The Forbush Christmas Letter 1997

Pic 1: Family at the pool

"Praise the Lord! And pass the ammunition." This seems to be our theme this year as we begin the holiday season. Most of us are on some kind of medication to keep us breathing this year. Thank you Lord for drugs! Let’s see where to begin. Well, first of all, I’m pretty sure we’re not in Kansas any more Toto. We’ve become the new 5 dwarves: Sneezy, Wheezy, Sniffly, Stuffy, and Coughy. Between asthma and allergies we are personally bankrolling several pharmaceutical companies and several SOFT on the nose tissue companies who shall remain nameless as we don’t want to get into any legal problems by endorsing any one product or company. You know how it is when you are a major consumer of products.

But seriously, as I sit here the Sunday after Thanksgiving; I marvel at all that we have to be truly thankful for. Kelsey, knock on wood, seems to be over her croup and so her asthma attacks are less severe and the really bad days are only that now, days. Before she would have a bad attack that lasted for weeks and always seemed to almost turn into pneumonia. Now she has attacks that last for 2 or 3 days tops. She is not up all night coughing as she was with the croup which gives her body a chance to recover if she has a bad day. She is what they call on daily maintenance which means that she takes an inhaler every day to prevent attacks. Then if she feels an attack coming on she takes another preventative inhaler with the first one. She continues to take these two inhalers until her peak flow gets back to normal. This seems to be working very well for her, especially since she seems to have outgrown the croup. She still has attacks, but they are about once a month now for only a few days instead of once a month for a month. I have not taken her to the doctor for asthma in about 5 months; this is a record since Kelsey has been born. Usually I have to take once a month; and during the cold/allergy season (which is Sept.-June (July and Aug. being our favorite months)), I would take Kelsey 2 to 4 times a month.

Sebastian just got off of an inhaler for snoring. Ya, you heard me right, and you probably heard him too. He was snoring so loud that we could hear him in our bedroom with the radio playing. He was always tired and out of energy. So I made a doctor appointment; and after the laughter died down, found out that Sebastian suffers from allergies. Not bad enough to actually treat them, but bad enough to give him allergy shiners (dark circles under the eyes) and bad enough to make his adenoids swell up and make him snore like a sailor. Sebastian thought this was so cool. After all, his was not taken orally like Kelsey’s, his was way cooler than that. His went up his nose. (Well, what can I say; he’s a boy). But it was amazing. After a week he was no longer snoring, his sleep was not so fitful, and he was not tired all day. He suddenly had energy (which I’m still trying to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing), and he is in a much better mood and easier to get along with (which is definitely a good thing).

Mike went to the doctor for endless sneeze attacks and came home with his own personal drug store. He has two inhalers and some anti-sneeze pills. It’s great! Apparently, he had the same adenoid problem as Sebastian because about a week after he started taking his inhalers, he stopped snoring. Yes! There is a God! Mike’s snoring had become such a problem (not for him of course, but one of us was losing sleep anyway) that short of pushing him out of bed (which was tempting believe me) or going in the next room seemed to be the only was of stopping the noise. So for a while there between Sebastian and Mike we could have gotten arrested for disturbing the peace. Heck, I almost complained myself just to get a night of sleep. And of course my favorite part was when one of them was awake and to listen to them complain about how loudly the other one snored when he was sleeping. "How can he sleep like that? I don’t know how his sisters sleep through that. Man!" "How can Daddy sleep like that? He’s SO loud. You shouldn’t let him do that Mommy. How can you sleep in the same bed with him? I feel sorry for you Mommy." "Ya, me too."

I, too, have joined the inhaler club. Mine is for athletic asthma and asthma attacks in general which I seem to mostly get from laughing (which is a good/bad thing. I mean I’m glad I’m laughing, but not glad that it causes me to get asthma attacks). And of course pseudofed and puffs are my best friends since I am allergic to the trees planted right outside our windows. So spring and fall (blooming and shedding seasons) are killers on my sinuses. But it could be worse, so I count my blessings. And Maura so far is unaffected; knock on wood. Our family motto is DRUGS RULE! We wanted to make it into a bumper sticker, but you know how people blow everything out of proportion these days.

