Jeremy Locke

The world lost a good man early this morning and my heart is breaking. There are so many emotions running through my head, but mostly anger and sadness. I'm angry that Jeremy was only given 29 years on this Earth. I'm angry that CF and pneumonia teamed up against him. I'm angry that he was never given his second chance. I'm sad that he was only married to Jessie for just over three months. I'm sad that the last time we saw him was on his wedding day. I'm angry and sad that Jessie is going through this.

I'm happy (and lucky) to have known Jeremy and that I call him my friend. I'm happy that we got to live across the hall from Jessie & Jeremy for a year and got to know each other. I'm happy that Jessie decided to wear a Great Strides t-shirt to class so that I could use it as a conversation starter which has led to years of friendship. I'm so happy that we attended Jessie and Jeremy's wedding in September because it was the most love-filled wedding I have ever been to!

I hate you, CF. I hate you for taking away my friend and making his young wife a widow. Watching you take Jeremy so quickly makes me want to kick your ass even harder than I am now - to show you that you can't keep doing this!

Please keep Jessie and Jeremy's family in your thoughts and prayers as we wrap up this year and as they grieve, mourn and celebrate the life of Jeremy.

In Need of Positive Thoughts

In September, Tim and I attended the wedding of our friends Jessie and Jeremy. Jeremy has cystic fibrosis and is currently in the ICU fighting pneumonia. :( He's been in and out, and not awake very much, and his body is fighting very hard. Jeremy doesn't have the greatest lung function right now, but he has a lot of people thinking of him and fighting with him.
In the fall, he was evaluated for a lung transplant, but was considered too healthy. Since then he's had to have a blood transfusion and hasn't been feeling the best. Now, unfortunately he's battling this pneumonia. Jessie did update me this morning saying he's doing better today than yesterday and that he's fighting so hard...baby steps.
Whatever it is you do - pray, send positive thoughts/vibes- I'd really appreciate any of that for our friend and my fellow fibro, Jeremy, and strength for his wonderful wife, and my good friend, Jessie. I'll update as I get information, but please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers during their tough time right now. Thank you!!!

Hello Out There

I'm still here! I'm so sorry to neglect this blog recently, but there hasn't been much to talk about or report. Work has been crazy over the past week or so with the end of the quarter and Christmas break approaching. The kids are nuts and I am ready for this next week to be over already! I've been feeling well. Finally back to my normal-self after that nasty bug, or infection, whatever it was, in November.
Christmas parties and madness is in full swing now. We had our staff Christmas party last night, then we have our Christmas program and party with the kids this week.
Tim and I have Christmas with the Veitengruber's next Sunday, then we'll see my parents on Christmas day, and then celebrate with his mom's family the Saturday after Christmas. We're also getting professional family pictures with his mom's side that day. The last time they did that was right after Tim and I met, so I wasn't in them. Since then, there's been four weddings and a few grandchildren for Tim's mom & step-dad, so I guess its time for an update. After next Saturday, things should definitely slow down a bit, thank goodness. As much as I love Christmastime, with the lights, music and decorations, I feel like its way too hard to see everyone (the people get offended) and that people are way too stressed about everything. Its supposed to be a happy time of year, so I try to avoid the stress as much as possible. I've been trying to leave my work at work, surround myself with happy people, listen to calming Christmas music and just relax. What do you like to do when this time of year gets so stressful?

Thankful November, Week 5

This is my final thankful November week. If you'd like to see the previous weeks, follow the links (1, 2, 3, 4). These are in no specific order, just whatever I can think of for the day, no matter how big or small.

24) I love being an aunt! We have the three cutest nephews around and yesterday we got to spend time with them. Isaac (2) wasn't feeling well because he's teething (poor guy!), but he even his 'evil eye' was still adorable! And then we have two more nephews, brothers Cole (3) and Liam (6 months). Cole is getting so big, and learning & talking so much more. Liam was passed around all day and ended the evening zonked out on my chest - it was so precious! I love spending time with our nephews and can't wait until we have our own kids, so we can watch the cousins all play together. :)

25) Cooperative, involved, supportive parents of my students! I had several dealings with uncooperative, under (or non-)-involved and un-supportive parents today and that just makes me realize how thankful I am for those that care...and show it! Teaching is not babysitting. Teaching & learning do not stop (or only happen) at school! We have to work together to do what's best for a child. That means helping with homework, holding their child accountable for their actions, coming to parent/teacher conferences, field trips, etc. Supportive parents rock! 

I came across this article, called Parents Need to Be Reminded That Teachers are People, Too, posted by a fellow teacher and really enjoyed it! I really wish I could share it with my students' parents. So if you're a parent, or think that teaching must be so easy, go ahead and read that article. Also, come work with me for a week and then see what you think! :)

26) I am beyond thankful for the CF community tonight! Chapter 4 of our Day in the Life video series came out tonight (it's my favorite one out of the five) and I am overwhelmed (in a good way) with the amount of positive comments, blessings, encouragement, "likes" and shares - it's a wonderful feeling! THIS is the exact reason I did these videos. I want to inspire others with CF (or those who know someone) to have a more positive outlook on their disease. Realize that it IS possible to live a "normal" life as long as you take care of yourself.
I'm also thankful that Tim did these videos with me! I think it's really important for the CF community to hear the perspective from a spouse. He's the one that keeps me going! Even though he might not have to remind me everyday to do my treatments anymore, our relationship and our future is my motivation to be compliant and be as healthy as I can. Thank you honey, you're the best!! :-)

27) Four day weekend!! Although we're going to be pretty busy this weekend, I love the fact that it's four consecutive days off with Tim. I hope we're able to get a lot done in our spare bedroom and I'd love to bust out the Christmas decorations!

28) I'm thankful for a hard-working, super-handy husband! We got a good chunk of items accomplished today in our spare bedroom - second coat on the walls, I repainted the baseboards and Tim installed a ceiling fan and two pot-lights. I really wanted to keep going, but it was time to stop for treatments and dinner. I'm also glad that we're not stressed out about trying to have a fancy meal this evening, especially because we're not fancy dinner kinda people. We've decided to not make dinner ourselves, that we're going out to eat = no dishes or cleaning! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

29) Today I'm thankful for friends! Our friends Karissa and Ryan were down in our neck of the woods visiting family for Thanksgiving so they decided to stop over at our house for a little while. It was so good to see them. Since we moved last year, we're about three (or more) hours away from all of our friends from college, so its tough to see them often. I appreciate that Ryan and Karissa took time out of their family weekend to come visit. :)

30) Last, but definitely not least, I'm thankful for KALYDECO! I haven't felt the best for a few weeks this month, and I wonder how much worse I would have felt without Kalydeco helping my lungs and body. I'm thankful that its having such a positive impact on my body and that it will help prolong my life. I hope that next November I'm able to be thankful that more of my CF friends are on something that helps them this much, too!