The Branches go to Kazakhstan:  Part Deux

12:17:06 PM EDT

Bullet point summary of the past month and a half ...

1.  Had a great time in England.  Learned a lot. Still need to write paper.  Bad me.  Bad me.  Also went to France over the weekend.

2.  Went to Maryland for Cousin Courtney's graduation.  Celebrated birthdays.  Came home.

3.  Colin graduates from Hopewell High School.

4.  Kids all go to camp ... little ones to South Carolina, big ones to Skycroft, Maryland.

5.  Back to Maryland for Ashlea & Jason's wedding.  Lots of fun .. very hot.  Beautiful bride.  Colin, Quentin & Christian look great in tuxes.  Girls beautiful jr. bridesmaid and flower girl.

5.  Two days spent at orientatin at Western Carolina University.  Colin would like to leave now.  Move in day:  August 15.

6.  One lazy week ...

7.  July 9:  Melanie has her bone graft surgery.  Updates to follow.

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10:37:57 AM EDT

Well, one week from today I'm headed back to England.  My stellar prince of a husband (I LOVE YOU HONEY!) is letting me go to Oxford for 2 weeks to attend a seminar on British Librarianship, in connection with UNC-Chapel Hill's LIS department.  I will get 3 hours credit (well, after I submit a 15-20 page research paper, ack!) and I won't have to go to summer school.  You see, if I take one class each term (fall, spring, summer) I'll finish my degree in 4 years.  (One year down, 3 to go!)  I am so looking forward to being in England again.  The last time I went was 1998, with my mom and friend Robin. 

I know, 2 weeks ... no kids!  No housework!  No rat race!  No nothing!  Just academia and culture, oh and don't forget the pub crawls!  I know I'll miss home, but that will make it all the more wonderful to come home.  I think everyone deserves a break from life now & then.  I lived in London for a summer with Judith (see entry in October 2007) and feel so much at home there. 

Totally off the subject ... we were so captivated by the PBS series "Carrier" this week.  Wow ... it just knocked us off our feet.  If you have the chance to buy the video, DO IT.  It will give you an idea of what our armed forces go through in this war on terror.  (Whoops, mis-typed that as War OF terror.  Hmmm ... freudian slip?)

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8:05:44 PM EDT

Here is Melanie's school picture from last fall.  Before she cut her hair off.  After all, this blog was originally all about her!

 

 

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5:33:40 PM EDT

Today I was driving down to Melanie's school to pick her up for a doctor's appointment.  She's usually starving by the time she gets home from school so I pulled into Jack-in-the-Box for a healthy (bah!) snack for her to eat on the way.  As I'm pulling out into the very heavy traffic, I see a movement on the hood of my car.  There, sitting on the hood looking me straight in the eye is a MOUSE.  No, I'm not panicking at all, trying not to cause a major traffic accident over a stupid mouse.  He took one look at me, with those sweet little black eyes, and ran back under the hood (you know, the gap between the windshield wipers and the actual hood).  Of course I drove the rest of the way with one foot up on the seat.  I ran into the school and asked for a "man" (I know, genderist again) to come and make sure there wasn't a colony of the darn things living under there.  Well, dummy me in my agitated state couldn't figure out how to pop the hood.  He saw the suspect, stuck a stick in there and saw it scamper away under the hood.  So I was forced to drive the rest of the afternoon without knowing if it would pop out at me at any moment.  I'm such a baby.

Back at home I finally figured out how to pop the hood (they HID the latch) and of course there was no sign of our Little Furry Friend.  I just hope the stowaway wasn't running away from the family which may or may not be living in our garage.

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10:08:44 AM EDT

Jeepers, the woodland creatures are taking over.  Yesterday afternoon the kids and I were sitting on the porch after school, just chilling, enjoying the Carolina blue sky and warm weather (finally!) when Boudreaux, out in the yard, started barking and barking.  The new neighbors have a cat that likes to sit on the other side of the fence and taunt him (I know what he's thinking:  heh, dumb dog.  I can jump over this fence right now and claw your eyes out, you can't, nyah nyah!) so I thought the cat was back.  I didn't pay much attention, but eventually got up to yell at him.  Well, 'tweren't no cat, Boudreaux had a SNAKE backed up against a tree!  The snake was all coiled up, head up, and striking at Boud.  Boudreaux would back up when he struck, so thank goodness I don't think he was bitten.  From one angle it looked like the snake had a hood, and my brain registered "COBRA" even though intellectually I knew we weren't in India and cobras don't live in this area (do they?)  I screamed at the dog to come, and finally he did.  We stood on the deck watching the FOUR FOOT LONG (at least) black (and not dangerous) snake slither into the woods.  <SHUDDER>  They probably eat the vermin that hang around the woods, and I was glad to see him, but I was also glad to see him go.

But he must have missed a rodent yesterday, because this morning ... as we're all sleepily trying to get coffee and cereal and bookbags packed, I see out of the corner of my eye a brown blur go by on the floor.  Quickly, and MOUSILY.  Yep, a mouse was in the house.  I've apparently been watching too many Tom & Jerry cartoons, because without thinking, I jumped up onto a chair, Lisa screamed, "EEEEEK!" and ran into the bedroom calling for David, who is at this time in the midst of a deep REM sleep.  He comes stumbling out of the room, armed with a swiffer mop, ready for battle.  The darn thing ran to & fro, scared out of its wits, and ended up running under the dishwasher.  Ugh ... the kids were completely freaked out and wouldn't go into the kitchen to get their breakfast.

