Yes, I'm still . . .

here.  It's the end of the semester, and I'm barely keeping my head above water.  I will write more soon.

One year ago . . .

today I received a phone call from my cousin.  JL called to say that our grandmother had passed out in her bedroom.  The paramedics were unable to revive her, so they put her on life support (which is standard procedure in an emergency, but not something my grandmother would have wanted done).  As a result of being deprived of oxygen, she was declared brain dead sometime the next day.  My aunts, my uncle, and my mother then debated when to take her off of life support, a decision my grandfather wanted no part of and one that was legally my youngest aunt's to make, as she had medical power of attorney for my grandmother.  They finally agreed to give everyone a chance to get to Gram, and two nights after she first passed out, my grandmother was taken off of life support.  She died five hours later, never regaining consciousness. 

My grandmother was a difficult lady.  She was determined, proud, intelligent, confident, and honest.  She didn't mince words, especially not with her daughters or her granddaughters.  She openly questioned my desire to get my doctorate, telling me right after Archer got his, "Why do you need to continue with your studies?  He has a degree.  You don't need one too."  But, as I learned at her funeral, she was also incredibly proud of "her girls," as she apparently referred to me, my sister, and our two female cousins.  Over and over again, people we had not seen in years came up to each of us and told us how much she talked about us.  My sister, for example, had no idea how brave my grandmother thought she was to end her marriage to her first husband and to parent her two children alone.  My cousin, who dropped out of college and worked her way up through retail management to run her own store, had no idea that my grandmother admired the way she stood up to her parents when she refused to go back to college.  I had no clue that my grandmother was proud of all that I'd accomplished or that she'd told people, "My M, she's smarter than I'll ever be."  I know we all wish we had known some of this while she was still alive, but that was Gram.  You didn't know something until she was ready to tell you.

Random Stuff

• Archer's been home today searching for Bear's birth certificate, which we seem to have misplaced.  He just called to tell me that he found it in the "Life Insurance Policy" folder in our filing cabinet.  Suddenly I knew immediately why it was there.  We needed it and our life insurance policy information when we had our wills made up in May.  Somehow his birth certificate never got put back in the right place.
• It is snowing.  It isn't sticking, but still, it is snowing.
• I've finished my antibiotics, and my cough is mostly gone.  I'm still fairly congested and snotty though.  I'm giving it till Monday, and then I'm going back to the doctor.
• Archer and I are buying each other a new furnace for Christmas.  I know, we're super-romantic.  We found a local business who quoted us a really reasonable price, and we're much happy going with a local business than a big corporation--especially when the quote is about $3,000 under the big corporation.
• We're thinking of getting the boys a train table like this.  I want one that does more things though.  Bear is still into trains, but Wild Man has moved beyond trains a bit.  He is really into legos, and I think this is a fascination that is here to stay.  I'd like a table that could be used for trains or for legos.  I'm having a hard time finding such a thing.
• The article I submitted a few weeks ago was rejected.  It was the nicest rejection I've ever gotten, so I'm not sure what I think.  I was told that it is very well written and that it present a very interesting idea; it does not, however, add to the current argument on the subject.  Ok, fine.  I'll take that.  I've spent a few days rereading and editing some minor places.  I've found some very current (2010) sources that will help me develop my argument, and I've already spoken with another editor.  I'm hoping to get it out by next week.  
• I'm behind in other tasks, including a book review and a grant I need to finish.  I'm trying to get back on track.  I've had some major distractions that I'm not at liberty to discuss yet.
• My sister is coming to visit us for American Thanksgiving, which will be very, very nice.
• Archer and I have finally figured out a plan for renovating the basement, and I think we can do most of it ourselves.  We'll need to hire a contract to put in a closet and, eventually, a bathroom, but we can do a lot of it ourselves.
• I'm going to an elementary school open house tonight.  It is a school for the arts, and I think it might be a good place to send Wild Man at some point.  I don't think they'll have any spots open for next fall, but I want to check it out just in case.

This has been a rough week

The subject line really says it all.  I'm sick, and the antibiotics don't appear to be working very quickly.  My cough has subsided some, but I'm still coughing a lot.  Bear has decided that he wants to be awake at 4:30 or 5:00.  For whatever reason, he will not go back to sleep if he sees me.  Archer is able to get him back to sleep until 6 or so, but only after much convincing.  So we're both tired.  My house desperately needs to be cleaned--seriously, the dust bunnies have dust bunnies--but I have neither the time nor the inclination to clean it. 

I promise I'll be more positive next week.  But I can't seem to muster much positive energy this week.

The diagnosis is in

I have bronchitis.  Not fun.  Luckily, I now have antibiotics.

Random Updates

• The cough continues to linger, and I finally made a doctor's appointment.  I can't get in until tomorrow though.  In the meantime, I sound fairly awful, and now it hurts to cough.
• We're tentatively making Christmas plans to travel to Home State, even though I'd much rather stay put.  Archer wants to be there for his brother, as it will be his first Christmas since he and his wife have decided to divorce.  I'm willing to go to support R, but I'm intensely worried that there will be drama.
• My sister and her children may be in Home State for part of the holiday, which made the decision to go a bit easier for me.
• I'm way behind on grading, but well, who isn't at this point in the semester?
• We're in the middle of getting estimates on furnaces, and let me tell you that one of the things I hate most about living in Canada: the high sales tax.  So far we've gotten two fairly reasonable estimates, and then we're reminded that the estimates don't include sales tax.  So then we have to add about $1,000 to the cost, for real.  So irritating.
• I took Wild Man to observe a violin lesson last week, and well, he loved it.  So now we're shopping for a violin, and he should start lessons next week.
• One of the trees outside my office window is the most beautiful yellow right now. I will be very sad when the leaves fall off.
• Bear is showing absolutely no interest in potty training. None at all.  And right now, I don't have the energy to encourage him.  This will be a family project over the Christmas break, I think.

I have a . . .

cough that will not go away.  I had a cold a few weeks ago, and it came and went fairly quickly.  This cough, however, is lingering, and it is getting worse.  I'm giving it till tomorrow, and then I'm making a doctor's appointment.  So not fun . . .