Cook Clan vs. ALS: Philosophical Ramblings

Yesterday, mom, dad, and I went to the ALSA Support Group holiday party. The group meets once a month at a church in Central Austin and this time we had a special treat...the minister from the church came to speak to us. He had a lot to say and I'll not go into all of it but in essence, he told us his story and pointed out some points that especially hit home for me.

First, the Christmas Story...we celebrate Christ's birth this time every year but it is often obscured by all the secular hype of Santa and snowmen and shopping til you drop. I was telling the boys last week about how the Magi visited baby Jesus in the manger and the wonderful gifts they gave to him. Of course, they wanted the WHOLE Christmas story and I obliged (with maybe just a few embelishments created just for them).

Anyway, the minister reminded me of something I'd forgotten. The Christmas Story occured during a very bleak time in history. The king in power (Herod) was so anxious about his throne that when he learned of the birth of the Messiah, he ordered all male children under 2 years to be murdered. He sent his soldiers into the city of Bethlehem, going door to door and yanking babies from thier mother's breasts, massacring them without regard.

Now, many people would look at this story and see the glass half empty, so to speak. But, I am reminded that God's promise to us is not to protect us from the sorrows of the world but to be our faithful companion as we endure and hopefully even rise above our troubles. It is our reaction alone to tribulation that defines who we are now, who we will become, and what the world sees in us. We can allow ourselves to be beaten down by this world, we can allow this world to make us hollow and bitter, or we can color the world by responding with a totally new reaction, one of love and hope.

Which brings me to my next holiday thought... fellowship. Really, fellowship with one another is what gets us through our days and gives us hope about our future. Picture a world without all the people you encounter every day: your spouse, your children, your parents, your co workers, even the little people that you have only minor interactions with. Without these interactions, we would lead a bleak life. Yes, sometimes we feel overwhelmed by these very same people but if they weren't around, we'd not have the same daily experience.

It is people and our fellowship with them that makes our lives full. Sharing love with each other is what gives us hope and a desire to get up each day. We are all dying (ALS or not) and some of us will leave this world sooner than others but we are all given the gift of fellowship. Sometimes we choose to embrace it and sometimes we choose to be burdened by it.

Baby Chronicles: Sugar rush

I discovered this morning, purely by accident, how I can get Leechie to move around so I can feel him/her. I stopped by Burger King on the way to work on the off chance that something, anything might sound good. I had already puked once this morning and was feeling pretty hungry. Generally, nothing fast food even sounds remotely good but Burger King has slurpees. Yum!

So, after about 1/2 of the Cherry Slurpee, I started to feel this mad gurggling in my tummy. It felt like someone had a straw and was blowing bubbles into a glass full of soda--but inside my belly. In addition to the mad gurggling, it was happening on one side, then the other, and back and forth in rapid succession. Either Leechie really liked the sugar rush or was really angry at me for bringing it about. Needless to say, it was really awesome but I don't think I'll be drinking any pure sugar anytime soon, just to be on the safe side.

Cook Clan vs. ALS: Rage on Garden Ridge

As some of you know, I have very little (ok, let's be honest, ZERO) tolerance for all things handicap discriminatory. I am proud to say that I have been on my best behavior since the summer incident with the very able bodied man parked in the handicap space at HEB. I figure that since God spared me from the guy pulling out a gun and blowing my brains out, the least I can do is stay calm. Fortunately, I've not had any major discriminatory incidents...until this past weekend.

So, we bribed Russ into taking the boys for a few hours so we could go and do some shopping. Mom, Dad, Nan, and I be-bop through Office Max, Home Depot, and Michaels without incident, Dad using his electric wheelchair the entire time. We pull into the very crowded parking lot at Garden Ridge and notice that the mere 4 handicap spots on the South side of the building are all taken. A little annoyed at the lack of spots, I made some glib remark and my sister piped up that it's not a problem, we can park on the East side of the building and go in the East entrance. Perfect. So we did. On this side of the building, there are probably about 2 dozen or more handicap spots. Viola. Solution.

As soon as we've just about got dad unloaded from the van, Nan notices a big banner that says this entrance is no longer open and we'll have to go around to the other entrance. If you know the Round Rock Garden Ridge, you know that the store is mammoth. The other entrance is quite some distance from the East parking lot. It's sorta like a mall. So, now I'm getting steamed. I know that there is some ADA law about the number of handicap parking spots required based on the store's capacity and I also know that the handicap spots have to be located nearest the entrance. So, fine. That's what cell phones are for.

(Sorry.. I realize now that this post is going to be long, epic even. You should be used to my pregnant raving rants by now.)

