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So what have The Grubbs been up to? Here’s the short list:
²
We moved from the ‘hood, former murder capital of
US, back to
² Edd and Lisa climbed Half Dome
² Tatiana, an 8th grader this year, joined chorale and made honor roll again
² Max started Kindergarten after a year in a parent co-op preschool
² Lisa is still employed but … prospects are looking good
² Edd continues to fight the good fight against cancer
² We bought a 2003 Nissan Xterra with a mere 16,000 miles on it
² Max joined a soccer team making us soccer parents
² Tatiana has crossed over into teenhood complete with angst and hormones. Yikes!
² Lisa is on medical leave until Nov. 1
Grace. That’s right, G R A C E, not luck. Unearned favor. Jesus has been doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
It’s been a year, alright. Getting from
Schools, schools, schools. Tatiana was fast approaching Junior High School ranks and we didn’t feel they were adequately preparing her for high school. Also, we didn’t want to risk Ravenswood getting their paws on Max. They did a poor enough job with Tatiana. We listed our home January 2003.
Also, there’s nothing like a little drive-by shooting to make you want to sell your house all that much faster. Yep, that’s right. While Lisa and the kids were in the master bedroom doing their usual Friday snuggle time in PJs, in the waterbed with mom, chowing down on popcorn and getting our distance learning degree from Nicktoons, it happened. Did I mention the master bedroom is in the front of the house? The car was hit in front of the master bedroom by six bullets of a rather high caliber. Lisa had heard enough gunfire at this point to distinguish between small, large and semiautomatic discharges. Mercifully, none made it to the inside of our home. Unfortunately, our neighbor across the street was the target and got hit. There also were two kids and his wife in the car who miraculously were not hit.
Extreme sports? Forget about it. Extreme move! That’s right. Despite generous help from Lisa’s Uncle Papo and Mom, it was Edd and Lisa packing almost all night and most of the rest of the next actual moving day that got it done. While the movers were loading the first truckload, we were frantically packing, numbering, inventorying, labeling boxes.
But why stop there? Both home sale transactions had yet to be officially recorded with their respective counties. No worries. Pack and move. Oh, that’s right! The money doesn’t get wired to our account until we are on record. Great. :o|
So the seller’s agent stopped us from entering our new home because we weren’t on record. She was impossible to reach before the sale but now she was in our face giving our movers an extended lunch break on our dime. Not to mention we had new rugs installed, so as far as we were concerned, it WAS our home. The seller’s agent was tasked to contact her client and get permission to start moving in.
Regardless, Lisa had to get cash to pay the movers whether the money was wired or not. We had enough in savings to pay them, so she left for the bank anyway. On the way, she called to get a current balance and learned the money had not yet been wired. Edd and Lisa frantically called our real estate agent, the title company and anybody else who might be able to get this ball rolling to get the ball rolling.
About 15 minutes later, when Lisa arrived at the bank, she
was talking with our real estate agent. Just as it was her turn to see the
teller, she hung up the phone. Again, she asked for the balance, but this time
the money was there. Before anyone could take it back, she spread it out to
other accounts. She called the Title company and found out we weren’t on record
yet. The title company manager knew it would happen before the COB so she
released the funds. As it turned out, she was right. We got permission from the
owner to move in shortly thereafter and by
But Nooooooooooooooooo. We don’t get the luxury of a boring life.
Within 10 days of moving in, we soon discovered we, who live on a slab foundation, yep you guessed it so say it with me, had a slab leak. It first manifested itself in the kitchen. I thought warm tile floors in the kitchen were a cool feature until I figured out it was heating chemicals under the sink and in our laundry room. Not good. Long story short, we spent $3,000 to cap the slab leak, which lead to another slab leak, which eventually lead to a repipe complete with new tile floors in the kitchen, laundry room and hall bathroom. The total bill: $18,000.
We got an attorney who, after reviewing gas, electric and water bills for the last three years, stated that the timing was an act of God. The burden of proof was on us and there was no credible proof. We got stung ugly. There went our new wood floors, a possible down payment on a new car, a cool vacation, etc. Now we are blessed with just enough cash to cover our butts in case of an emergency. At least we have that. Thank you Lord.
The advantage of living where we do is excellent schools.
Our kids enjoy the
Yeah, yeah. Yosemite again. But this year was different. We
climbed Sentinel Dome with the kids. I wasn’t sure how we would get there, but
we had our trusty
Thanks to a series of lightning strikes in higher
elevations, we also endured a rather smoky valley floor. In the morning, it
smelled like a campfire and it looked like a thick layer of fog. 3,000 foot
walls that were only yards away were invisible. Mercifully, the afternoon winds
cleared out the smoke, the peaks were spectacular again and pool hours were
extended and the
We only had to endure one night of Housekeeping away from the river. The rest of the time was spent riverside and it was lovely. We enjoyed evening campfires and lots of s’mores.
Somehow, we were able to bring all of our bikes this year, so one day we set out to bike for only about an hour that snowballed into four hours. Max went eight miles on training wheels. We all slept well that night.
