Tri report: Finished swim after weather delay. Delayed on bike by (1) broken pedal & (2) flat tire. Finished bike. No run because of storm.
KT, analyzing a movie character: "He has a lot of anger, and he's taking it out on people. That's not appropriate."
Mr. Potato Head's transformation to Mr. Tortilla in Toy Story 3 never fails to make all three of us laugh.
No school. Lots of rain. Entryway scattered with assortment of Playmobil sets. Happy Coop and KT.
Found a soup recipe all three of us like: lentil, barley and ham.
Steve loved The Daily Show; I can't bear to watch it without him. (Same with 60 Minutes.) Making an exception tonight. (Grief is strange.)
Run for Steve Damm team now has 71 members! Join us May 14 in Frisco to raise money to fight brain tumors!
Me: "KT, do you think you'll break that rule again?" KT: "That's hard to say. I don't want to, but I might." (At least she's honest.)
Thinking of Steve already and then one of his faves, Elvis Costello, comes on the radio. I can still hear Steve singing along.
The troops are restless at Rachel's Rally.
Steve graduated from Michigan 20 years ago yesterday. We met a few months later. Forever thankful for all the events that led to our future.
Feverish, earachey KT in my bed: "Why did Daddy have to die?"
Oh, KT is having a rough day. Fever. Shot at the doctor. So many tears. And this: "Why does God let bad things happen?"
KT is still sick. She's afraid she's ruined Mother's Day. But she's made it possible for me to do what moms love most: Cuddle their babies.
Now it feels like Mother's Day: My Coop is home from Cub World, a little smelly and a lot tired.
Coop is playing the piano while on speaker phone so my mom, in a nursing home in Temple, can hear. Sweet, sweet boy.
KT needs to get better & back to school & away from television. She's asked for pajama jeans. "Please! They're jeans but as comfy as PJs!"
So proud of the 2nd-grader I tutor weekly. She's made huge improvement in math and overall confidence.
KT is taking oral steroids for respiratory symptoms. They make her super manic. On top of her dramatic personality. (Sorry, Mrs. Harris!)
Sleepy KT: "I know you think I'm the best girl in the world, Mommy, but actually you are."
KT: "I wish there was no such thing as doing the wrong thing so people wouldn't have to go to their rooms."
Looking forward to seeing about 80 friends & family members at Head for the Cure 5K in Frisco tomorrow! I'm thankful for so much support.
Coop & KT are looking at photo album from Chicago, spring 2008. So thankful for sweet memories of life with Steve.
Celebrating last dose of steroids for KT. Praying that (1) she's recovering from respiratory trouble & (2) steroid-induced mania goes away.
Great 5K this morning, surrounded by the best extended family. Thank you all for running, walking and supporting Head for the Cure!
KT: "This is a problem. I am scared to forgive. Once it's in my heart, I can't let it go."
Best day ever to be at the park. Love that we have a real spring.
KT asked me to say a prayer this morning to help her be kind to others. "Make it a long prayer so it will work better."
It's difficult to contain my excitement on yearbook release day (even with the flashbacks of my high school yearbook editing days.)
Neighbor Jenny Reeves placed first in her age group in the Head for the Cure 5K. Today she gave me her medal in memory of Steve. <3
After much deliberation, I have registered for another triathlon. June 5 in Irving. (Small and nervous "yay.")
KT: "Sometime at school I wish we could play the loud game to see who can be the loudest." (I think she's tiring of the quiet game.)
I can't keep track of the number of times daily I want to chat with Steve about our children. He would be so tickled & smitten & proud.
"We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts." (Madeleine L'Engle)
I love spring storms -- but not just before school dismissal.
Hail at the Damm house. (It's like I'm cursing twice in one sentence!)
Introducing Coop to the Mecca. He can't decide between a burger or chicken-fried steak.
Delicious discovery: Fresh watercress as a final ingredient to potato leek soup.
Drove by our first house. Steve's 30th birthday tree, a sturdy live oak, is much too big to steal.
I braved Teel Parkway on my bike. Until an angry/distracted driver seemed to want me off the road. Back to the sidewalk.
KT: "You should make something fancy. Like a hamburger with lettuce and tomato. And a toothpick stuck in the middle."
Coop just held the door for four women. Then saw a Block M and hollered "Go Blue!" Totally what his daddy would have done in both cases.
One mom, two sleepy kids and a Scottie huddled in a tiny, windowless bathroom.
Kindergarteners are interviewing 1st-graders to get ready for next year. KT: "It makes me so badly want to start first grade right now."
KT: "Jesus died but not really. He's always alive, all around us. And that means we're always alive, too."
Field Day, day 1. No time to exercise before, but I think five hours outside with fourth-graders is sort of like training for a triathlon.
KT: "When I was a toddler, I talked a lot. It's just how God made me."
Sunburn hurts terribly. I was deceived by pleasant temperatures. But there's no excuse for a 39-year-old with fair skin to get so crispy.
Field Day, day 2. Today I'm with kindergarten and covered head to toe to prevent more sunburn.
Longest field day ever.
In a week there will be a 5th-grader & 1st-grader in the house. I should start drinking more water now to stay hydrated for certain tears.
KT: "Mommy, if Cooper and I were dragons, we would breathe fire on anyone who's mean to you." (No one's being mean, but it's good to know.)
KT: "I shouldn't say this about a living creature, but (pause) that fish is fat."
KT: "When I see pictures of Daddy, I just want to have him here right now, where we can actually see him. I want my Daddy."
Constantly reminding myself that today is Tuesday.
Me: KT, will you please make sure your room is *really* clean? KT: Oh, I know what you mean. It's like checking your work.
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