Anger and sadness

Bad timing, lack of time, and lots of stress have created a pretty angry environment in our house. When Tracey arrived home on Monday we all sat down to discuss a few family matters. Tracey was tired and was hit hard by the whole meeting. Unfortunately, due to her Chemo session yesterday, it was the only time Ma (Tracey's mom) felt we had to go over these things, especially since Ma is leaving on Thursday (tomorrow). There has been a lot of yelling, angry words, and hurt feelings. I absolutely hate it, especially when the kids (particularly Kayla) are caught in the middle. This is one of those times that I wish I could cry but can't.

Chemo #6
Tracey had Chemo #6 yesterday. Ma took her to the hospital and stayed with her all day. At one point Tracey's blood pressure shot up and the staff had to slow down the Chemo treatment. Ma and Tracey were at the hospital until after 3 PM. When they got home, Tracey was OK to stay up for a while, and took a nap between 4 and 7. Her appetite is good and she seems to be strong! The Oncology staff wants to have an X-Ray of her chest done tomorrow to find out if she is developing pneumonia because she experienced shortness of breath during most of her trip to California.

Maytag Neptune washer defect
Yesterday I found out that the problem we are experiencing with our washer is a well known (and expensive) design flaw in the Neptune front-loading washers. Essentially, moisture gets trapped on the inside of the door, damaging the circuit board that controls the door locking function. If the door fails to lock, then the washer will not spin (a safety feature) and clothes are left socking wet. There is also a problem with the "boot" (a part on the front of the washer) that retains excess water and develops mold. There is a class action suit in progress against Maytag. We are going to try to get a response from Maytag first (although the complaints logged on the Net indicate that Maytag is very unresponsive to consumer's requests for help). If that fails then we will join the class action suit (see Maytag settlement site for more information).

Ethan's passing
For the last few weeks, Tracey and I have been long distance cheerleaders to this little boy from Texas that, despite all odds, survived a rough start in life. Last night he developed an infection and had internal bleeding -- surgery was successful but he was still in critical condition. We learned at 5:35 PM today that Ethan passed. Everyday he reminded me of several valuable lessons: always keep trying, always appreciate every moment, and big miracles come in small packages. We will miss him!

Goals and Wills
One of the areas I have been struggling with is goal-setting. Today I spent a great deal of time reading on goal-setting and also developed a first draft of my Ethical Will. I am a firm believer in the importance of dreams and goals -- but I have not been so good at sticking with the required processes to consistently set and achieve goals. I will correct that situation.