We've been up and out early to Sully's weekly chemotherapy appointments. Sometimes they last a couple hours, sometimes we're there from 8:30am until 7:00pm, and other times we're in-patient for 4 days. It has become a part of our regular routine and we knock it down while handling the rest of our affairs. It's been an interesting year for sure, with COVID adding to the challenges. These kids going to school virtually stay in their pajamas half the day, lay in bed with their laptops, and occasionally they sit up at a desk for class. It's not just my kids, it's most of their classmates too. They have become all too comfortable with this new way of learning.
My kids have managed to stay on honor roll, but this new way of doing things seems to have dulled their spirit. I wonder when things return to normal if it will be difficult for them because they've become so comfortable at home, or if they'll embrace getting back into the classroom. Only time will tell. As for Sully the virtual learning has been a blessing because he could not return to the classroom right now even if it was in session because his immune system is compromised from the chemotherapy treatments. We are hoping that he will be able to return in the spring or sometime soon after.
It's hard to believe that it's been almost 7 months since that night back in May when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. It was the worst night of my life. The number 11 has been a recurring theme in my life since I was a child. It hasn't always been a bad omen, just something that seems to mark and emphasize notable events in my life; beginnings and endings, good things and bad things.
I
remember how uncanny it was when the doctor in the emergency room told
me there as a "malignancy" in his blood and that there was a chance it
could be Leukemia but further testing needed to be done. I started
crying and looked over at him in the glass bubble, immediately noticing he was
in room 11.
The days since then have taken on a new importance, but we have somehow found consistency in our daily routines.
Last
night I went into the kitchen after doing some work in my home office
and I caught Sully making chicken salad. Maybe it's me, but I was impressed. It reminded me how independent,
driven, and undeterred this 10 year old is. He is so smart and
ambitious and sometimes seems more self-sufficient than my teenagers.
As he was putting the container into the refrigerator I asked him what he was doing and he replied matter-of-factly,
"I have class at 8am. I made chicken salad so that I can have lunch on my break."
I had everything I could do to not laugh as he walked by me with his chest puffed out and proceeded to the basement. He returned slapping a bag of frozen rolls onto the counter to thaw for morning and exited the room in a strictly business manner without even making eye contact with me.
Just another day.
I love him.
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