Monday June 30th

First things first,
Pop's has had two good days in a row....woohoo!! He seems to be coming back to his usual self and has asked my Mom some interesting questions...like " how did I get here".....being dehydrated and having low oxygen levels can really mess with the mind!! Asking the questions seems to be a step in the right direction.

I am still in Maine for now and got the kids situated with their basletball camp this morning. Quinn and Margaret play at 10 and Patrick and Kathleen play at 8:30.....Kathleen did very well going with her group. I was proud of her. I was afraid she may cry or cling to me but I was busy with filling out forms when they called for the kids so I had Margaret push her in the right direction and she went. I strategically did not look at her for a while. One look could change everything! I did see her make a basket and she looked over at me and was grinning really big and I gave her a thumbs up!! She was proud and so was I .
So camp meets each morning for 5 weeks, lots of exercise!!

Margaret was guarding one of the Allstar softball girls ( the daughter of the Coach) to the point where the girl did not know what to do.....she could not shake Margaret! She finally made a pass, the girl she passed it to, passed it right back to her and Margaret came outta nowhere and stole the ball. It just filled my competitive heart right up with pride!!

Rollercoasters

In 1976 my mother and I got into the wrong line at a Disney World attraction ( I think we were planning to go on those slow moving cars that travel around space mountain, and show you the space program through the years.) We ended up being in the line for Space Mountain, Pop's and Joe were with us. Mom and I were almost crying as we wove through the line, I just kept saying" don't like, don't like, don't like it at all!!" ( I made that line famous for years to come) ..We read the warning signs about whether you have a heart condition and if you were pregnant.....ride at your own risk....caution!! .....the cars were glowing green and shooting above our heads ...Before panic set in, Mom and I backtracked and climbed over ropes and cut out the back through an emergency exit! Thinking back, a more reasonable choice would have been to simply explain to the attendant that we did not want to go on the ride.I am sure they would have shown us the way out, Pop's and Joe were all for it and waited in line.
We were on a mission, to escape Space Mountain without looking like wimps! We left the building by way of the emergency exit, after all this was an emergency and we then climbed over the train tracks and a fence, which I thought was funny. My Mom was not much of a fence climber and I wondered of she was going to make it! We made it back around to the front of Space Mountain, where we found Pop's and Joe waiting for us, they had finished the ride before we even got out of the building!
I rode Space Mountain at DisneyWorld back in 1987....twice, being a bit older I was more brave and I was with a friend, I liked it, and liked even more that my friend was scared and I was not.

I rode it again with Tom in 1990 and decided it was NOT fun, not funny, just bad!" Don't like it, Don't like it, don't like it at all."

In 1999 I rode a rollercoaster with Taf and Tom at Six Flags, it was Taf's first rollercoaster ride and I felt obligated to be the cool Mom and go....It was terrifying and made me sick to my stomach......
My opinion of rollercoasters today is that they are scary and I am not sure if I want to go on one again. It will depend on who asks me and where I am.

Rollercoasters go up and down and twist and turn they do loop-de-loops and some even have you hang upside down as you go. People scream and some get sick, they hang on to each other or white knuckle the hand rails........People always seem happy getting on and happier that they make it off........You hold on tight, say your prayers and hope you reach a soft landing as soon as possible.



Soemtimes life seems like a rollercoaster
So hold on, say your prayes and look ahead for the soft landing.....

Friday in Maine

I asked Pop's yesterday what do I tell people when they ask me how he is doing and he said to tell them "I am doing much much much better!!"
He looked fantastic yesterday and seemed stronger. So considering that, I decided to head back to Maine with the kids, so they could play some baseball.

Last nights game was nothing but FUN!! Because Taf and Quinn's team is in first place heading into the playoffs, the coach let each player play in the position they wanted too. So the kid who had been on the bench and played right field most of the season was able to play First Base. The kids who usually played teh infield played teh outfield, The goofy kid who usually plays shortstop (Taf) was the catcher and three kids wanted to pitch......Quinn was one of them. Another boy named Nick started pitching and let 8 runs in with two men on before the coach put Quinn in, Quinn did an awesome job!! He threw some stricks, kids made some hits ....he pitched for 4 innings and the only runs that came in on his watch were the two runners he inherited from Nick.
Our team was down 10 to 1 for awhile and then started making some great hits....the final score was 13 to 14.

I am still hoping praying and planning on my Dad improving each day and I plan to head back to RI on Sunday to see him.

The Fogarty Seven are also praying for:
Bob G, Eileen, baby Marianne

The "I told you so" update

"I told you so" is a very powerfull phrase.....I think everyone has said it, especially mothers, hundreds of times, in a variety of ways, I told you it was cold out, I told you you would get a tummy ache, I told you blah blah blah.....I also know that saying "I told you so" has had a bad connotation....people may think you are being rude. One certainly can not run around constantly saying "I told you so", in a way that offends. However how your " I told you so's" are delivered are a key to their reception.

I told you so, is just confirmation that the person saying it truly believed what he said the first time....He believed,he intended and it happened.

