing there would be disappointments like this made me reluctant to ever have kids in the first place.

In other news, Ellie has learned to play tic-tac-toe. She knows the best place to put your X is in the center square. Luckily Dad knows the ins and outs of the game and isn't of a ruthless character. She hasn't guessed yet that the game is pointless because with good players no one ever wins.

Naturally I've been trying to help her see that there are strategies you can employ to clobber the other 5-year-olds when they don't play optimally. That's what dads are for.

Is it vanity

At Hy Vee today they were obvious trying to clear one kind of hair conditioner off the shelf because it was discounted and all of the bottles around it were the same higher price. I looked at it, and it said that it accents blond highlights. So I bought it for Ellie. Is it vanity to buy something like that if it isn't really for yourself? I don't personally use conditioner since I discovered I'm allergic to some shampoos--better just avoided.

Missed opportunity

One of my friends said I always talk about my money successes but never mention my mistakes. I discovered when computing my tax return (and I do get a return) that with a bit of planning last year, and at no real inconvenience to myself, I could have boosted my return by $1000.

And I don't mean the kind of money that comes from IRA contributions (there you just reduce your tax now only to pay it later). I mean $1000 real dollars; just less tax paid. Ahh well. I'm prepared for next year.

Happy Valentine's Day

I don't believe in Valentine's day. But I bought some candy on sale today. I believe in candy.

Road trip

Ellie had a sleepover with a friend last night so I could be driver for a student road trip to Columbia, Mo. We had dinner (my first time at Chipotle) then made our way to Cherry Street Artisan to watch a bellydance troupe give a performance. Some of the dancing was really great, some of it was down right weird, but mostly it was fun.

Ellie had a great time at her sleepover, and naturally there were tears when she had to come home. But she seems to have recovered and is contentedly engaged in a movie now.

Anniversary time

Yes, Wednesday the 7th was the three-year anniversary of Linda's stroke. But we prefer to remember that tomorrow is the 18th anniversary of our first date. That makes me think to calculate: in about 4 months, I'll have been dating Linda more of my life than I haven't been dating her. (Hint, you can estimate my age from this information). I think we're going to go out for lunch.

Gotta take that kid to Iowa

When I stopped at school to pick up Ellie, the classroom had a delightfully buttery smell. The teacher told me they had had popcorn this afternoon. When I caught Ellie's attention, she held up a blue cup and told me the same thing, "We had popcorn today, and I got to keep some of the seeds. We can plant them in the garden and make corn trees." I nodded and smiled and told her that when I grew up on the farm, we grew popcorn too.

Sick

I've had a cold all week. Every day I think I'll feel better tomorrow and I don't. Except today, I think maybe I do feel better than yesterday. That's probably just as well, since it isn't so easy to go to the doctor on a weekend.

Life didn't get less busy so I could be sick. The computers at work have been giving minor fits. For the most part, I've been able to keep that from being noticed by the users, so I guess it's not been too bad. But it takes extra time when things go wrong. Of course you try to fix the problems, but when possible I try to make it so I get a "heads up" a bit before problems start. It's nicer if there's no "next time."

Cold

I suppose I don't have to mention how cold it is. Linda is staying in for the most part, although we did go out earlier in the week to buy a towel bar. It was her first trip to the Kirksville Home Depot. She was kind of bored, although in principle she likes the store. It's more a matter of she likes to look at different things than I do.

Still, Linda especially will be happy to see warmer weather. She's a lot slower when it is colder.