Embracing Life

My name is Sarah, and it's been 11 months since my last post. I've thought about it, but life is constantly getting in the way. I even made a goal this year to write more, but it really hasn't happened yet.  Until today. I went on Facebook this morning to check if there were any updates about the accident I saw on the way to work. Instead, I saw an obituary for a woman I've never met. But I know who she is. She received a kidney transplant a few months before I received mine. And according to her FB page, she had a difficult time leading up to transplant, a tough recovery, lots of additional illnesses and setbacks, and long hospital stays. I, on the other hand, never had dialysis, was on the transplant list for an unbelievable 5 months (the wait list is normally 5 YEARS), had a 3-day hospital stay, and other than not tolerating pain medication (so I could only take Tylenol which did nothing for the pain), I've been on my merry, healthy way for over 3 years. ...

I'm the kind of girl who, at 40 years of age, still calls herself a girl. I'm an organized person living in a cluttered house with child hoarders who keep tiny pieces of paper and use scotch tape liberally on empty toilet paper rolls, er I mean, swords.  I can't figure out why there are stickers on my couch because my twins are in 4th grade. I wish we had a house with a mudroom or a closet or a nook, just so my husband can stash all his running/biking/etc stuff there instead of on his kitchen chair. I just started wearing a plum colored lipstick and realize how much better I look even though according to the fashion magazines, my skin tone is warm and I should wear browns instead. I'm currently wondering how to respond to one of my child's teachers who reached out about the fact that he's acting up in class... and his response - "I want to have a social worker like _____ because he gets to take breaks and play with putty." My daughter took a Chi...

I wanted to write a moving and inspirational post about celebrating my two-year post-transplant milestone. (I also wanted to post a nice family picture, where everyone was looking at the camera, the twins did not have to be separated because they were hitting each other, the shorter boy on the right was not squeezing his brother's stomach too tightly, and I did not have a glowing bulb of sunlight shining brightly on my lady parts, but well... you know... that's life.) Instead I will share one of my favorite pictures of this day. We had wanted to do an outdoor autumn photo shoot with my family (grandparents included). It was scheduled for the end of September in Chicago. So of course, I bought (matching) long-sleeved shirts for the boys, had a pretty (color-coordinating) sweater picked out for my girl, Keith was going to wear his grey pullover, and I lovingly pulled out my tights and boots for what I thought was going to be a cool and beautiful fall day. It was 88 degrees...

We've had a busy couple of years. 2015, the year of health crises (or the year of the transplant). 2016, the year of recovery (because even though I bounced back from surgery well, it took awhile for things to get back to normal.  Heck, our office is still not recovered with the mess in there. ;) )  So of course, I had to go big with 2017, and it became the year of change. For a variety of reasons, personal and educational-focused, I chose to remove the kids from their private Catholic school and switch them to public. While this is a big deal to the kids (new school, new friends), you'd think it wouldn't be that big of deal for me. But it is. I attended the same school 100 years ago. I grew up in the parish. I received the sacraments from Baptism to Marriage there. It's my home. But when you are me, and you pull from private to public, but still want your kids to have a Catholic education and be confirmed when they are older, you need to find a religious educati...

Book: Sweet Tea and Spirits Author: Angie Fox Verity Long and her ghostly sidekick, Frankie, are on track for another adventure! The book starts out with Verity receiving a mysterious call from the Sugarland Historical Society, stating there was a murder. But how can there be a murder when no body is found? She enlists Frankie's help to investigate, which leads to a humorous and engaging story! The book is well-written, like the others in this series.  I enjoy reading cozy-mysteries, especially those that focus on the paranormal.  The author does a great job of creating funny characters with depth.  I definitely recommend this series, and do feel that the reader should start at book one. *I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A long, long time ago (maybe 2002?), these two kids went to the Shedd Aquarium. Pre-kids, of course. In fact, they had only been dating about a year. (If you don't count the break someone thought he needed. *insert eye roll*) The girl bought a cute little-penguins-dancing-in-water keepsake, which she kept on her desk at work for many years. Until she moved to a new building and her office had a window. But alas, nothing lasts forever, especially plastic with what is probably some sort of toxic chemical keeping the penguins afloat which decided to leak out all over the windowsill ...and today the girl had to throw out her keepsake. But (to sadly quote Metallica *insert even larger eye roll here as the girl hates the band*), the memory remains.  