Well, Lisa got a bug up her butt and decided to mark her
40th birthday with a climb. Just 10 years before, she experienced her first
backpacking trip to
This year, though, Half Dome was on her mind and heart, and Edd was only too glad to climb it again with her. He’s been there and back twice before. Yeah, no problem. We’ll make it as easy as possible on our aging, frail bodies by camping in Little Yosemite Valley for two nights, we said to each other.
Lisa trained by walking the dog five days a week for about
2.5 miles and at least one day for five to six miles. We hiked with the kids
half way up
First we had to drive the kids back home to Lisa’s father’s
home in
We would have hit the trailhead by
We stopped about every other switchback or less depending on how we felt. The code word was “DC.” Lisa came up with it. The logic was that when she was feeling as if she was about to have a heart attack just like “little Dick Cheney,” she would yell, “DC!” It worked well mostly because it made light of a tough situation.
We loaded up on water at
We left the next morning by
What was mentally challenging was running into people who were doing the round-trip hike in one day from the valley floor. It was embarrassing running into people on their way up and back and we were still climbing up! But that was the least of our worries. We just wanted to do it in one piece and live to tell the story.
Lisa lost the soles of both hiking boots half way up. She had no idea what price she would pay for that. As far as she was concerned, unless she broke both legs, she would not be discouraged. She was determined to do this and Edd was more than happy to oblige. He too wanted to make the climb.
As we approached the cables, it was becoming apparent that Lisa’s left boot was falling apart … fast. It was apparent that her left boot was not gripping the ground well at all. But so what. She kept her eye on the prize. The summit was yards, not miles away. We both wanted to get there. The other big challenge, again, was H2O. Our mouths were so dry, eating granola bars was a turn off. We needed juicy food. The only juicy food we had left was cherries and not many were left. We stopped for lunch at the base of the cables. We ate crackers, salami and trail mix. Not very juicy. We had two liters of water left each. We made lemonade for the much needed sugar boost. We also had our hard candies that were quickly losing their appeal.
The cable traffic was heavy going both ways. We took advantage of that and took a long lunch break. We donned our gloves and started to make our way up the side of Half Dome. Edd got a sudden rush of adrenalin and felt as if he could run up all of the planks. Lisa, however, was dead weight. She was scared at this point and avoided looking to her right at the shear drop off or down to see how far she could fall. She went up a plank at a time, sometimes two. Planks were about ten feet apart so you had to literally climb up like Batman and Robin and hold onto the cables for dear life. In some spots, two or three planks were missing. Lisa had every reason to quit, but she kept her eyes on the prize: the top. Her prayer was, “God, show me your glory. I want to see your face when I get up there. Give me strength to make it through somehow.” God did exactly that.
We got to the top by
Getting up was a challenge, but what goes up must come down. Edd instructed Lisa to come down facing the rock as opposed to the normal way people climb stairs, i.e., front facing. It took us about 45 minutes to come down, again, Lisa was petrified and slow to descend. Once we got down from the planks and cables, it took us another 90 minutes to get down the steep stairs. At this point, Lisa’s feet were starting to hurt. She was beginning to understand the price of not having soles on her boots.
We got back to camp by about
Also on the way down, we heard a loud bang from Little Yosemite Valley. As it turned out, park rangers had to euthanize a bear who had been coming for more than eight years to the campsite for food. Apparently, he had become increasingly aggressive and a euthanasia memo, aka “hit,” was put out on him last fall. A helicopter came the next morning to pick up the carcass.
Our prize for a hard day of hiking was sleeping under the stars. It was quite a sight to lay on our backs, look up and see stars and airplanes go by between tall trees. We both slept hard that night.
We broke camp by
Just before we moved, we enrolled Max in a parent co-op preschool, which means heavy parent involvement. Edd was the involved parent who not only had to serve one day a week in class, but he volunteered to be on the school board of directors. He loved it. Despite the ups and downs, it was a thrill for Edd and Max to get to be there for Max in a big way.
Field trip highlights included Steinhart Aquarium, Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch and farm, a visit from a Sunnyvale firefighter, San Francisco Zoo and much more.
Max turned the big FIVE this year. He had a wonderful
birthday party at
Now he has begun his academic journey at a school that’s only a five-minute walk from home. It’s amazing to hear what he learns, colors, animals, phonics, fables, rhymes. It’s really cool.
Max also is playing on a soccer team called the Golden Dragons. Yep, that’s right, we’re soccer parents. We enjoy watching Max kick the ball in the wrong direction, and flirt with parents, coaches and fellow female teammates. Unfortunately, there are those extreme parents who feel the need to be unofficial coaches and yell as if their five year old was playing for the World Cup title.
Max’s favorite phrases: Uh … no. You mean yes. I don’t wanna.
As mentioned above, I was on chemo when we climbed Half Dome. Strictly as an experimental protocol, my oncologist put me on Thalidomide back in early January. I ended up taking a really heavy dose of a drug originally designed as a sedative for a little over 7 months. At first (back in late March), it looked like this particular drug might do the trick. My antigen level went down at a faster rate than it had in any of the 7 years I’ve been battling this disease. My surgeon and oncologist were all excited. Over time, my antigen seems to have leveled off and the thalidomide was damaging the nerves in my feet and hands. After 7-1/2 months of killing my nerves, my doctor finally pulled me off this drug and is now looking for something new. I have an appointment with her today and can’t wait to see what she has drug out of the bin with which to experiment on me this time.