"The medicine is working, I am better with each breath I take, I am a super hero"......I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!

The doctor confirmed last night that Pop's can say I told you so and we can believe him....( Just for the record, I always believed him and I can say I told you so, too)

The Best $100 I will ever spend

Yesterday my Mom and I went to see my Dad and he was happy and making jokes and was eating beef stew for his lunch.
After a few hours he kicked us out!! He wanted to sleep and once I had tucked him in and kissed his bald head he gave my Mom a hug....as good a hug as one can do under the constrictions of IV lines, monitors, and a breathing aparatus that looks like a fighter pilots face mask. She laughed and then cried and had to take out her industrial strength hankie and my Dad said " what are you crying for?? I will be here tomorrow!"........

It all makes me so sad but it makes me happy as well....No one could be trying to get better as much as my Dad, and I truly feel as though if anyone can do it , he can.

I drove home to Maine last night, and will bring the kids with me back to RI today.....yesterday I went to Pep Boys in RI and had to get two new tires, a tie rod and a tail light on my car, there is more that needs to be done but my wallet is empty!! ......and back at home I had to have the septic tank pumped and the furnace repaired on the same day.... the furnace needs to be replaced which is something I don't even want to think about right now!!

But when I do think about the stresses of all the things that impact us everyday....the price of gas, the furnace, the heat for winter, catholic school tuition, food..........ARGH!!!!

I am going to STOP because I know this.....

For $100 in gas today, I can drive three hours, with 5 kids, and spend time with "Pops" and it will fill all of our hearts ......... and that seems to be the best $100 I could ever spend.

Please pray that he is well enough for the visit, I believe he will be.

My Dad

I am sitting at my Dad's computer as I write this blog. He sits in his hospital bed.
He now has congestive heart failure and pneumonia and just typing the words is hard for me.
My Dad also has Super Hero powers , and I know that he is fighting to live! Nothing would make him happier than to be able to tell us all "I told you so", I told you I would get better......it is still a possibility, the doc's are saying he could still get better. We have plenty of hope and prayers.

If you are reading this, then you know my Dad, "Pop's" is very special and he needs us all to be thinking only positive thoughts and to pray!

First Communion and Confirmation

Patrick made his First Communion and Confirmation on Saturday. Here are some pictures from a very special day!! Patrick with Father Dan , his godmother Caitlin and his Godfather, Uncle Joe.

Father Aaron was celebrating his first mass, he was ordained last weekend, so it was a special mass for him as well. He was proud of Patrick. Everyone was proud of Patrick!!

Patrick received a special blessing .............

After mass people came to congratulate Patrick...he made a lot of people smile!!!





After the Mass, Patrick had a party and had a great time with his family and his friends!! Especially Brendan and Peter.

So what have you been doing?

I have been like a duck.....calm and smooth on the waters service, gliding about....... but underneath I am paddling like hell to stay afloat......
I am good though, the school year is winding down, Taf finishes today so I will make my last trip to Portland after I write this. The baseball games and softball games have been fun. Taf is playing shortstop and hitting like a champ. Quinn plays on the same team, he plays either at third or second. He does great in the field but has had some trouble in the batters box. He has been hitting, its just the other team has been catching!

Margaret has become a switch hitter which is remarkable. We had talked about how she maybe should have been left handed to begin with because of her goofy eye.....well she decided to hit left handed at batting practice one night.....She was awesome and since then has been hitting lefty in her games.....I am amazed but not surprised. She has not actually switched up in a game but I think she will be able to at some point, after a little coaching as to why, and when you could use that.

Patrick has been playing well and just started pitching a bit. They let the little kids pitch and walk 4 batters and then it goes back to coach pitch to move things along. They usually play a variety of positions and Patrick makes some good hits now and then. It is like watching the grass grow in comparison to the others, but I make sure he sees me watching him before I sneak away and go watch the other kids!

The pool is getting clear and I am getting some repairs taken care of....like the lovely matching set of broken windows I have that sit on each side of the strike zone, (AKA the chimney) Those are being replaced today and then reinforcements will go up during pitching practice so-help-me-God! They do not have to throw the balls there but something just invites them....at any time, any ball, any kid......

Tomorrow is Pop's last chemo for this round of treatment. He will have a few more radiation treatments and then hopefully a nice break to enjoy some summer activities.
(The lounge chairs are waiting poolside!)

Prayers continue to be needed.....
please pray for
-Eileen who just had surgery for her breast cancer....( she is doing well)
- for my friend, Deana, who tragically lost her niece in a horrible accident.
-for the family of that little girl.....She was only 9 and leaves her parents and two sisters.
- for the man who caused the accident....it was an accident.....no drugs, no alcohol, just the blinding sun on his windshield....
- for all who have to deal with the pictures in their mind of such a tragedy....

please continue to pray for Pop's
and his friend Bob

And the next time you are stuck in traffic, late for work, pumping gas or trying to figure out how you will heat your house this winter....stop and be thankful for the little things!! Hug your babies, no matter what age and count your blessings!