Okay, Mr. Snake, you're fired.  Dereliction of duty.

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6:29:06 AM EDT

...and the cobwebs are accumulating at warp speed.  This school thing is kicking my butt, but now that it's over, well, I'm back!

My dad is not doing well.  My dad, once an international businessman who made his living negotiating with foreign governments to allow the construction of oil terminals, who at one time had a passport that was so full it had an accordion insert that fell about 3 feet when opened; who opened corporate offices in Japan, the Philippines and Singapore; who in his retirement ran half-marathons, was studying to be a personal trainer, who was once a NCAA track & field official, is now bedridden and giving up.  About 8 years ago he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins' Lymphoma, and went through a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation that took away everything that he loved.  He lost his ability to taste, has no salivary glands, and developed osteoporosis.  About a month ago, several ribs and a couple of vertebrae became fractured (no injury, just fractured spontaneously).  Imagine the pain ... he couldn't eat for the pain medication made him sick, and getting out of bed was painful.  He has developed a bedsore, and mom is talking about bringing in a hospital bed.

I can hardly blame him for giving up.  Nothing of any quality remains for him.  His athletic loves are no longer possible for him.  He has lost much of his eyesight from cataracts (which were removed recently) and he can't move around.  He is 80 years old, the same age as his own father when he died, 31 years ago.  He believes he is done.  For some reason I'm praying for the release for him.  Strangely enough .. when someone you love is in so much pain, and there is no hope for recovery, you pray for something better for them.  Is that wrong?  To pray for someone to die?

My dad is a faithful Christian man.  Even after my mother stopped going to church, he kept on.  Losing my sister in a car accident was the last straw for Mom, and God had given up on her, so she gave up on Him.  But Dad still had faith in a higher power.

The priest from our church has been coming to the house to give him communion.  I know that Dad is confident about what lies ahead.  That is a relief. 

What an extraordinary life.

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6:47:31 PM EDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeLw-jWx3-0

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5:33:31 PM EDT True Friendship
         
None of that Sissy Crap
         


Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, butnever actually come close to reality?  Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true       friendship.  You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card; just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.        
         
         
        1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad
          like a spider monkey jacked up on mountain dew.
       
        2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is
        choking you.
        
        3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that
        I must be involved in.
        
        4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every
        chance I get.
        
        5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories
        about how much Worse it could be until you quit whining.
        
        6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
        
        7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well
        Again. I don't want whatever  you have.
        
        8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy butt.
        
        9. This is my oath.... I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask;
        'because you are my friend'.
        
        Friendship is like peeing your pants,
        everyone can see it,
        But only you can feel the true warmth..
         
       

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11:16:35 AM EST

<sigh>  I know they are fun.  I know I went to them when I was a kid.  But crimenentlies*, they are torture for the parents.  Christian only invited 4 boys, but we were awakened at 4:15 a.m. by the sound of them playing darts in the game room directly below our bedroom.  I went downstairs to find Christian sleeping soundly on the couch, his hands & feet duct-taped together.  There was also a can of shaving cream there, but mercifully I don't think it was used at any time.  The other four monsters -- er, I mean boys, were running around the room, doing what I don't know.  I told them this was a SLEEPover and they needed to settle down and sleep.  To the best of my knowledge they did, and slept until 10 a.m.

And to extend the torture, Lisa is having a sleepover next Friday night with TEN girls.  What am I nuts????  TEN screaming, giggling girls.  Tune in next week to see if Mom survives the insanity.

 

*Some weird expression my mom used to use.  As in, "Crimenentlies, can't you clean up your room?"

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6:34:28 AM EST

On Saturday, Melanie must have gotten into a gallon of coke or someting (coca cola that is, don't get cocky!) because at Lisa's basketball game she was zipping around like a miniature tornado.  Of course the older girls at the church were eating her up, playing ring around the rosy with her, etc.  One of the girls decided she's had enough and lay down on the floor.  Melanie wasn't going to let her rest, and she punched her in the nose.  I mean P.U.N.C.H.E.D her in the nose.  Blood, bruises, the whole nine yards.  Now we've gone from simple larceny and defacing public property to assault & battery.  I'm beyond mortified, humiliated, embarrassed, perplexed, bumfoozled.  I'm thinking we're going to need some bigger (dare I say professional?) help with this one.  She's out of control.  I put that little cartoon on the page, but on reflection, it's really not funny any more. 

A lot of kids (or perhaps I should use the word "some") who were adopted from overseas come with something called Reactive Attachment Disorder.  This is a syndrome in which a child who has not had the opportunity to form a healthy attachment to her caregiver from birth, later has trouble forming attachments with anyone.  It manifests itself by angry outbursts, acting out, over affectionate behavior with everyone except the parent, pitting strangers against the parents, almost as if to say, "I dare you ... can I act bad enough and you will still love me?"

Melanie was placed in a wonderful orphanage (baby house) at one month old.  It was a friendly, cheerful environment, but how much one-on-one attention could the kids get, with 10 other kids needing the same attention?  Granted, Melanie probably copped more than the average, with her cleft lip & palate; she needed to be painstakingly fed until she had her surgery at age 11 months.  But I'm beginning to get a terrible feeling inside.  We really need some prayers here ...

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