HEY EVERYONE! LOOK... IT'S A NEW POST!!!
Yes, despite telling almost everyone I've come across for the past year "I think I should write another blog post soon"... I haven't. I think that makes about 15 people I've lied to (and about 5 I've lied to on multiple occasions). Fate changed all of that today when I had a celebrity sighting at St. Vital Mall. Who did I run into (or rather who almost ran into me... literally)? Why it was the one and only 'super-spouse duo' of Nelson Thiessen & Karen Theodora Thiessen (née 'Sterm...something')!!! In the flesh! (I don't know why people say that... it just sounds creepy, as though there would be a situation where you would say '...without their flesh!') [shudders]. Sorry, Nicole's been watching too much zombie TV lately... something about the "living dead"? It's something on Netflix that I refuse to watch because I don't find people eating other people entertaining. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Apparently some dude broke his leg fighting some other dude the other day. I also have no urge to see that footage (can you tell I'm not into UFC)? So where was I? Right... the celebrity couple. Nelson & Karen cleverly freaked the heck out of Nicole & I as we were attempting to do some London Drugs shopping at St. Vital Centre. As Nicole & I are polite Canadians (and I am as timid as a church mouse*) we tend to stay out of the way of fellow shoppers. When one does cross our path we move and apologize for our very existence (as any true Canadian should). Today the incredibly fashionably dressed Nelson & Karen PURPOSELY came upon us and cleverly cut us off so obviously, that had I been an assertive person I might have said "Hey, what in the name of Pete are you discourteous shoppers doing cutting my wife & I off like a couple of hooligans?!" instead of my natural reaction... to step aside, quiver in fear while tears well up inside my eyes and hope my wife is able to fend for herself. Well played you two... well played. No worries Nicole, next time I'll have your back ;)
Nelson, Karen & I subsequently had a long conversation about the most important topics in our lives these days (toasters, breadmakers, painting, and nearly-antiquated video games). I felt as though our friendship reached a new level. You can't speak about "single-sliced toasters", "the benefits & downsides of giftcards", and/or "roller painting vs. trimming the sides" without knowing someone in a way the deepest of joint zen yoga sessions could ever achieve. I say this having never attempted yoga (on anything other than a "Wii Fitness Balance Board"). But I digress... Didn't I put an asterisk above somewhere??? Oh right...
*SIDE NOTE: A quick google search for "timid church mouse" brought up a result from a book listed on Amazon. Page 196 of "Speaking the Truth in Love: A Christian Approach to Assertiveness" states "Tom is a twenty-five year old whose nonverbal behaviour at the beginning of counseling led one to believe he was timid, afraid, uneasy, and tense...Tom walked and gestured like a timid church mouse". Aside from the age being off by 4 years (almost 5) it is as though author Henry Virkler is describing ME!!! It must stem from the name. Perhaps I'm prone to doubt my own abilities... like a "doubting Thomas???" Oh come on, you knew that was coming!
I do believe there was a point to this blog when I started. I usually like to update you all on my "how's the whole brain tumour / terminal illness" thing, so... GOOD NEWS! I'm still alive :)
It turns our I'm not dead yet or looking to do so anytime soon! Anytime soon being defined as early 2014. Nicole & I continue to live our wonderful lives together on the edge of a metaphorical ice ledge hanging off the edge of a several hundred foot tall glacier with a complete drop off without anyone living within 160.934 Kilometres (100 miles for my American readers). All of that is a metaphor, however it should be noted we do still have the love & support of many around us. We have both found that with my health being stable as it has been for such an extended period of time (YAY!) people have a tendency to think "Oh, so Tom is okay now eh?" ("Oh, so Tom is okay now?" for my American readers). This can be frustrating, but I suppose we must look at it as a necessary part of the whole "living forever" plan I've been working on. Decisions continue to be hard to make long term. Right now we are focused on Nicole finishing school. She is in her last term completing her placement at the WCB (Worker's Compensation Board) as she works towards getting her Bachelor of Social Work. Nicole is perfect for the work she does as she is probably the person who best combines an incredible intelligence with simple common sense and a care & compassion for all people in a way that makes her PERFECT to be a social worker. I think her having gone through the incredibly difficult situation she has (and continues to go through) with my health has given her a perspective that allows her to see "the other side" in a way that most people simply cannot. I also think she is not some fluffy waste-of-space social worker who is the type to say "now point to the picture of the face that is how your are feeling on the inside?" In my opinion a social worker has to be able to be compassionate while not talking down to their patient or speaking to them in a condescending manner. Nicole has all of these skills and talents in one package... and she's managed to push through and get her schooling done up to this point all while taking good care of me and dealing with the stress of our situation. She might tell you that she doesn't do much for me. Either she's a liar, or she doesn't realize how much she does for me. Anyone who knows me knows all of the medical research and dietary investigations have been done by one "Nicole O'Leary-Sontag". She also does the most important thing in the world for me. She offers me the most beautiful face in the world to wake up to each and every morning. If that isn't enough of a reason to keep the whole "living" thing going, I don't know what is!
In reality we do struggle with topics ranging from "Will we ever have kids?" (with the hidden question being "What happens if we do and [I] am no longer here to help raise those kids?"), or "Where will we be living in a year from now?" (with the hidden questions of "Will I still be here in a year?" and "Will we be able to financially afford to move out into a house?" lurking in the background). So Nicole & I continue to do the only thing we can (and know how)... take it all day-by-day. That sometimes means taking it "3 month period-by-3 month period" oddly enough as that is the interval between my MRI scans. My MRI's are the equivalent of a high school report card you only get so often, and in between which you have no idea how you are doing. So maybe they're more like working for a company that doesn't do nearly enough performance appraisals? Anyhow, my next MRI is scheduled for March 28th, 2014 (Get used to writing that "14" now eh?!)
Oh, and I still LOVE LIFE, LOVE MY WIFE, LOVE WORDS THAT RHYME WITH STRIFE, and that's about as far as I can drag that one out. A special thanks tonight to my lovely wife Nicole, for letting me abandon her completely for the last few hours so that I may write this rambling, non-sensical blog post. The fact that it makes no sense should assure you that I am completely my normal self! There was a second theme planned for tonight's blog post... "SEARS SUCKS!!!" Unfortunately I have wasted all of my time talking about myself. Who wants to read about that? Well, I guess you didn't find it all that bad as you're still reading :)
Stay tuned the next time I waste your time when I recount my many unfortunate experiences dealing with Sears... [to be continued]...
--
Tom
PS: It's late and I'm tired, so as per usual I will not be proofreading this entry. Have at it Luke!!! :)
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