Christmas is almost here and I wonder, have I been naughty or nice this year? I think it is important to think not just of the big acts that we do on occasion but the little daily niceties that count out of sincerety just to brighten someone's day.

I have once again received an outpouring of love and support from my friends this holiday season and I love the updates and picture cards. Let me tell you from my experience, posing with a dog, is a lot easier than posing with a 2 year old, and, as cute as Miss Heather is with her imposing blue eyes, it is impossible to make her look anything less than the devil's own, even with the best red eye reduction tools out there. My Christmas card duty was tripled this year, as I wrote Kevin's business cards, my personal cards, and then, at the last minute with few picture options, those for Kevin's family. Both his mother and father are in the hospital this year and Heather continues to have respiratory symptoms. I keep insisting that Kevin take her to the doctor- as many of us have learned the hard way, doctors, as good as they are, are people and it is easy for a pediatrician to be complacent and dismiss a first time father as overly cautious for every sniffle and wheeze. But Heather was like this last year I am told and ended up with pneumonia in the hospital.
Unfortunately, I have made it to few parties this year if any at all, because I have a blob of goo instead of a pancreas that requires bathroom location and privacy factors to consider. I appreciate the invitations nonetheless.
Admittedly, I have been getting more and more anxious about the pancreas transplant as January draws closer and it could be any day now. I haven't written any letters like I did with my lungs, I haven't packed a bag like I did with my kidneys, so I just haven't taken any physical steps to assuage the mental part, unless you count taking pills-of the prescribed but no so drastic kind.

In much happier news, my dearest friend MANDY and her husband TED, also known as the kidney locators, are EXPECTING A BABY in JULY 2007! Certainly, I will have to begin saving now so that I can be out there when she delivers. I figure I pretty much owe her since she drove 6 hours to come for the lung transplant and then flew like 5 hours to bring me the kidney! Although they are unsure of the sex of the child, I told her Jill was a good name, but I think I'll have to kick the bucket before I generate a namesake!

More later....