First Week Down & First Day of School

Today marks one full week of chemo and radiation.  Hmmm, do we celebrate?  Dave is feeling the effects of this "poison" he is taking twice daily.  (He said it is strange to take pills that basically are destroying something in his body)  He is more tired, he feels pretty sick after taking the pills and the radiation seems to make him feel kinda "yuck". 

He met with a dietitian today that really encouraged him and lifted his spirits.  She gave him a whole list of foods he can eat now.  We thought it was more restricted than it really is, so this was good news.  She gave him tips on what to eat if he gets sick and how to avoid feeling too sick.  I missed this appointment, which made me sad a little.  We have spent more time alone together this last month than we have almost all year!  (We have had a lot of doctors appointments)  However, I was picking up our kids from their FIRST day of school. 

Julia is attending Oakbrook Elementary for 5th grade this year and Daniel is in 2nd grade at Idlewild.  Yes, they both start and end at the same time each day and I drive both of them.  Someone is going to have to be very early or someone will always be late...we'll figure it out.  First day of school pictures are always out our back door on our stairs, here is this year's picture.

Oh my, this freaks me out a little.  How did they get so big!  Look at Daniel!  I struggled a little this morning.  Julia has one more year of elementary school and at the end of last year we decided to send her to Oakbrook.  They have a self-contained "gifted" class, it sounds weird, but basically she has more homework!  We are very proud of her, she works very hard and she is very smart.  Anyway, on the way to school today Daniel said, "I wish Julia would be at my school this year."  It's the first time any of us have acknowledged that they will not be together this year.  It made me sad.  Then when I dropped Julia off at her new school, I got all those icky butterflies you get when you are in a new situation and I got all nervous for her!  Here we are on her first day.

She did great and even lamented that they didn't get to do any work today (who is this girl?).  I, however, was exhausted after reading about all the work they will be doing.  

So two firsts crossed off the list (first week of treatment and first day of school).  Wish I could say it will be easy sailing.  I think we all have some rough waters ahead.  We continue to trust in the One who calms the sea and walks on water to meet us in our storms.  Now to bed so we can do the second day of school~