the T spot: May 2008

Mixed news to report this week: Things are good with Jacob, he appears to be healing well and is in good spirits. He's having a bit of difficulty with bright lights, so the sunshine this week has been less than welcome for him, although I'm quite enjoying finally having some spring weather!

Allen and Jacob went Halibut fishing earlier this week up in Neah Bay. They had a less than stellar time, the weather was horrific with 10 foot seas and they both spent the entire day throwing up on the boat. They didn't even get a chance to pick up a fishing pole, so needless to say they didn't come home with any halibut. Others on the boat caught ling cod and shared with those who were ill, so it was nice they at least came home with something!

Through all of that Jacob was a real trooper. Allen said that 10 minutes after departing from the dock Jacob said he wanted to go home! Mind you he'd had surgery just 5 days before, so he already wasn't in the best of spirits. Add getting seasick on top of that and he was one miserable kid. Despite all of that, when Allen told him that they were stuck for the duration, he took it like a champ.

There's only a few weeks left of school for Austin, Jacob AND Allen. Of the three, Allen is by far the most eager, with only 8 classes to go before graduating and "turning out" as a journeyman. It's been a very long road for him, as most of you know, and I think it's really going to be a boost for him to finish this. I haven't figured out how to celebrate this occasion yet, but at the moment it's a little bittersweet, so I think I have some time to decide.

I say bittersweet because one of his classmates, Joe Jackson, died in a motorcycle accident on Monday. This kid was just 28 years old, and like Allen, just a few classes away from graduating.
He was married just last year, and since he hadn't graduated yet, wasn't vested in the Union. It's my understanding that they are going to turn him out, so at least his widow can receive some sort of pension/benefits. We'll be attending a memorial service on Saturday.

I cannot even begin to imagine what his wife and family are going through; it has made me really aware of how fragile life is. I remember reading about couples who survived 9/11 and now make sure they don't go a single day without telling their spouse they love them because they know that truly at any moment their lives could be ripped apart. To think of kissing your husband or wife in the morning and having no idea that it's the last time you'll ever see them.

I've noticed that we've been nicer to each other this week, making sure to say we love one another and acknowledging how lucky we are to have each other. I try with all my might not to think about how close I was to the same fate. Truly, had I ignored my symptoms a few months longer, I may not have survived my battle with cancer. We don't ever talk about that, I think mostly because we don't want to acknowledge "what could have been". It's much better to think about how it did turn out...

Geez, happy friday, I guess!