And the 4th is gone.....

I so love the 4th of July. It signifies summer, swimming, the smell of suntan oil, smelly kids, popsicles and grilling. OH, and my birthday!!!

The 4th of July this year meant something different. This July marks the 10-year anniversary of the the death of our brother, Jason. He was killed in a tragic car accident. We celebrated his life this year with a typical Iowa kegger party. The turnout wasn't what we had hoped, but those that did come were glad to be there and appreciated us doing this. Will we do something similar at 15 or 20 years. Not likely. I believe we've learned our lesson and will keep it more intimate.

This July also signifies a new chapter in our lives. My sister Jamie is in early kidney failure and went from 1 option to 5 options to 3 options. The constant option is the donor list, which she's on. There was a donor in death (who was also a close family friend), but the match was not compatible for various medical reasons. Nicole, her friend and blood match, went through testing only to find out she was not a tissue match. That was a devastating blow to all. Jenny, my middle sister, goes through testing at the end of August. She's a 6 for 6 marker match (whatever that means). If Jenny turns out to not match in the tissue department, it's between me and the donor list. Unless her insurance says no more testing and then she's at the mercy of the donor list. We'd prefer that to not happen.

This is also the summer before my mad hatter starts Kindergarten. She's absolutely THRILLED to be starting. Wait until I tell her about all the doctor's appointments she has to go to. Dental and eye exams are mandatory now. I can't even get her to the pediatrician's without foaming at the mouth. How am I going to get her to submit to an EYE exam? Criminy.

And my birthday. It's Wednesday. Am I doing anything you ask? I haven't a clue. It's Family Day on Sunday and Soldier has drill. So unless he's arranged something with a sitter, my guess is I'm cooking dinner Saturday night. We don't typically go out mid-week and leave the kids with a sitter, so I'm betting he'll grill on Wednesday since he's off work. There may be cupcakes. Or carrot cake. Who knows. I don't get worked up much on my birthday. BUT I am getting older and fussier. It could happen.