My Enigmatic Lil Pumpkin

Gideon was up all night vomiting. He had no fever, but a lot of puking. I would hear moaning and sharp cries, and get there right in time with the bucket. Then, he woke up smiling and sunshine-like. He has not thrown up one time today. He doesn't want to eat or drink anything, so there must be something going on in that tummy of his. I wonder sometimes if maybe his pain tolerance has become epic-like. I wonder if it is only while his body is absolutely still that he feels pain (at night). I don't get it and I need to try to stop attempting to get it. When Gideon reacted to his first dosages of chemo with colossal headaches and his heart began to steadily slow its rhythm, no one understood that, either. I have come to one conclusion: There is no normal with cancer. There is no common side effect. Chemotherapy is really poison, so how the body handles that poison is unique, I'm guessing.

(Or...he's fighting a bug.) says the quiet inner voice that just never stops talking...

There I go, guessing. I'm going to drive myself batty. For now he is happily reading a book about Venus on the couch with Brody. I will place the mysteries of last night out of my mind and fall asleep with the bucket next to me again tonight. I'm thankful there is no fever and that he is himself today. He has not beat anyone up, either! YES. We're thankful for every victory.

Speaking of VICTORY... Reader's Digest is not announcing the winner of the "We Hear You America" contest until February 17. They are going through the votes and validating them. I think we can hesitantly celebrate a win, though. THANK YOU to all of those who cheered and spread the word. Grand Marais is the gem of Michigan, of the Nation, of the WORLD. I'm not even exaggerating. President Obama will be up north this week (this is only the third time in the last century that the President has visited the pride of the nation, aka the Upper Peninsula), so I'm pretty sure he'll give this tiny town a shout-out!

In other news: we are proud of our Brody! As you know, he is living and breathing hockey, hockey, HOCKEY! Nonstop obsession is what he has, and I have NO idea what that's like (heeeheehee). Anyway, he played in his first REAL game. He did his best and scored a NATURAL hat-trick (that's hockey lingo for three consecutive goals in a row). Since he prides himself in being a goal defender, we were so happy to see our little man attack the net this time. YAY, BRODY!