6.13.2006

A Teenager

Today was the first day of J's first ever mid-term exams and also her thirteenth birthday. She got a text message from a classmate on my cell phone this morning and was out the door, off for school at 7:45.

I went out the door with the elementary school group to catch the bus for the hospital. The little girl in L's class who lives downstairs and usually goes to school together was still in dreamland and her sleepy eyed mom answered the door (with this morning's paper still stuck in the slot), slightly panicking to see the usual group of escorts. I felt better about the few times we've overslept knowing that other people do too. It was decided that the group would go on and the mom would take her daughter a little later.

I said goodbye to the kids near the school and caught my bus for the third to the last chemo in this regimen. I decided to go scarf/hat/wig-less as it's humid and warm now and my hair, though short, is thick enough to hide my scalp. The nurses commented and laughed when I told them it's this year's summer trend. "Kathy - the Summer Version." I did wear silver earrings and a spoon ring (very unique in Japan).

The blood work was fine so the onco. set me up with an IV hook-up (3 pokes today, he needs practice.) and I advanced to the chemo room for a nice nap. I slept soundly for the duration of the drip and was home by noon to take J out for lunch as there are no school lunches on exam days.

Some of J's friends came over for cake (13 individual portions of quadruple berry tiramisu made by N, L and me last night). The younger siblings went on a shopping expedition to find a gift so J could enjoy the time with her friends without interference. I gave her the most recent Harry Potter book in Japanese (the translated version only came out last month) but she is waiting until tomorrow afternoon, after the mid-terms are finished, to open it, when she won't have to concentrate on social studies or memorizing the English textbook word for word.

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