California air - so fresh, so clean it will kill you. I know what you are thinking, but it’s not the air pollution believe it or not. Supposedly we have the cleanest air in the country for a city. So either we are so used to breathing polluted air that we cannot live without it, or Mother Nature is a slow, calculating killer who knows no mercy. Striking when you are outside the most (spring and fall) and growing mold around the windows in the winter and giving you a break only two months of the year (July and August). Every year in August I start to think that I’ve finally beaten her; I’ve won! Only to find that in a couple of weeks later that I’m carrying around my box of Puffs, sneezing my head off, and popping pills. Oh well, that’s life. It could be a lot worse.

Well, if you ever move here, there is only one thing I can advise you on. Invest in your favorite pharmaceutical company and/or tissue company because they say that if you do not have allergies when you move to California, just give it two years and you will. It is sort of like one of those bad science fiction movies where the space ship lands on a strange unknown planet, and everybody starts turning into ugly rock people - only here you turn into a guy with a red nose; itchy, red, watery eyes; and a tissue in every pocket and one in the hand. I mean if you are going to be miserable, you might as well profit from it.

So let’s see what has happened since I wrote you last. Well, everyone except me got another year older. Weird, but true. But enough with supernatural phenomena.


Pic 2 : Kelsey and Sebastian at the Science Fair.

In February our kids entered the talent show. It was great. They did a dance to the song from the ARISTOCATS - EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT. They worked hard and practiced a lot, and they looked great. Everyone was impressed with the complexity of the dance and with how well they danced together. I guess those dancing lessons paid off, but I never want to hear that song again. Well, not at least for five years anyway. Then in April they entered the science fair and won blue ribbons. Kelsey did an experiment on what snails like to eat best, and Sebastian did an experiment on how snails’ eyes work - how they see around objects. He wanted to see if they stretch their eye stalks or if they lift their body or if they stretch their "necks." So in the name of science, the children came running into our room every morning for three weeks at 5:30 am screaming at the top of their lungs, "Mommy, come on get up! The sun is starting to rise! (God forbid I sleep through that). We’ve got to go on a snail hunt." "Not today guys. Remember we got a new snail yesterday. Remember we keep each snail three days. Then we get a new snail that is a different size so that Sebastian can do his experiment at the same time as you, Kelsey." "Well, then let’s go see if he’s eaten anything! Let’s see if he’s climbing over stuff and then we can see how he uses his eyes! Ya! Come on, Mom!" "You guys go ahead and let me know what’s going on. OK?" "Oh Mom. Pleeeeeeease. It’ll be more fun if you come with us." " Sigh. OK. Let me find the floor. I know I left here some where last night." Two days later. "Come on, Mom! The sun is already up! Hurry before all the snails finish breakfast and go to bed!" "What time is it?" "It’s 853." "No, Sebastian. It’s 835." "That’s OK I’ll look myself." "Well, what time is it, Mom?" "It’s 5:38." "Do you think we’re too late." "No I’m sure there are one or two snails still munching away out there." If you have never been out here, to say that there are snails everywhere is the understatement of the year. But needless to say we were/are quite proud. In June Kelsey graduated from kindergarten. Mike cheered. I cried. In September Kelsey started first grade, and Sebastian started kindergarten. Mike cheered. I cried. Maura cried. She thought now that Sebastian was out of the junior kindergarten, she was suppose to go. "Oh, Maura, don’t cry. It will be all right. Besides you can’t go to school in diapers. You have to wear panties." Two weeks later Maura had potty trained herself - day and night. Mike cheered. I cried. For the first time in 6 ½ years there are no diapers in our house. Like the beginning of school, I had passed another mile stone I was not ready for. So now Maura runs into Miss Smith’s class. "Look Miff Miff! I have pannies!" And she promptly lifts up here dress for all to see. Mike laughed. Miss Smith laughed. I laughed. Maura cried. She found out it takes more than panties to get into junior kindergarten.


