Fubarians finish "T1", lose playoff...

The Fubarian Foursome of Mark, Steve, Bobby and Joe (Chandler) finished the first annual Lompoc Athletic Golf Tournament in a tie for first, but lost in a mythical "card play-off." Though the round was completed before the bad weather turned to rain, the group enjoyed a delightful day at Village Country Club, topped off by a round of -10 in the scramble format event.

The best news of that story is that Mark felt well enough to tee it high and let it fly. Round two of the 12 round tussle is hereby complete, so that a week away from chemotherapy this week will return to the familiar "completely normal" feeling. No strange new side effects, nothing as achy and unfamiliar as round one.

Travel to California went well. Vickie helped with a lot of the driving, I got the chance to rest and “flush” the chemicals from my body Wednesday night and into Thursday, days three and four of session two. As opposed to the first go-round, which was mostly about my body learning this new regimen, this was more of an emotional step along the journey.

With my Grandmother’s Memorial Service, the clan gathered in Lompoc to spread arms around each other and just spend time. Lizzie arrived Friday night, so all the kids were with their own grandmother for the weekend. We were able to re-visit the cemetery together after her arrival, my Mother’s first visit after the Memorial Service.

At the ceremony itself, Carrie spoke first, I followed with the “thank you from the family” talk as the oldest grandchild. It was much more difficult than I’d anticipated. Every mention of my mother or Elizabeth made me tear up, for different reasons. Lizzie is so far away, and my mom…as an only child…misses her mother more than she can describe. There were nearly 90 people in attendance, which would have embarrassed my grandmother tremendously. She liked to “operate” behind the scenes, and hated being the center of attention.

The kids, family, good times and difficult conversations. I found that I was less patient with some members of the family, and emotionally attached to others. I couldn’t keep from sitting right next to the kids, yet also moved from room to room during various meals so that I wouldn’t have to listen to conversations that I didn’t want to hear. Every family has ups and downs, I suppose…this time I’m just more sensitive to them.

Not likely to be much news between now and the next round. Stay tuned, let's hope it is as uneventful as this one has been. I am learning that it helps to stay really busy, but get rest...so balance remains important.