Christmas Commercials Already?

Christmas commercials already?

Halloween swept through this weekend and we came home with some hardware.  Connor won two costume contests while Josephine changed costumes four times trying to somehow unseat the king of the monsters (Connor went as Godzilla).  The funny thing is Connor doesn’t really care about winning, he likes winning, but it doesn’t bother him when he doesn’t.  Josephine, on the other hand, is VERY competitive.  In fact, on Sunday at a Halloween party there was a costume contest, which Connor won, and a cake walk which Connor also won (a cake).  I was literally praying that Josie would win a cake.  Thankfully she won the second to last walk and we could all exhale.

She then graciously handed out cupcakes to all the kids who didn’t win as is her nature.  She likes to win, but then share the victory.  She’s a great kid…but she must win!  The next night was Halloween and I pushed my chemotherapy back one day so I could go trick or treating with them.  As I may have stated previously, our neighborhood goes all out.  There are caravans of golf carts taking over streets like a biker gang at war, but with kids running around crazily trying to fill bags with candy.  It is a very safe environment with a lot of parents out also enjoying the fun.  In fact, there are now different neighborhood stations where people have wine, beer, sausage wraps, and hot dogs…so everyone gets into the act.

After the trick or treat madness we used to have a great plan for the candy.  Josie’s birthday is on November 10 and Connor’s is on November 20.  we would combine the birthday parties into one big petting zoo and use all the Halloween candy for piñatas. But alas this has become the year I was dreading…the separate birthday party year.  Connor wants a military museum themed party and Josie an art and nature event.  So there it is.  Apparently, Mayfield park is anti-beating-a paper-mâché-animal filled with candy in front of the peacocks, so we’ll have to dispose of the candy the old fashioned way.

Chemo week.  I must be honest, I’m still riding the high of the good news from last week’s MDA visit, and perhaps a bit of the chocolate I pilfered from the kid’s baskets.  So even though chemo sucks, it somehow didn’t feel as bad this week.  Yes, all the side effects kicked in but I felt better about them.  I’m not sure, but I suppose I just felt like the gift of time and love superseded all the yuck.  So I’m not going to complain about that stuff, we’ll just have to wait for some more scores to see where we are…but the scans from last week showed nice progress.  Oh, and for those of you keeping score at home – CEA was 3.4.  Remember anything under 3 is considered normal.  And late this summer we were at 40.  Rock and Roll.

What a World Series Both. the Cubs. And the Indians battled, and were gritty. And of course the series went seven games and extra innings in the last one…with a rain delay. But Seriously five Christmas commercials during game seven on November 2? (try to read in a Christopher Walken voice – that’s how I wrote it, so punctuate in whatever manner makes you happy).

The managers had some injuries and confidence issues and managed to overcome them all to get to ultimate showdown.  Then the Cubs overcame Chapman’s arm (closers don’t throw 150 pitches in four days…ever) and Lester’s inability to throw a ball in the infield…and they exorcised a 108-year-old curse.  Now what will their fans complain about? Sorry guys, but no more bitching, time to get a new hobby. 

This will be a short one.  My lovely wife checked another tick mark off the calendar as she celebrated her birthday.  We didn’t do much this time since I was hooked up to my pump.  But no complaints, we’ll do something nice for her this weekend, and she’s still happy about last year’s shiny chicken. 

One of my friends called me Thursday night.  We had a quick but torrential downpour here in Austin and there is a secret connector street which I will not ruin for the savvy commuters.   However, when my friend got to the final low water crossing people were turning around.  Now my buddy called me just after this and said, “At first I was pissed. Then I wondered if I should just 4x4 my way over it.  And then I thought, ‘what if I’m the dumb ass that ends up on the news floating down the creek?’  So I asked myself, what would Marco do?  Old Marco would cuss and think he’d just lost 20 minutes.  New Marco would think, ‘Hey, I’ve got 20 minutes to call a friend before I get home.’  And that’s what I did!”

No finer testament to finding joy in tense or distressing moments than that in my opinion.  We chatted for a bit and he made it home safely.  There are moments when you are given credit for things that you may not have had any impact, but they are flattering nonetheless. Good friends and good kids are the real testament to the kind of person you are don’t you think?  Thanks to my friends (and kids) for making me look good.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders donated a signed photo and boot for the auction

The tournament and dinner/auction is shaping up nicely.  We just opened the raffle today, you can enter the raffle even if you can’t attend.  Check it out at: https://martinezfamilycancerfoundation.org/dinner-auction/raffles/.  I do hope to see many of you at the events to share some stories, have some fun, and just catch up.  Many of you have played pivotal roles in my journey and I’d like to give you a hug and thank you for it. God bless y’all and keep those thoughts and prayers rolling.  TeamMarco@austin.rr.com