The kids both love school. It was a bit of a rough start for Kelsey. She didn’t like the long days; she missed her mommy. (Such a good girl). Now she wants to be walked to class, but don’t step into the classroom - after all she’s not a baby. They are both excited to see me after school and are dying to tell me about their days, so I’m not feeling totally useless yet. They are both excelling in school which is great. They are both becoming accomplished readers; and being former English teacher, I am, needless to say, thrilled. Sebastian just has a couple of problems. His handwriting started out a bit wobbly like Pooh’s, but with lots of practice at home he is now getting quite good. His other trouble spot is cutting. Scissors are not Sebastian’s friends; band-aids are. Poor little guy.


Pic 3: Kelsey and Sebastian in their dance costumes.
Kelsey and Sebastian are still dancing and loving it. Maura wants to dance too, but she will not be old enough until summer. So this summer I will be living at the ballet studio. At this year’s recital Kelsey danced to the COTTON-EYED JOE and Sebastian danced to BORN TO BE WILD. They both stole the show. Kelsey’s class because they are so young and did such amazing stuff for their age, and Sebastian’s class for being SO CUTE. With Kelsey I was proud. I wanted to stand up and say, "That’s my daughter . Ya, the red head; isn’t she great!" With Sebastian I was laughing, crying, and proud. They were so cute and so funny. They all rode out on big wheels with Sebastian leading the way. They were trying to be SO cool; I still get teary eyed and start to laugh every time I start to remember it. You should have been there; it was such a scream. I’m a lucky mom.

Kelsey and Sebastian are still asking and saying those unforgettable things. This spring Kelsey and I went to the store one night together. When I parked the car in the garage, she asked, "Mom, where do babies come from?" "Why do you want to know that?" "Well, you said that if Sebastian wanted a little brother that he would have to talk to Daddy because Daddy was feeling a bit out numbered right now. But I thought the mommys had the babies." So I told her. She asked a few questions; I answered them. "Now I don’t want you to share this information with your friends at school. It would be better if they asked their own parents. OK. And don’t tell your brother either. When he is interested, he’ll ask. OK." "Don’t worry, Mom. I’m never telling anyone. That’s REALLY GROSS! YUCK! I can’t believe there are three of us. YUCK! I’m never going to have a baby. I’m never even going to get married." "That sounds good to me, Sweetie." Please God let her remember this when she becomes a teenager and knows it all.
"Mom." "Yes, Kelsey." "I was wondering why all of the other moms and grown up ladies have bigger boobs than you? Yours hardly even stick out of your shirt." "Well, I guess that’s just the way God made me." "But why?" "I don’t know, Honey." "Well, it doesn’t seem fair to me." "Ya, me neither, but that’s how it goes. So I guess you think I’m pretty flat-chested, huh?" "No, medium," and lifting her shirt, "THIS is flat-chested. Your so silly, Mom." That’s me silly-nilly. And to think that just last year she wanted to grow up and have big chesters just like me. Boy, a lot changes in just one year. Now I want you all to remember I am NOT flat-chested; I’m medium. I am SO glad to finally have that defined and settled.
"Mom." "Yes, Sebastian." "Don’t you wish you had a penis? I mean then you could pee standing up." "Well, I really don’t mind sitting down." "Ya, but Mom, if you had a penis, then you could pee in the woods like me and Dad!" "I guess you got a point there." "Too bad you can’t have one." "Ya, too bad." Just what I need something else to catch in a zipper.

As you can see from this picture, Maura loves books too. She is often reading to the cats on the back porch and is sorely disappointed when they do not pay attention and look at the pictures. "Dee, Docks. Dis iz a wion. He’z s cat wike you. Docks, wook. Docks! Mommy, Docks won’t wook." "I’m sorry, Honey. Maybe he’s too tired right now to look, but I bet he’s listening. So don’t worry. OK?" "Sigh, mmmmm OK."

