Replies to all my lovely messages:
Yes Mum it sucks looking at old photos and I hardly ever do. Derry has barely changed since he was a baby but Scott has taken a beating from this dreadful disease. Maybe this summer will be kind to us and Scott will get his groove back. He still dreams of being an FBI profiler (or if that doesn’t work out, a stripper, and no, I am not making that up!!!!!), so he has about six years to get fit, get educated and put this nonsense behind him.
Sherry, like I said above I hardly ever look at old photos. How you find the strength to do so amazes me. But everything you do amazes me. Scott is bedazzled by you too, especially since he learned you have a golf cart. :)
Please support Sherry’s wonderful charity if you can …
http://www.givinghopethroughfaith.org/
or buy her book. For those in the UK, I will gladly post it.
Sandie my sunshine, my bad influence, unless you have deteriorated dramatically in the last few years then I think the “old crone in the mirror” is simply a figment designed to make me feel less old and saggy. But that’s okay, you may continue feeding my schadenfraude troll – he likes it! And as for you being the kind of girl my folks warned me about – LOL – yup you’re probably right. If it werent for you and your type I'd be a non-smoking univeristy professor by now. And just for the record, if I do end up doing a “grizzly man” in years to come (after our date at the dumpster); my folks can come looking to YOU for answers! Let me know when you get Rock Band 2 on the PS3 – I’ll whoop your arse on Aqualung – yes I really can do it, 94% on expert!!! I rock.
Carolyn, oh dear … I am so paranoid as to who is looking into our fish bowl and when you say "so many people come here on Thursdays for updates" it gives me the heebie-jeebies. It is hard writing this blog, trying to take into consideration who is reading and tip-toeing around my words so as not to offend anyone. I try to keep this journal fairly limited to Scott and his trials and tribulations but needless to say, so much other ‘stuff’ gets thrown into the mix too – most often written when I am at the depths of despair or half asleep. And for us to be called 'inspirational' kind of makes me chuckle. There are, sadly, a great many blogs and carepages out there devoted to sick children, and my goodness, 99% of those families seem to handle it all WAY better than we do. We're either running around like headless chickens in a permanent state of OMGishness or mute and shocked, still stunned after 2 long years. Anyhow, when push comes to shove, I'd sure rather have people that come here and give a damn than be all alone and talking to myself.
Angel Laura, you think I’m funny?? Wow, I’ve been called a lot of things in my life (stubborn and opinionated most often) but funny isn’t usually among them. I know I am fiercely sarcastic (not necessarily funny) and have a very dry sense of humor. I doubt either come across when I write updates as, like I said to Carolyn, I’m either in a foul mood or half asleep. I keep thinking about starting another blog and REALLY letting rip (oooh I get so darn mad at the world, today I’m mad at the lady who gave birth to 8 children a few days ago, Ted Haggard and the UK Prime Minister) yet I am not sure I’m tough enough to handle the death threats that would go with the territory. And Angel Laura, you are absolutely not a 'small part of our lives', you are one of the best parts of our lives and its high time I told you that more often. Damn, thats a bit sappy isnt it. :)
NANA!!! I lured you out. Yay for me and yay for you for figuring out how to reply. Please do so more often as I would love to get your advice and hear your astute observations. I hope that you are feeling good, your leg is healing, and after seeing the news, I hope that you are staying warm. Oh and please consider adopting Sandie. You have so many grandchildren as it is so surely another one – and a witty and uber- brainy Italian at that – won’t be a problem. She even makes homemade Christmas cards!!
Aunty Dawn, isn’t it time you had a blog or even set up a Taylor group blog?? You do those lovely corny Christmas newsletters so well and since the family has spread (ran away) to every corner of the globe it might be something to do on a cold and rainy English evening?! As for our gossip, well I think David came close to putting me on the first flight back to Gatwick on Superbowl Sunday after my rant against American football. I’m thinking of getting ‘When In Rome …” tattooed to my forehead but even then I just know I wont be able to stop mouthing off. But you gotta admit, it sure does look like rugby for pansies.
Mrs. Tinsley, thank you for your reply and for checking in on Scott. We did intend coming to the FLVS event on Saturday. I had planned on taking Scott for a much-needed haircut and then coming to Barnes and Noble to meet with you and the other teachers. However, and without getting into too many gory details, his unreliable tummy let rip and leaving the house was no longer an option. Scott’s chemo side-effects just keeping get worse and worse. I am trying to stay positive about them all disappearing into thin air once he finishes treatment but I am sadly learning of many children who are long off-treatment and still suffering from these effects.

I'll leave you with this cool fossil that I was just reading about (not enough pictures though), an early whale with legs and a baby about to be born...
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0004366