Hallowe'en-- both tricks and treats

Our household has been in full-out Hallowe'en mode all week long.

Isaac decided that he wanted his costume to be of Super-Indian. (i.e., Native American, but my former roommate who was/is Navajo still preferred to refer to herself as an Indian. Out of respect for her as one phenomenal woman...) Mom found some basic tan fleece to make the pants' part of his costume. Then she found a flannel-like tan piece that looked like it had a pattern that reminds one of the rock paintings one sees in caves in the Southwestern U.S. for the top. I can't remember exactly what the picture was on the red cape (we are talking a superhero, here), but was was also reminiscent of Indians. She pinned a red felt fringe to along the outer arms and legs of both top and bottom. Isaac was rather insistent that the cape needed to be scary, so Mom pinned plastic glow-in-the-dark skeletons, spiders, and bat-wing rings to it.

Mari spent a couple of days in Las Vegas because that was the closest place she could get into a class for PALS recertification (something she needs to be an ER nurse). She'll be going back again this next week for an ACLS class. While she was gone, the Hallowe'en fever died down a bit, but every day, Isaac came up with another idea having to do with the costume, the pumpkin awaiting transformation into a jack-o'lantern, or concerns about what time to start trick-or-treating.

As for me... I don't usually monitor my temperature on a daily basis, but about a week after both chemo treatments, I've found myself with a temperature over my "limit" of 100.4. When that happens, I have an prescribed antiobiotic on hand, but have to call the doctor before I start taking it. Since this has now happened twice, the person (P.A., nurse?) told me to start taking the pills, but then to check back the following day, if my fever had not responded.

Friday, I was just so tired and so cold, that I initially thought I'd just stay in bed awhile longer. Turned out, that I never really left the bed. I certainly did not go to work. When things hadn't changed on Saturday, I spoke with the on-call doctor from the clinic who felt that I needed to be seen and have a full blood work-up, etc., done. Since the clinic was closed, that meant going to the ER. Oh, and btw, there was a chance that they would admit me, rather than send me home.

Turned out I was dehydrated & the fever was because my white blood cell count was so low. In the end, they pumped me full of IV antibiotics, gave me a prescription for more to take (in addition what I was already taking), and sent me home. Consensus opinion was that there was enough H1N1, etc., floating around the hospital that it was better for me to be out of that environment.

The worst part of the day was trying to give them a decent urine sample. The first time around, I couldn't produce enough to justify the use of the cup. After giving me fluids, I had enough in the cup-- which I tend proceeded to drop and most of the sample fell out of the cup and onto the floor. I was so frustrated I felt like crying! Fortunately, there was enough left in me to produce a third sample. Part of the frustration was that I was so very tired and I had to repeat all of the cleansing procedures each and every time! I cannot express how thankful I was to be done with that particularly simple task. I don't know that anyone can fully appreciate just how daunting it can be sometimes.

While I ended up spending most of the day at the ER, I still figure I had the easy, albeit boring, day. Mari's day, by comparison, had "promises to keep and miles to go" before she could ever sleep!

Mari & Isaac did schoolwork in the morning, but planned their weekly library trip for the afternoon. Isaac wasn't particularly excited about it because his plans (except for the library) were strictly Hallowe'en related.

They thought their weekly trip to the library would be just their standard outing. I totally spaced out (having had no reason to remember before now) on giving her fair warning. Our parents would have died before letting us try to trick-or-treat at a business, but we live in a comparatively small town. The nearest mall is a few towns over, so the downtown businesses invited trick-or-treaters to their establishments between 11 am & 3 pm. They hit the library in the middle of the crush!

We'd already had to talk our socks off to convince Isaac that kids would not be going out until the evening (he was sure that going in the daytime was much better)-- and there was the costume parade going up and down the street to belie our arguments. He was disappointed to discover that, except for the library, he would not be joining their ranks. But, he brightened up, to find that they would be lunching at Arctic Circle where he could get a "square pumpkin," i.e., the standard kids' meal in an jack-o'lantern-style decorated box. Then it was back home for the pumpkin-carving and a rest before the evening's activities would begin.

Back at the ER, at 3:30, Mom & I were told that I was going to be sent home, but that the antiobiotic they had just started would take 2 hours. That meant that the earliest we would arrive at home was 6:30 p.m.-- not counting the need to fill a prescription first. That meant, Mari wouldn't be able to take Isaac out trick-or-treating until after we got home (7 p.m. at the very earliest). She would have to stay home to pass out goodies to those who came to our house until we could get there to take over.

As things turned out, the crisis was averted! In our neighborhood, trick-or-treaters start showing up between 5- and 5:30 p.m. and are finished before 8. Isaac was panicked when the first children showed up at our door-- he was positive that the candy would all be gone before he could even get out our door! At the same time, he was giving miniature glow sticks that Mom had gotten for him to carry as part of his costume to the kids who came do the door. His question to Mari was "Grandma, wouldn't you want me to share?" Mari had him put on his costume so that he would be ready to go at the first opportunity-- and shortly thereafter, his prayers (if he had any) were answered!

Kathy K. (my neighbor and children's music teacher extraordinaire) came by with her children. She invited Isaac to go trick-or-treating with them! They were bringing me a treat, so we were one of the first houses (if not the first) that they stopped at. Isaac already knew and trusted her, and he was so ready to be out of our house! It was such a simple service, but do people realize just how much that kindness meant-- to all of us! Isaac was ecstatic to actually BE trick-or-treating. I was relieved of my guilt over not being home, so that Mom could pass out treats and Mari could be going door-to-door with him. To free up Mari, I had decided that we would just go straight home & then I would go fill the prescription. This option allowed us to fill the prescription first. As it was, the 1st pharmacy was already closed (didn't know the weekend hours were different) and we got to WalMart's pharmacy 10 minutes before their weekend closure time. Even at that, the pharmacist seemed to take pity on me because the clerk wasn't going to accept my prescription. It quickly becomes apparent how that one tiny act of kindness snowballed so that my life could be blessed as a result.

When Superheroes look at their lives, they look for positive chains-of-events. They know that one good thing begets another good thing and "like circles in a pond" the influence of that one good thing ripples out into the world going on forever and ever. Too often people look for the reasons why they are sad or unhappy or unfulfilled in their lives. How much more effective would it be for them to look for reasons that they are happy and fulfilled! How much better to look for a day's positive chain-of-events!