Pic 4: Maura reading on the back porch.

Maura is also our rocker. (Luckily we like the same kind of music - 50’s and 60’s, but I’m sure that won’t last for long). We strap her in her car seat and she puts on her sunglasses and then look out! "Is this KFRC?" "Yes." "I can’t hear it. Turn it up!" "Please." "PLEASE!" And wallah - Ray Charles is born. The hands are clapping, the head is going, and she has a smile on her face. We love it; it’s great!

So it’s now Halloween, and I am dead tired. I just finished running our church festival with four other guys. It’s a weekend thing, but it takes a lot of planning; and because I’m one of the in charge guys, I have to stay all weekend and make sure everything is cleaned up afterwards, extra supplies are returned to the stores, make sure the financial report is accurate, write thank you notes, and ties up any lose ends in general. So it’s Halloween and I’m dead tired and I promised Kelsey she could be a bobbysoxer. So two days before Halloween I start the project. I have the material, I have the tools, I have the technology. I can do this. So at 8:00 pm I begin the project. This will be a snap - after all the thing only has two pieces and a poodle to cut out, how hard can this be. Well, at 5:00 am the damn (oops!) darn thing is done - all except the hemming. Just remember this; they lie. "This backing is so great," says the sales lady at the fabric store. "You just iron it and the stuff sticks like glue. So all you have to do is cut out the poodle and iron him on." Ya, right. That stuff no more stuck than ice on a hot griddle. I had to sew that sucker on which sounds easy, but all I can say is, "Go ahead; be my guest." By 9:30 pm on October 30th the project was finished, and to the amazement of all, especially me, the silly thing fit like a dream. I am now legally blind, but it was worth it. Sebastian decided to wear his red warm-up suit, red construction paper ears, and Macula’s collar. He was Clifford the big red dog. Maura put on Kelsey’s old recital costume and said she was Bell from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Mike was a dad, and I was dead mom walking.

Thanksgiving this year was little bit more successful than last year. Last year I decided to cook the stuffing on the stove top and not in the bird. Well, if you like your stuffing WELL done; it was. It was chard. It was my brand new pan. It was very sad. It was Thanksgiving. So I gave thanks that I didn’t do more damage, cried about my new pan, and made some more. It was a great dinner. I served homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. "Mom, this pie tastes funny," "Ya, Mom." "You’re serving diet pumpkin pie this year, Honey?" "What are all of you talking about?" "Well, taste it." "OH! NO! I left out the sugar!" Yep, it’s true. So we all sprinkled sugar on top of it, and enjoy it just the same. At least I didn’t add salt instead of sugar. Needless to say this year the stuffing went into the turkey and the sugar into the pie. But I live with elephants. "Does it have sugar in it this year?" "I’m not eating it until someone else tries it first." "Come on guys be nice. I’m sure Mom just left out the pumpkin this year. I mean it wouldn’t be very exciting if she made it perfect every year." So next year I’m adding an extra ingredient - arsenic. Just kidding!