So, I call the store. I get some teeny bopper answer the phone and I say, "I need to speak to the store manager, immediately." Several minutes pass and Mr. Manager comes online. I explain to him the situation. I calmly ask him to meet us at the East doors and let us into the building. He refuses. I go balistic. A few choice words later, I inform him that he WILL be meeting me at the customer service desk IMMEDIATELY where we can discuss this issue in person. And I tromp off across the parking lot, the fam trailing behind, my sister right at my side. In retrospect, though I know she was very angry herself, I think she was more concerned that I was about to get myself arrested than she was that we represent dad's interests well.

I turn to her and tell her that what we'll do is walk the distance and check the conditions that a handicapped person would have to traverse in order to get to the South entrance. So, we take off on the sidewalk and the first barrier we encounter is a closed in portion of the sidewalk. If a handicapped person had vision impairment, they probably would not be able to see that when they got to the end of the sidewalk, they would have to turn around and go back in order to get through.

So, we tell dad to go back to the ramp and DRIVE HIS WHEELCHAIR IN THE STREET. Um, yeah, HUGE safety hazard. Picture electric wheelchair meets Christmas shopper in mommy SUV. But, it's the only solution, he can't make it around the building on the sidewalk. We round the first corner on our journey to the South door and (staying on the sidewalk to simulate a handicapped person's experience) we come to the drainage pipe. In order to cross this second barrier, the handicapped person would either have to make a 1 foot jump across the ditch or their wheelchair would have to be able to traverse an almost 4 inch drop down and back up again.

But, we continue on and are just about to round the second corner of the building to make our way to our final destination. Wouldn't you know it... Garden Ridge has this HUGE 20 foot blow up Christmas Snow Glob tied down to cinder blocks and COMPLETELY OBSCURING the sidewalk. Now the blood is pumping so hard in my head that I feel I might puke.

I march into the building, find the customer service desk, and inform the girl at the register that I'm meeting the manager here and where is he? She says, well if he knows you're going to meet him, he'll be here any minute. I make her page him for good measure. We wait. I make her page him again. We wait. I tell her to page him a third time and she refuses. All the while, I am very loudly protesting the plight of the handicapped at Garden Ridge, VERY LOUDLY. I tell her compadre at the next register to page him. We wait. After the 4th page, the dude shows up.

I inform him of the obstructed sidewalk and of my barely controlled rage. I tell him that while I'm not an ADA lawyer (thank goodness for him) I do know that the situation they've got going at Garden Ridge is unacceptable and illegal. I tell him that we have photographed the situation. Now he looks scared. I tell him that he needs to step outside with me and walk the pathway so that he can see all the many barriers to shopping in his store. He apologizes. It's not enough. And, in the end, he tells me that if me and my family would like to shop in his store, he would be happy to meet us at the East entrance and let us out those doors at the end of our shopping.

FAT CHANCE! I inform him that not only will I be contacting his district mangager and corporate headquarters (which he gave me the numbers for) but I will NEVER be shopping at this or any Garden Ridge ever again. And, we left the store, me wondering why he didn't just save himself the headache and just meet us at the FREAKING EAST DOORS in the first place, as I requested. Needless to say, my complaint is not yet over with Garden Ridge. This happened almost 4 days ago and when I drove by there, they still have not corrected the problem. Idiots. They won't even know what hit them.

Baby Chronicles: Golden Cucumber

So, there is a little deli on the first floor of our building. I don't typically eat there because the food is pretty expensive and it's usually not very fresh. Also, my company keeps two well stocked kitchens full of just about everything you can possibly imagine. I've already eaten a bowl of cereal, a croissant, a salad, and some turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy from the kitchen today. Now, there's pretty much nothing left that falls into the appealing category.

You see, today is one of those days when NOTHING at all sounds good and yet I'm starving. I've already raided the kitchen cabinets several times and there's nothing but junk in there. As you know, this kid likes fruit, veggies, and healthy crap. Seriously, I think this child is not mine! All morning long I've been craving a cucumber, cut into long, thick quarters and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I also want a banana and a cup of cherry yogurt.

So, I go down to the deli and the owner sends out this HUGE cucumber. I mean, this cucumber is mammoth! (The guy that works in the deli is a real sweetheart. When he found out I was pregnant, he said, "Wooohooo! Another little Red Raider!") So, he goes into his lunch box and brings me HIS banana. It's sorta darkish and a little past his prime but I decide it will do the trick. Then, he shepishly says that the owner told him to charge me for the cucumber by weight. She charges 4.99 a lb or something outrageous like that. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

$5.50 later I'm sitting happily (albeit somewhat annoyed at the cost) in my cube snarfing down my brown banana, cup of cherry yogurt, and oh yes, you got it, big, fat tasty golden cucumber. At more than $5, it ought to be at least gold lined!

