Ethan’s Journey

 I had a series of frustrating work events that led me to wonder if I was being secretly filmed. The absurdity of conversations I had were a bit unbelievable. I had one guy in tears on a video call. It wasn’t due to anything I said. It just happened. I was not emotionally ready to talk him through it. We got through it.  Ethan got home from work today and wondered if I could do a hair cut on him. He quickly changed his mind and said he would wait until Sunday. He then paused and asked me when I was going to get home on Sunday.  “I should be home by 4 pm.” I said “ Let’s do the haircut today, because you will probably be tired on Sunday.” He said soooo thoughtfully. We settled on today because he is right. I will likely be tired and cranky. He doesn’t want cranky Mom with a weapon near his face. Good plan! This kid has only gotten his hair cut by a barber once. Every other haircut I have given him. I channel my previous years of dog grooming, and apply it. If you have seen...

 Ethan and I got into a conversation about geothermal heating and cooling. He expressed interest in this and learning more about it. With the little I know about it, I explained that it was A system of pipes that circulate a water antifreeze mixture Deep underground in the winter, it extract heat from the Earth to warm the building in in the summer it reverses the process, transferring heat from the building back into the Earth.  I only know this because Paul and I had a conversation about it a few weeks ago and I had zero understanding and did a small bit of reading. It is supposed to save energy costs.  I told Ethan to start researching grants to cover the cost of this and I would help him apply. Writing isn’t his strong suit (mine either but between the two of us it might be ok). He also expressed interest in solar panels on his roof. He is not pleased with all of the stuff going on with high energy bills in the area. He grumped about it being a monopoly. He told me th...

I got a call today from the Transplant center (cardiac). It was Ethan’s NP. We really like her. She and Ethan’s doctor were chatting about him and she shared how Ethan’s kidney values took a huge nose dive when they switched his cholesterol medication. She shared with him how we weren’t surprised and how Ethan has such wonky reactions to things. She reiterated how Ethan just doesn’t follow the medical rules. After some brainstorming, Ethan’s doctor wants Ethan to get more genetic testing done. Specifically to look at his FLNC variant.  I am not really a whiz with genetic testing, but this variant can give them more information on his genetics to help them guide Ethan’s care for the future as well as be able to help give them more information. He had this testing done 6 years ago. At that time it was determined that he was an anomaly and that his heart issues were not passed along through family genetics. In the past 6 years they have made advancements that help give the doctors inf...

 It’s that time of year. I am feeling cooped up and want to travel. Only a month until our Bahamas trip and I am ready! We watched the Daytona 500 this afternoon. I use that term lightly. I was working while the race was on and enjoyed watching the crash replays. I did enjoy listening to Paul and Ethan discussing the race. I looked for my nephew but didn’t see him. He works for RFK racing. Afterward, the news came on because we were too lazy to change it. We never have the news on because, frankly, it is a mess out there and ignorance is bliss. The lady that was presenting the news was good at rapid firing information as us. She was doing it well. She had it just rolling off her tongue in such a natural way. “Do you think that lady has had Botox?” Ethan asked. I looked up from my computer and the reporter had on a blindingly neon pink shirt. Her eyes were huge like she was surprised, but that was just her face. Her eyes were huge! She couldn’t move her eyebrows. “Oh my gosh, I thin...

 Paul was off snowmobiling today and I had the day to myself. I had a good chat with Mom and then was off to clean and meal prep.  After that was completed, all 4 pups got their spa day. Baths and warm up by the fire while they dried. I like them to dry and not be cold. I remember how much Moe used to fight me on baths. Now he is a perfect gentleman.  He does wear an annoyed face while in the bath. I can live with that. I even was able to brush all of them afterward to get the loose hair out. I am not sure what I would do with my time without dogs. Ha! I know I give them tubby time more than most dogs get. I just don’t want the gamey dander smell in the house.  Everyone got fresh beds maid including me! I love a nice fresh bed with good smelling linens. Ethan rode the snowmobile around the field for a while. It is fun to see him having fun and doing normal things. I consider it exercise for him because it can feel like a workout trying to stear those things. Ethan an...

 I was doing some light Friday evening about colorectal cancer, (isn’t this normal?) and got to the part where they started talking about symptoms. I wanted to update my knowledge due to the recent passing of James Vander Beek. I started reading through the symptoms and instead of using the word “gas” they used the word “trapped wind”. Who is writing this article? Trapped wind? I have never called it that nor have I ever heard anyone else call it that.  Guess who is making a point to say the phrase “trapped wind” from now on.  When the wind becomes untrapped….what is the phrase for that? My brain was tired today. I really had to motivate to finish up the work day. I had a quiet evening coming up with a trip for a few gal friends. Oddly, this is relaxing. I was trying to figure out a budget, find a place to stay on the beach. I want to be able to present a budget and then come up with travel dates for 2027. The whole time I tried to feel the sun warming my skin. I was tryi...

 I volunteered to moderate the chat in a Virtual event tonight. Traditionally, we have these events on Teams, but tonight we used Zoom as the platform. My role was to answer questions, drop in an email address here and there and keep an eye on things. I answered all the questions as they came. 3/4 of the way through, the other moderator shared that my answers were only going to him and the host. Ugh! Rookie move! I thought of the old Ex-Lax commercial “smooth move, Ex-Lax!” Oh well! I made up for it with my winning personality.