Well, it’s the holiday season already. (OK. You caught me. It’s not the Sunday after Thanksging any more. It’s January 2nd. I’m slow. Sad isn’t it). Saint Nicholos Day came and went with the usual excitement. The company Christmas party came, and I was ready. I worked like a madman on the church festival which was the 11th and 12th of October and as soon as it was over Mike went into overdrive at work. It was now December 20th , the night of the party and Mike had been home 7 days since the festival - two of which he slept all day. But hey, who’s keeping track. The kids had all been sick the week before, so I felt confident about getting out. Please God don’t let the baby-sitter get sick. I had lost 11 pounds last year, and I fit into a black velvet dress that I had worn BEFORE I was pregnant. The only difference was that before it was loose, and now it fit - not tight - just right. The zipper zipped easily, no sucking in required, no skin being pinched, just the quiet zipping sound of the zipper. I was ready. I had bought a beautiful black velvet jacket to go with it, new shoes, and I had a new hairdo. I was ready to rock. I must say the final product was stunning. We had a great time. Christmas Eve the children were all dressed in their going to meetin’ clothes - Kelsey in her new dark green velvet, Maura in her new cranberry velvet, Sebastian in his tux, Mike in a tie (not just a tie, he had on pants, shirt, socks, and underwear too), and me in my new, old black velvet outfit when disaster struck. You see the dress was my mother’s. She bought it when she was about 20, so the dress is about 45 years old. I was putting the brush on the counter and twisting to talk to one of the children when the dress ripped. Not on the seam of course, and the more I moved the worse it got. I took off the dress (feeling like a hippo instead of the sleek in shape woman of merely a moment ago) and looked in horror. As it turned out the material had just worn out. So I wasn’t fat, but I was sad. The dress had a lot of sentiment behind it, and it was a great dress. So I put on another dress and thought "Thank you God. At least it’s not December 20th. At least I’m not on the dance floor. At least…..Thank you God." Christmas was great. Our kids still believe in Santa, and we are trying to cherish every moment before it slips through our fingers. December 27th was our 10th anniversary. Wow! That was quick.

Well, the new year has dawned, and I remembered to serve the black-eyed peas with dinner this year instead of with dessert like last year. But as I look back and remember our lives, every once in a while I feel as if Mike and I are doing something right. When Kelsey describes her class at school (which is mostly Hispanic and Asian), she tells it like this. "My class has mostly blacks, some brown, and some yellows; but I’m the only red." Sebastian has a special friend at church whom he loves to sit with. They both have a passion for rocks. He is always bringing a few to church with him each Sunday to give to Sebastian. "What’s wrong, Sebastian?" "Oh, I’m sad." "Why?" "Well Harold hasn’t come over to play all week." "Well, you have to call people and invite them over. Then they come." "Oh. Can I call him now?" "Not today. It’s almost supper time, and besides Harold just had his surgery. He’s probably not up to it yet." "Sigh. OK." "On Halloween, Sebastian divided up his candy. "What are you doing?" "Dividing up my candy. I have an extra piece, so I’m going to give it to Harold. I’m afraid that he won’t be able to go trick or treating because of his operation on his knee. Can you take me to Harold’s tonight when we go trick or treating?" "Sure. But you should call him first and make sure it’s all right ." "OK. Hi Harold! This is Sebastian. Can I come over tonight? I want to show you my costume. Mom, Harold says it OK." "All right. I’ll take you after supper." "Hey Mom, did you know that Harold’s birthday is on Christmas day. I want to get him something special. Can I please?" "OK. Gosh, I wonder how old he’s going to be. 84 maybe?" "Mom! You’re making him so old! He’s only going to be 82! I got to get him something special because he’s my friend." "Hey, Mom, Harold invited us to his birthday party! Can we go?" I wish we could all look at the world like this. Then maybe we would have respect for all and peace on earth.

Pic 5: The guys enjoying Sebastian's Birthday.


So here we are full circle. I hope the new year is beginning as bright for you as it is for us. We are so lucky and so thankful for all that we have - a healthy family, a warm home, food on the table, and a good sense of humor. And I hope, like Erma Bombeck said in one of her books, that I have made a good choice. She said that you could be a great housekeeper, but all that your children will remember when they grew up was that they had a clean house growing up. Or you could have a bit of a messy house and spend more time with your kids. Then when they grew up, they would remember all the good times you shared and that you always had time for them.


Remember keep laughing because we are. We love and miss you all. Come and visit some time. After all, it is really quite beautiful here; and we’re happy to have you. God has been good to us, and we thank Him for watching over us. Take care and God bless.

The Five Dwarves - Mike, Colleen, Kelsey, Sebastian, and Maura

This page hosted by   Get your own Free Home Page