Marisa and me at Point Pelee, Canada (Feb '06)

Hey there.  Good morning.  It seems like it has been a long time since I've posted, things have been quite crazy around here.  It has been an eventful week for the Haights.  Marisa went to 5th grade camp on Monday (they stay at a YMCA campground in Fenton, MI (near Flint).  She comes home today; I pick her up at 1pm.  We received a letter from her yesterday and she is having a blast.  She wrote that she is awesome at canoeing, learned how to boil an egg over an open fire (which was an unsuccessful attempt) and was on her way to the Zip Line that afternoon.  I am eager to hear about her week.  My heart has felt so empty not having her around.  I am so glad the week has been a positive experience for her and cannot wait until it's time for me to get her from school this afternoon.  Natalie has had a rough week without her sister.  She cried Monday night at bedtime; not having a roommate she felt very lonely.  Tuesday she comforted herself by telling all of us, "Marisa is close if we need to see her.  She's up by Aunt Sharon's house and Aunt Sharon could pick her up and bring her home so she can eat dinner with us and then Aunt Sharon can drive her back up to camp."  Not sure if Aunt Sharon would be interested in all that chauffeuring..... but I was touched that Natalie had come up with her own solution to the problem of missing Marisa.                               As I'm sure you're aware..... the Tigers are still in the playoffs and the next game against the Yankees is tonight at Comerica Park downtown.  And of course, Dave has tickets for both tonight and tomorrow.  Tonight he is taking Dominic and tomorrow he's going down with his dad and our 18-year-old nephew Bryan.  He also snagged tickets for tonight's game for my dad who is going with Paul.  Needless to say, things are pretty exciting at our house.  Dominic is pretty "cool and collected" about going tonight, for him it is just another ball game.  Dave is so excited because this is something he has wanted to do all his life.  I hope they win... I've got my fingers crossed.                                     Last Tuesday was my 37th (yikes!) birthday.  Having celebrated it the Saturday before with Marisa, we didn't do much on Tuesday.  I was busy most of the afternoon and had a meeting that night.  But throughout the day I received wonderful emails and phone messages from friends and relatives with birthday greetings.  And I found myself stopping to think about my previous year quite a bit.  I remember last fall when I was experiencing anxiety and what I thought were panic attacks (not knowing all that was linked to the condition of my heart).  I remember seeing Dr. Friedman for the first time in January and him telling me my heart was not doing well and that I needed to be seen ASAP by a specialist.  I remember lining up the appropriate appointments but before I could get in and be seen -- being admitted at Beaumont for afib & aflutter.  I remember going to Cleveland for a first opinion and then to U of M for a second opinion.  And I remember breaking down in tears when Dr. Kovach said I needed open heart surgery and that my heart valve would be replaced with a pig's valve and that they would need to "cut up" my heart (to create scar tissue inside the atrial chamber) so that the electric current would flow properly which would eliminate the risk of future fibrillation.  And here I am today - well healed, not too sore and so much more appreciative of all that life has to offer.  I am in such gratitude for all my family and friends.  All of you in my life are so special and I wish words could do justice of how important you are to me.  Tuesday was a very happy birthday for me because it was a new beginning of a new year.  One I hope is filled with good health.              Dave's birthday is Monday, October 9th.  It falls on Columbus Day so Dave will spend the morning at a golf course.  The two of us plan to go out to lunch at Maggiano's (Dave's favorite place to eat).  Not sure what I'm going to give him for his 4oth birthday this year, I can't complete with tickets to see the Tigers in the playoffs.....       Well, I'd better sign off now.  Have a wonderful autumn weekend -- the colors are truly breathtaking now. Much love and laughter..... God bless, Michelle