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book, Lady Admired, by Jane Charles. I absolutely LOVED this book. The only reason I put it down from time to time was because my kids need a mother. ;) This was a a great way to wrap up the Tenacious Trent series.  Rose Trent, a young widow, is the  Dowager Countess of Bentley.  She finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime, although it didn't quite start out that way. Kidnapped by a Scot after he found out who she was, she was taken back to Laird Aiden MacGregor's manor.   Aiden MacGregor is a handsome yet firm family man who for once, acted before thinking.  After sending a random letter to Rose's stepsons, he begins to regret his rash decision to kidnap Rose.  He knows that in doing so, he has signed his own death warrant, as kidnapping will result with him swinging from the gallows. As Rose becomes enamoured of his family... and of Aiden, she also finds her true self. ...

Take it easy, take it easy Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy... My grandma died on Tuesday night.  I was able to hold her hand and say goodbye.  But life went on the very next day as though nothing had happened for the rest of the world.  The day before, I had Keith take Keira to the doctor because she had been having stomach pain for 3 days. (Don't worry, she's fine.). Thursday morning, we were getting ready for school/work, and I saw that our fish had died.  The twins brought Benny home from school a few years ago. They had Keith bury him in the yard, and hope to have him carve a memorial cross for their beloved betta fish. Keith is thrilled. ;) Work was extremely stressful this week. I barely had time to complete important projects, as I ran from meeting to meeting (or drove 2 hours one way for a meeting at another school).  And Friday, I celebrated 6 months with my new little kidney. This week was the busiest, craziest one we've h...

Sometimes when I talk about how stressed I feel, I am met with this response: But all you do is sit at a desk all day. How can you be tired? Apparently mentally tired is not a thing. By the time I get to work, I'm tired. Due to my anemia, it takes a lot out of me to try to hurry in the morning, deal with the kids who always need me right when I am walking out the door, and then when I finally do get to work, it's a long (COLD) walk from the parking lot. 8:00 - Computer is on, I'm logged in. 8:02 - First question of the day from someone in the doorway. I haven't even had time to check my voicemails or emails. 8:06 - Attempt to check email, read 2, start to respond to one... 8:07 - Co-worker comes in with a question and some paper to look at 8:50, I have been trying for 40 minutes to finish that email I started, as well as make myself a cup of coffee to warm up since my office is freezing. I have to hurry for the coffee since I need to take my pills at 9 a.m. Try to go to...

Title: Bound to Die: A Cozy Mystery Author: Mak K. Han This was a fun cozy mystery, in which is I hope there will be many more! The first chapter set the tone for the book - it had humor and just a little bit of paranormal mystery. However, most the the real mystery centers around the killing of a grumpy man in Strawberry Shores. The main character, Laura, has a cool psychic ability. She and her two friends, Alex and Emily, are drawn into solving the case, yet the killer knows they are on to him/her. There was just the right amount of mystery, romance, and danger in this cozy mystery. I recommend this book for anyone, including YA readers. *I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.   (less)

January. The time of new beginnings. New starts. The dreaded resolutions that everyone proclaims will change their lives in the new year, yet many fail to hold onto through the very first month. I don't make resolutions. Strike that, I did make one for the kids. "What's a new year revolution?" one child asked. "It's a positive change you make at the start of the new year. And your re S olution is to fold your own laundry and put it away." This worked for two days. ;) Let's be honest, 2015 was a stressful year for me. It started out great - we headed to Disney with my family for a week of fun, mostly sun, and great memories. But mere weeks later, I found myself in kidney failure from a hereditary disease that normally does not worsen. By May, I was officially on the national transplant list. By the grace of God, I didn't have the normal 5 year wait that most people have when waiting for a kidney. On October 15, just months after being li...

