Losing my (rugby) virginity

It's never too late to learn or try new things. And this is the topic of today's post- new things.

 

Yesterday, William, Morgan and I went to our first ever college rugby game. (Siena stayed with my mom because she is sick - again - with a fever and cold. She was super sick just a few weeks ago. Ugh. Oh well, let's get her sick and well now because we leave for Italy in just 25 days so better now than later!) Morgan and I were complete newbies to the sport (William was not). We went to the Real Salt Lake stadium and watched the national championship game between BYU and Berkley. BYU won for the third consecutive year. (How BYU can turn out championship rugby and volleyball teams yet suck in football and basketball is another story.) But nonetheless, it was a spectacularly beautiful day and the game was awesome. Weird and fascinating and brutal. We loved it. And I did something I swore I'd never do again-- I cheered on BYU. It didn't make me feel ill so, hey, it all worked out. After the game, we spent hours going from store to store trying to find just the right soccer shoes for Morgan. We got some dinner, then met my dad and brother and watched the new Spiderman movie on the IMax screen. I hated the movie. I found it long, rambling, slow and non-sensical. It sort of developed story lines and then didn't develop them. And I felt like the movie would never end. William fell asleep during part of it and I almost joined him. Oh well.

A few days prior, William and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point gardens. It was so beautiful and we literally stopped and smelled the tulips. It was fresh and delicious and peaceful. It was a very happy morning. Last year, we went to the Tulip Festival, too, and I was still wearing a wig. I was miserable because my hair was growing back in and my wigs weren't sitting right on my head any longer and they made my scalp itch. If there was just a slight amount of wind, I'd wear a hat over it because I was afraid my wig would just blow off. Anyway, William and I were walking out of the gardens and a cute girl with a short haircut walked past us. I grabbed William's arm and said, "See that girl? My hair looks kind of like that without the wig." He said, "It's cute. Why are you wearing a wig anymore?" Good question. A few weeks later, I bravely pitched the wig and went with the short haircut until I had enough length that I was able to add hair extensions. It was a huge, ginormous step for me. Here we are a year later and I have just four hair extensions on the side of my head only. And before we leave for Italy, I'm taking out all the hair extensions. My hair is naturally very curly so I either blowdry it straight or I put huge big curls. Either way, it's HAIR!

On Friday, I let Morgan ditch school for the day. She's doing great in school and she went to my weekly Velcade injection appointment at Huntsman Cancer Institute. At my appointment, we met my friend and fellow Myeloma Warrior, Jenny, and we filmed me getting my port accessed and getting my chemo injection. We are going to use that video on the www.myelomacrowd.org site and also add it to the new Youtube channel, too. Jenny filmed and Morgan was a backup. Morgan wants to be a nurse and loves going to Huntsman with me. The nurses are so nice to her and sometimes they allow her to help them take the pulse and blood pressure of other patients. It's fun to see her be excited about a future career path. After my appointment, we went shopping. Morgan's step sister, Kalie, sent her a gift card to Hollister for her birthday and she spent it on a top, a pair of shorts, and a cute sweater. And then we went to lunch. It was a nice Mommy-Morgan day. We need to do that more often.

Now the Mom-guilt thing: On Saturday morning, Siena woke up and said she felt dizzy and her tummy hurt. I blew it off. "You're tired, you went to bed too late, and you have a game. Let's go." She played a decent game-- scoring the only two goals for the team and winning it 2-1. A few days earlier, she scored five goals! Because I had promised to pay out $5 per goal, she's getting rich while I'm getting poor! She's saving all that cash for our trip to Europe at the end of the month. Anyway, as it turns out, she really was sick! She had a fever for the rest of the day. Thanks to my Angel mom, Siena was able to stay with her all day and rest up. Thanks, Mom!

This week promises to be a busy one. I meet up with Jenny tomorrow so we can coordinate our presentation to a BYU class. We are hoping to get a few interns to help us with the Myeloma Crowd efforts. I haven't given a presentation in a very long time. Hopefully it's a success-- not for me or for Jenny personally, but for our efforts to find cures and treatments for this disease.

I cannot believe that our Big Trip is just a few weeks away. I'm a little overwhelmed by the reality. I'm really excited. I need a vacation! But the packing and prep- yikes! I pulled out our passports and, thank goodness, they're all still valid. Siena's expires next March so after the summer, I'll need to get her a new one. I do believe we're going to head up to Canada in July so after that trip, it's new passport time. I love seeing new parts of the country and world and I hope Morgan and Siena appreciate how lucky they are to be able to experience these trips. I hope it broadens their perspective on life. They're such amazing and good girls. I'm so proud of them.

I love Spring. I love flowers and the smell of newness. It's hopeful, and I love hope. Speaking of smells, I put a roast in the oven with lots of carrots, garlic, potatoes and even apples. Oh my gosh it smells so good. I'm melting.