Written September 2, 2010 8:06 pm

Anita got a good night's sleep and was quite alert today.  She watched "Good Morning America" in the morning and some "Soaps" in the afternoon.  She visited with family members for short periods in the afternoon and rested for the remainder of the day.  The plasmapherisis procedure/program will resume tomorrow morning.  We remain hopeful that the combination of this procedure and steroid treatment will set her on the path to recovery.

Today is my oldest son's 18th birthday.  He wants a tattoo for his gift.  I decided I should get one too, as I am curious and I love new experiences.  We didn't have an appointment.  I don't even know what I want inked or where.  Who knows if we really would have gone or not.  But I can't go.  I am stuck here.  All that I am missing is starting to sink in.  The final leg of the Eagle Scout journey, Senior pictures, college applications, tattoos.  And with my younger son, exploring photography, bands, music, girls. I want to be there to tell them it will be OK.  Tell them to take opportunities, seek the new and embrace the old.  Savor the moments.  Take nothing for granted.  I want to tell them I will be OK.  Wait for me. But I can't even talk to them. 

So I reflect on my own life.  I have been so fortunate.  I've experienced more than some, but surely less than some too.  I never climbed Everest, will never become a Saint for good deeds done, but I have lived. And I have tried.  I was an actress, a mime, a clown.  I went to clown church once.  I've been in the circus, on the radio and on TV.  I was even on the cover of a magazine once.  I rescued a one legged duck from mud that tried to suck me in like quicksand, only to finally reach the stricken fowl and watch him fly away.  I helped a veterinarian do surgery on an elderly lady's dog who had just been hit by a car.  I accompanied a friend to the morgue, and while she harvested the eyes of a twenty something year old tragedy, I sat in the front office and studied his belongings.  A watch, wallet and glasses sitting on the desk.  Not much to create a life story out of.

I was arrested once.  I drove cross country with a friend, but never made it to California.  Colorado was just to beautiful to leave.  I rode in a hot air balloon, kissed the Blarney Stone, did the Titanic pose on the front of a Fondue boat in Switzerland. I have loved and been loved and I have had the privilege to be acquainted with some incredible folks.   I flew an airplane once, hitched a ride once and rode a motorcycle once.  Some things need only be experienced once to leave a lasting impression.  But I'm not done.  I have many more people to meet and much more to do.  And how about that tattoo?  But I can't think about that.  Now.....for just a little while.