This weekend, Paul, Kyla, Justin and Dennis were singing around the piano.  Paul and Dennis took it as a challenge to make Justin sing “Tiny Hands” and he usually cries his way through it. He made it without too many tears. Dennis, however, could not get through “Brothers” and really broke down when he sang, “I am ready for the grave”. It was a tender but sad moment.

Dennis has been more ill with chemo than the last time. When he can stand to do something, they have been putting together puzzles. That was kind of difficult when Justin’s family was here for the weekend because Christian kept destroying the puzzle. They finished a Thomas Kinkead puzzle Wednesday night late but it was missing two pieces. They played music that they grew up on while working on the puzzle, like the Carpenters, Dan Fogleberg, Chicago, and many more from that era and years to follow. There are so many memories that those songs bring back (Leader of the Band, etc.) I hope to have many more moments like this.

Dennis has a tetanus-type reaction to the chemo this time where muscles would contract and he couldn’t straighten out limbs or open his eyes. It also turned his face bright red yesterday. He’s a lot more nauseous. Paul’s three girls have had a virus (RSV is the one going around this area right now) and we’ve tried to be careful around Dennis. Kyla has had her hands full with sick kids and now just Alexis is sick, which means Kyla gets very little sleep.  I’ve got it now so I have to keep  a distance from Dennis.

Justin and Paul have been showing each other their new culinary creations, so it’s been a gourmet meal nearly every night. To name a few:  Stuffed shells with marinara, lettuce wraps, fettucine with fresh basil cream sauce, chili and cornbread (yummy), teriyaki steak, prime rib, BBQ ribs, carne asada and then Chinese egg rolls tonight. I’ve gained a few pounds and desperately need to lose them. However, Dennis has held his weight steady while he lost about 8 pounds the first week after the last chemo.

Kyla was up past 11 PM last night doing dinner dishes. While my sons are good cooks, it takes about two hours to clean up the kitchen afterward.
I am blessed to have these loved ones around me.