Other than dealing with that, my plate is kept reasonably full dealing with the normal things of life. Signing up to be a house husband several years ago has proved to have its ups and downs. The best part is getting to be the first line of support for Max and Tatiana. I get to deal with them before school (getting breakfast, making sure their ready, etc.), walk Max to school, deal with their homework and try to keep them engaged in the afternoon and evening prior to bedtime. One of the hardest parts is being the first line of support for all the little things that need to be done around the house. Cooking, meal planning, shopping, laundry, and cleaning (usually in that order!) can be real boring after a while. I keep focused by making sure I’m prayed up every morning and throughout the day and keep my mind busy by participating in BSF, where I get to be the treasurer, and getting ready to teach first and second graders on Sunday mornings.
Slowly, but surely, the rest of our house will come together. It already looks quite a bit different than when we moved in a year ago. I can’t wait to get the rest of it finally completed.
This year has been particularly challenging. I have had
great success at work, but was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder in
January, later followed by major depressive disorder in August. My doctor has
me on medical leave until
Thanks to antidepressants, I am feeling much better. It was
getting quite rough there for a long while, but little by little, one day at a
time, I am feeling better. The timeline for recovery from PTSD is two to five
years. My first year ends
Consequently, I have elected to drop out of leadership in Bible Study Fellowship and focus on my primary ministry, my family and home. I love and relish the privilege of being in the leadership circle, but first things first.
I also was blessed with my first “surprise” party. Edd whipped it together in two weeks via e-mail and it was a hit. I was thoroughly surprised and felt loved by all. What a thrill!
Earlier this year, I had the privilege for the third year in a row to manage all manner of communications for a local health event called “Soul Stroll for Health.” The celebrity honorary chairs have included Steadman Graham (Oprah’s boyfriend), Marla Gibbs (Flo from The Jeffersons) and this year was Danny Glover, yes, the Lethal Weapon costar who also starred in The Color Purple. My role is to devise and execute a rather complex and detailed Marketing Communications plan. Bottom line: I get to be the honorary chair’s best friend for about 30 hours, which includes managing their media interviews as well as my own private interview for our community newsletters.
Subsequently, I also have developed relationships with local TV, radio, print reporters and anchors including Janice Edwards, KNTV NBC 11, Carolyn Tyler, KGO ABC 7, Barbara Rodgers, KPIX CBS 5 news anchor, and this year, I had the privilege of meeting and working closely with Dennis Richmond, KTVU Fox 2 news anchor. I even have the pictures to prove it! Work? No way. It’s fun and I get to be paid.
What’s cool is my efforts have resulted in a doubling of attendance each of the last two years. All this translates into making it that much easier to sell myself and skillset to prospective employers.
Tatiana stands to gain the most ground from our new, awesome school districts.
No more fighting with teachers and the rest of the IEP team on Tatiana’s behalf. No more tape recording IEPs. No more lawyer involvement. These people care, do a great job and it shows. Subsequently, Tatiana made honor roll again validating previous honors in a dismal school district.
Teen angst has moved in and sleeps in Tatiana’s bed. That’s right. Tatiana is a card carrying teen complete with sass and stubborness. She turned age 13 in April. She now sports a B-cup and “period” is no longer just the end of a sentence. There’s nothing like the sound of lip smacking, back talking mixed in with raging hormones. What a cocktail! Ah, yes. It brings back memories.
With Tatiana’s graduation on the horizon, Lisa has volunteered to be on the Graduation Committee to make Tati’s rite of passage a memorable one.
By the way, Tatiana also is a member of the school choir. Tatiana is a natural songbird. When she was in grades K through 2, she would pull teachers, yard duties and anyone who would listen aside and serenade them. Now she gets to use her love of singing as a learning tool.
Tatiana’s favorite phrases: Mom. Whatever. Dad. Okay, okay. Tatiana’s favorite poses: Rolling eyes, crossing her arms, hands on hips, whipping herself around 180º quickly walking away in a huff while her hair catches up, stomping.
Lisa is on the hunt for a new job. She’s interviewed with Genentech, a biotechnology company, registered with two headhunters who specialize in PR/Marcom job placement and has her resume posted on Monster.com. She also has sent her resume to her church, Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, in the hopes she can become their first Communications Director. Time is on her side. xIt is time for a significant salary and benefits increase.
Edd and Lisa have enough Delta frequent flier miles for four round trip tickets to Puerto Rico. So, the plan is to go next summer for a week, another week in Yosemite or another national park and yet another week off at home. Lisa has more than enough PTO hours saved up at her current job for this and even if she doesn’t at her next job, her salary will afford her the luxury of absorbing the cost.
In the meantime, money is tight. Scrimping, economizing and maximizing dollars is a priority. Fortunately, we have a little savings for emergencies.