Baby Chronicles: Gender Bets

We had our 16 week check-up yesterday afternoon and the little leech is doing well. The baby has the double whammy on the brat front with both the Cook and Johnson genes and was showing off just how bratty even a baby can be. It took two people running the heartbeat monitor to finally get a read on our leechie. S/he kept avoiding the monitor and just when they'd find the heartbeat, the baby would move away and they'd have to hunt around again. Lil brat! The doctor said that the baby's heartbeat is 145-150.

We're taking bets now on whether le leechie is a boy or girl. I've now had 3 dreams of a girl and 2 dreams of a boy. Ironically, in one of the girl dreams, the child was a monster and in both of the boy dreams the child was a monster. Not literally, but figuratively. Russ thinks it'll be a boy. I think it'll be a girl. What do you all think? Let us know!

We have our next appointment December 12th. I'll be 20 weeks by then and we've been promised to know the gender. We'll keep you posted. I think I may just take that whole day off to go on a gender-specific shopping spree. Clark, I promise to give you a ring and let you know whether to buy blue grips or pink grips for the baby's first golf clubs!

J&J Strike Again: Circle, circle, dot, dot, Can we get a cootie shot?

Both boys have decided that they have found the loves of their lives. Jonson "can't stop thinking about" a girl that lives down the street from him--the older woman since she's in 4th grade. Joseph hollered at his little lady on the way out of pre school the other day, "Emma! I'm gonna marry you!" So, the other night, Jonson sent Joseph to ask mom when he and Jonson would be old enough to take the girls on a date. Mom's reply... same as mine when they asked me the week before... not until you're 16! haha Don't you think 5 and 9 is a little early? I distinctly remember boys still having cooties at that age.

In other news, Joseph may well be the cleverest boy I've ever met. Last week, he received a toy reward for being good. It was a stuffed Monkey, which he named Jack. Well, two days later, Joseph told mom, "Today is Jack's birthday and he told only me what he wants for his birthday. We better go to the store and get him a present." Can you believe it!?! It was so clever that mom couldn't resist and she took him to get Jack a birthday present. Well, over the weekend, he informed her that it was Spikey's (his Halloween bear) birthday. Mom fell for it. And, wouldn't you know that last night before bed, he let her know that Glowy (his glow in the dark bear) is having a birthday very soon! This all comes just after my sister put the moratorium on any more toy buying until Christmas. I'm waiting on baited breath to see what scheme he'll come up with next to avoide the moratorium.

Catch All: Long time, no blog.

Well, in true Cook girl form, I started out with the flu, moved into a sinus infection, and ended (or so I thought) my reign of terror with bronchitis. I know, I know. Those of you that have known me since moving to Austin all know that anytime I get sick, it always ends in bronchitis. I should know this by now too but it seemed to have slipped my mind. Anyhow, I went back to the doctor Tuesday and he says bronchitis. He prescribed new meds. And, of course, I have a lovely little reaction to all this pill popping, a reaction that resulted in a full night of no sleep on top of all the other crap. Poor me. Poor Russ. I even feel sorry for our dogs who've had to put up with my vomitting, crying, moaning, groaning, and hacking cough. And now, I think it may be time for me to re-implement my mind over matter mantra. Let's just pray it works this time. (Yes, prayer is indeed in order here).

So, since I've not blogged in ages, let me catch you all up on what is going on, other than my sickness. You can see the Cook Clan News page for all family events of the month so I'll just focus on Russ and I (and the little Leech). We've both been pretty busy at work. Russ is just about to go into moratorium like they do every year around the holidays where no production changes are allowed until after the first of the year. Dell does this as a way of preventing any outages during the peak shopping season and while lots of people are out of the office for the holiday. So, this means that he's got projects galore making big changes. He's working long hours to keep up with the demand. I'm also busy at work with our flagship product releasing this month. Leechie is busy as well, growing and being very demanding with his/her food intake. This kid doesn't like meat much at all and is all the time "requesting" fruit (watermelon mostly) and veggies (cucumbers this week). The baby is 15 weeks old now.

In other news, Russ shaved his head last month a couple weeks before Halloween. I tried to get him to shave it last Halloween for his costume and he wouldn't do it but evidently, he made a promise to himself that when we got pregnant, he'd shave it. He even told some of his buddies that he was planning to do this. I had no idea! haha So, once the baby became public knowledge, he shaved his head. He let the boys help and boy did they have fun... first shaving his hair into a mohawk and then finishing it off. Here's a pic of Trenton (Jonson's friend) and Joseph with Mohawk Russ.



And here's a picture of Russ, freshly shorn.