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K9 Krunchies

8 Dec

Well lets talk about how we are doing…

First you need to know that I must be absolutely the most crazy person I know.  I mean, as if life isn’t difficult enough with just the every day reality in which I live, but to bring a dog along in the mix is just outrageously nuts!!!  I have discussed more dog parks with strangers than I can count and keep track of.  I am, in addition to assisting my son in his treatments and out, wrangling a ‘she wolf’.  So much so that my other non-broken fingers are trembling with fear every time I have to put on and take off Piper’s chain collar–the culprit of my first broken appendage.  But it is now Wednesday and I am happy to report that I, and my digits, are surviving.  What, you want to talk about Cole?  Cole who?  Did you not come to this place to read only about me?!  Isn’t this blog, after all, called “BentRivka”???

Ok, ok, I get it, Cole is the star of this story.  So to him I turn my focus…

Cole is, hands down, one of the strongest people I know.  He has a tolerance that puts me (and many others quite frankly) to shame.  He is working out with needles all over his head, and sometimes face, for 3 hours straight.  I have taken a photo of him today on the exercise bicycle.  While on the bike he is working on coordination for his left leg, as well as his ability to balance.  To work on balance, he puts his arms in different positions while cycling with his legs.  This exercise is quite easy for me to do (and probably most of you), which just goes to show how much of Cole’s physical abilities have been robbed.

Now regarding what we are seeing with the acupuncture this week.  Here is my analogy of the situation as a whole.  Let’s imagine we are on a hike and our first leg of the trail involves a steep incline, this means we reach the top quickly.  Then, while still ascending, our next hill is a more gradual incline thus the top is reached at a slower pace.  You probably get the picture by now…the first week of treatment the results were phenomenal, immediate, and miraculous.  This week, while Cole is most definitely still progressing & miracles still abound, the results are more gradual and therefore perceived more slowly.  But be assured, progress is still the course.  In this you can most definitely rely because it has been an exceptionally trying week for me (see first paragraph, and read between the lines), and if progress was not happening, I can promise you I would be sleeping in my own bed this very night instead of spending another night in our little dumpy hotel (though I love the staff).

One more thing…when I am struggling with a low disposition, I think on the Lord and His goodness.  I focus on the MANY aspects of life for which I am grateful, AND I count the blessings of, not just my little world, but of the entire world.  When I do this, my spirit soars.  And when my spirit is soaring I can honestly say, “You’ve got me feeling so fly!”.

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Perspective

6 Dec

Cole and I are back in San Jose.  We are in a hotel, and Piper (the dog) is with us.  Our room is spacious and the hotel package comes with daily complimentary breakfast and dinner.  And if I don’t look too closely, and if I don’t acknowledge the taste of tin in the beans and enchiladas,  I am happy and grateful to have the spacious room and food to eat.  It’s all in how you look at it, right?!

The last time we were up here Dr. Zhu wanted Cole to keep the needles in his scalp until bedtime (at the very least), but Cole wasn’t comfortable going back to the house, of my god parents, with needles still intact.  And I confess, I proclaimed that I didn’t want to be a part of the removal process.  So it worked out that the doctor removed them just before we left the clinic, thus Cole and my inhibitions were catered to, and we did not have to rise to yet another occasion.  But that is not the case this time.  Being that we are in a “hotel” (I use the word loosely, only because it reminds me more of a motel–though the staff are very kind), Cole decided to give it a go…and who am I to get in the way of progress!?  So just a few moments ago, after ingesting my free meal, I removed the needles.  WHEW!!

By the way, we both survived.  …just a few drops of blood!

Having Piper with us has been interesting.  We went first to Sacramento so we could attend the memorial service of my Aunt Hilda on Saturday.  My mom graciously agreed to house us all for the 2 days we were there.  She allowed Piper to take over her house as well as utilize her back yard.  Then we came to the “hotel”.  Piper is adjusting, but not having an enclosed yard is trying–for her and for me.  In fact, I need to wrap up this post because I need to take ‘her majesty’ out to do her business before we all turn in.  I have been on the mad search for an enclosed dog park so our little lady can go off leash for a time (she’s not used to doing her “main business” on leash), and thanks to my connections in the bay area (Stacey), I know where to go when tomorrow comes.

Uh oh, Cole just asked me if I smell cigarette smoke.  Yes I do.  The “hotel” is non-smoking, but that is all a matter of PERSPECTIVE!  So Cole and I (and Piper too) are deciding to like the smell of stale. second-hand smoke wafting down the hallway.  At least we don’t have carpeted floors.  In fact, I am sitting on the couch typing and there is a full length mirror in front of me.  I have just told my mirror-image that it’s a good time for a walk.  So ciao for now.

Cole and Piper on the couch in our hotel--needles still in!

 

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A Wrinkle in Time

26 Nov

A Wrinkle in Time is NOT a nod to Madeleine L’Engle; though her book by the same title is one of my all time favorites.  No, my title is reflective of the condition and transformational process of raising a teenager!  For those of you who have passed this stage of life, you will smile with a sage wisdom of someone who has made it through this battle zone.  If you have yet to trod this rough terrain yourself, you will have all the answers for every scenario connected to the hormonally raging adolescent–and happy to offer them I’m sure.  And, if you are presently in the throngs of being witness to your child as angel with horns, as I am, then you will understand more profoundly the implication of my title.

I know, I know, I have nothing to complain about…Esther is a dream!  It is true, she is.  She is kind, loving, productive, and willing to learn…BUT, she is still a teenager.  And dream or no dream, she can incite, in me, a wrath so deeply felt that in the moment of my vexation I feel it more safe to run away, than to open my mouth.  In fact, I have found myself screaming (with my inner voice only), “Abort, Abort, Abort!”  And in order to apply the directive within a reasonable amount of time, I begin to fantasize about my private Greek island.  You know the one where no-one can find me.  The isle of enchantment where I can stay while she finishes this important phase of life.  My plan is to emerge from my sabbatical with not one furrow in my brow, nor one (more) line added to my face, nor white hair to my head.  In my fantasy I have managed to avert the distress of my daughter’s adolescent folly, molding, and maturation.  And with this avoidance I plan to find, in her stead, a beautifully stable woman who walks in wisdom and strength.  AAAhhhh what a lovely idea!

Along the lines (no pun intended) of wrinkles…I am taking Cole back to Zhu’s Neuro-Acupuncture Center http://www.scalpacupuncture.org, the week after next. And because Cole and Piper (both) feel they need to be with each other, I consequently need to find a different lodging situation (our previous hosts politely declined Piper’s stay due to their own canine companion).  We have received a couple of very generous donations which helped toward gas last time, and will actually cover the treatment this next time (how can I ever thank my precious Aunts?!).   And in all honesty, if it weren’t for the fact that I wholeheartedly believe Cole will regain his full vision under the treatment and therapy regimen of Dr. Zhu, I wouldn’t take pains to make the trip again (especially with a dog).    But since I am, I am asking for help, or a favor…

Right now I am looking into a hotel room for the three of us-Cole, Piper, and myself (a confinement which is sure to place new creases in my brow).  I am also perusing VRBO.com and will contact a couple of condo owners to ask them if they will donate some nights to our cause (fund-raising is not my forte, but I will give it a go just the same).  So if any of you has a connection with either an available home/condo/apartment or hotel in the San Jose area, please pass the blessing onto to us.  I promise you, we are very grateful recipients–though mentioning it is quite embarrassing.

So there you have it; The good, the bad, the wrinkled, and the needy…oh what fun!  Now don’t you just hear the beckoning of Greece?!

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