Dear Kids,
         What a fun, crazy week we’re having.  Charlie and Matthew came Sunday afternoon with Nora’s family, and they entertained us until Tuesday, when Dad drove them up to Wolf Creek Pass.  They had fun throwing snowballs at each other while they waited for Thackers to come pick them up.  They’ve been in Upalco ever since, but Thursday afternoon Sharon arrived with Lucy and Conrad, fresh from the airport.  Sharon’s rental car is very peppy, she discovered, when she got a speeding ticket leaving the airport.  She and the kids are keeping their stuff here, and they sleep here, but they go different places during the day to link up with friends and have fun.   When they’re here, we’re totally Fun Central, because Donna’s family is usually here, too.  We haven’t been bored a single minute.
          Last Sunday afternoon I was dumb enough to take an overdose of my pain pills.   I always put one day’s worth in a little container, and count them during the day to make sure I’m on track.  So on Sunday, at noon,  I was supposed to still have five.  I dumped them out on the kitchen counter to count them, and I was right on.  I pushed aside the one I was going to take, and then, without thinking, I took the other four.  (I often take four ibuprofin at a time, so it felt totally natural.)  I called poison control, because I know you can have seizures if you take too much Tramadol.  They said I was on the border of the danger zone, and that I would definitely get very sleepy.  Dad was supposed to check on me every half hour or so to make sure I was breathing.  I’m pretty sure he did, but I slept so soundly I was unconscious of everything.  I didn’t even get to talk to all of you who were here!   I hope you all had fun.  Thanks for cleaning up. Everything looked fine when I woke up Monday morning.  I was groggy for a day or so, but fortunately there was no long-lasting trouble.
        Thursday afternoon I met with my oncologist, and I wondered how much he could find out, since he hadn’t made me get a CAT scan beforehand.  He found out a lot.  He listened to my breathing and thumped my liver, and looked for yellow in my eyes.  He said my weight was good. (Cancer eats calories, and you lost weight without trying.)  He did a blood test, which showed only normal amounts of cancer cells in my blood.  (We all have them.)  So evidently the “spot” on my lung isn’t doing anything bad yet.  Hopefully it never will.  I sure appreciate all your prayers!  My next oncology appointment is in October, and this time I’ll have to get a CAT scan first.  I just hope and pray everything will still be OK.
        Eleven more  days till the Family Reunion!  And we should have good news from Tom and Kim before that!
        Lots of love, Mom