We Made It.......

7 children and three chaperones are sleeping. I am asleep at the computer. We made it to Portland.

Only a little drama. Just know that if you do not board the train at the Seattle station, you are able to catch the same train further down the road, if you have a car that can take you.

M-E is a bit tired. She was doing okay until about 3:00 p.m. She then simply collapsed into bed. I hooked her up to a liter, we had a bit of room service and she went to sleep. She is having a great time. She understands her limitations. It does not make the disappointments any less. She did not have the energy for the play. We stayed in and ordered room service and watch a movie. It was sort of nice.

I always think that she is okay because so much of the time she is but about 7:00 p.m. she dug in the drawer and pulled out a box and put on a special necklace and a one of favorite pairs of earrings and saddly said "Mom, was so ready for the play. I had the perfect outfit and the perfect jewelry." Sometime I think that the worst part of this disease is that our hearts break a little bit at a time. Maybe a better way to look at it is that our hearts were shattered into a million pieces at 8:35 a.m. August 14 2004. Despite our strength and faith and hope, bits and pieces of those shattered heart fall to the ground on occasion. Little reminders that no matter how much we try to return to normal, we are in the middle of the battle of our lifetime.

Okay, I recognize that last paragraph is a bit grim but who can blame me. I am drinking coffee designed by the Pod People. It is Starbucks but it is not going to be enough for the rest of this day. We are in a great Portland Hotel with big rooms and nice furniture and wireless internet. We have two televisions, three phones, a magnifying mirror so I can see all my wrinkles, and an endless supply of stocking stuffers for Christmas (Shampoo etc). It is those little coffee pots with the pod coffee that make you realize that true coffee drinkers are not as valued in this world as they should be. To make matters worse, there is always a decaff pod of coffee to be brewed, I am sure that if you carbon dated the decaff you would find that it is more than 10 years old. No one that stays in a hotel like this drinks Decaff. The are the drink wine in the lobby at 5:00 group.

Well I am going to forge for real coffee. Coffee People is on the corner and I may slip on my jeans and look like a native and go........