The surgery began around 2:25 and lasted until 6:45.  They woke me up and told me the time was 7:15, so that was the point that I was in the recovery room.  After monitoring my vitals for some time, I was able to be taken back to my room.  There was little pain at that point since I was pretty numb, but my arms hurt from the various IVs I had in them. I had a total of 3 in me, and had had the initial one replaced before surgery.  That one had hurt the most.  My arm was pretty tore up for about two weeks after the surgery.  Other than that, I had 36 staples in my abdomen and a JP drain in my side for fluid in me to drain out. The thing about a kidney transplant is that they don't actually remove either of my bad kidneys.  The new kidney is actually placed in my abdomen, and hooked up to an artery in my groin that comes from the leg (Or something like that)...so technically at this time I have three kidneys.  One that works great, and two that...

Was it just last week that I posted I was on alert for a kidney? Seems like months ago at this point.  The night after I was put on alert, I still wondered if I would get a call.  I received another call in the afternoon stating that I was still in the running.  There was one person ahead of me, and he/she was a multi-organ recepient, and that took presedence over me.  The other two times I had received the alert call, I felt sick to my stomach. I prayed that it wasn't the time.  I wasn't too concerned about being called back.  This time, I was strangely calm.  I didn't go crazy trying to clean the house or get things done, rather I played Uno with the kids. We all laid in my bed at bedtime, reciting prayers and just being together.  Keith and I watched some DVR.  At 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, the phone rang.  It was the nurse coordinator, stating that the kidney was mine, and that I needed to be into Chicago by midnight. ...

About this time last year, I wrote this post: Enjoy the little things... .  I quote one of my favorite songs - Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I talk about the time I drove home from my grandpa's funeral, all alone, and this song came on the radio.  But from time to time, this song will magically appear on the radio when I need it most. Like today while I was driving. I debated bringing this up as I don't want to hear people say - "I hope it works out for you" or "I'm sorry" when/if it doesn't. I will begin this by saying, there is no right thing to say to me when I share this news.  Perhaps just a like on my FB post will be enough to know someone read it. But here's the thing.... I am #2 in line for a cadaver kidney today. I found out last night. This is the third call I've received since the end of August putting me on alert. (Because it doesn't really happen like it does on t.v.). First they call and say, hey we have a kidney, b...

So here's the thing - I have a really sucky disease.  Well, sort of. I mean, it's not that bad in the grand scheme of things. (Despite what my mom thinks.)  A little girl I follow on FB just had a liver transplant, and they think the new liver is failing. Don't even get me started on all the gun violence in the world... especially Chicago and my hometown. Life could be worse. Strangely enough, I seem to be the only person in my family with such a positive outlook. I say that loudly and proudly on my blog - 1, because most of my family doesn't read this, and 2, because I say it to their faces as well.  But do you know what sucks about being positive, even with a life-threatening disease? People think you're cray cray. It's true. They don't know what to do with me. Apparently I am not your typical kidney failure person.  I'm always out and about, I work full-time, and I am not on dialysis. Well not yet anyway.  T-minus one day until I go for th...

So I've got this friend. And she wrote a book. I'm only half-way through it, but it's amazing. I'm super jealous and all, because she actually did what she said she would do, while I just sit here and say, "I should write more." So I'd like to say to her, "Thank you for the inspiration!" The early morning sun was cresting above the ocean, setting off a wave of pale colors throughout the sky to the east. Kate stood on her porch, the steam from her coffee mug wafting gently through the air as she breathed in the strong aroma. It was like being in one of those coffee commercials, she laughed quietly to herself. This was her favorite part of living right on the water – the silence and solitude that came every morning. It wouldn’t last long. Despite the coolness of October, the beach was close enough to town that a steady stream of people would visit during the day – joggers choosing to run along the water instead of a sidewalk, stay-at-ho...

It's here! My favorite time of year! For fun, I'm going to list just a few of my favorite October things. :) Spooky stories: When I was in grade school, I found this book (yes I tended to read things that I probably shouldn't have at certain ages). It was the best, spookiest book I'd ever seen at that time. Every year, when the leaves began to change colors and fall from the trees, I would check this book out from the library.  I'd sit in our darkened living room in the evenings after supper and treat myself to one scary story after another. Once I went to college, I lost the tradition. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found the book on Amazon. It was even scarier than I remembered - especially the story called "Eyes" by Charles L. Grant. In fact, as a mother (it's about the death of a child and the guilt the father endures) I can't read the story anymore. But all the other ones are super good! Devilish Decor: Here is...