Love Odyssey

I have had some serious medical issues since last August and have been working with a very good doctor who has taken my vague symptoms seriously.  In April she referred me to a specialist since my blood test results had not improved significantly with her interventions.  I was told by this specialist that I probably had a form of  pre-cancer and that I would need more tests in the next several weeks.  Of course I was scared. 

 Bryce has been my rock and has stood by me through the past eight weeks of agony.  He has been there when I wanted to talk about it; he has helped me when I wanted to forget and just have fun.  And I know that he has had his own personal hell dealing with my perceived future absence in his life.  So today when the doctor gave us the good news that my blood test results are now normal, we both let out a collective sigh of relief and went out to celebrate life again.  Yes, I think the power of love helped here–I know it sounds corny, but I believe it is true.  Thank you, Bryce, for all your love!

Helen   –06/22/10

Yesterday morning we left Oriental at 6:00 a.m. to sail to Ocracoke.  NOAA weather predicted winds 10-15 miles/hour out of the north, which for a sailboat means that we had the wind on our nose and there was no way we could hoist the sails.  The Neuse River and Pamlico Sound are very shallow bodies of water, averaging 15 to 20 feet in most spots.  We had waves of 1 to 2 feet and our boat bounced off of them about every 20 to 30 seconds.  Once you get used to the motion of the boat, it can be tolerated, but moving around much is tricky.  We have learned over the years that this is the price you pay for the privilege of visiting this island paradise.  Ocracoke generally extracts a price either going or leaving.

 We arrived by noon and as soon as the boat was securely tied to the Park Service dock, we left for lunch at the Jolly Roger restaurant.  This is one of our favorite places to have a brew and munchies.  Then we picked up some good fish to barbeque for dinner at the local fish market.  We had never tried tile fish before and we would now recommend it for future meals—delicious with fresh salsa and corn on the cob.

 This morning bright and early we hiked up to the airport (where seven small planes were parked) and out to the beach for some photographs.  At eight in the morning we had the beach to ourselves!  Then on to the Fig Tree Bakery for some breakfast.  We figured that we had hiked at least five miles—not too bad for us ole folks!

 This afternoon we packed a picnic lunch and headed out in the dinghy for Springer’s Point.  This is our favorite beach on the island; it’s not on the ocean but rather on the sound side where there are no waves and the warm, calm water goes out for several hundred yards and is still only chest deep.  We always take Mitzie, our little Yorkie, and she barks with excitement the entire way.  She can’t wait to swim and explore the little creatures in the nooks and cranies around the beach boulders.  Bryce and I enjoy sitting in the shade of our beach umbrella, sipping sangria and nibbling on hummus and crackers.  Life doesn’t get much better than this!

 Helen—06/19/10

We were tired Saturday night. We had spent the majority of the day working on the boat in the heat and we were ready to get some sleep.  Just as we settled into bed, my cell phone rang and our son announced that Jennifer had gone into labor and our second grandchild was going to be born very soon. An hour later we got the call that Alec Decker Donaldson had been born at 11:01 pm, about a month early, but weighing a respectable 5 lbs. 11 oz. 

Yesterday we hurried to Greensboro to meet the newest addition to our family.  He’s a cute little peanut with a full head of dark hair.  He looks so much like his older brother, Andrew, who just celebrated his fifth birthday on Thursday.  In fact, Sunday we were supposed to celebrate Andrew and my birthdays at my brother and sister-in-laws house.  Andrew was born the day after my 60th birthday and now Alec is born two days after Andrew’s  5th birthday (June 2, 3, and 5).  So next year we will have quite a rousing party!  But this year we took the party to the hospital, birthday cake and all!  What a lovely little surprise!

Helen– 06/07/10

 The past two long weekends we have had such lovely trips-to Ocracoke and to Beaufort.  But with boats it seems that every time you take them out for pleasure, something breaks or needs fixing.  So this weekend we are fixing all the things that broke.  This morning we went from hardware store to West Marine (the boaters’ Wal-mart) and back to hardware store to get all the parts and tools that we needed.  This afternoon Bryce has his head in the “head” (boat lingo for “bathroom”), fixing a valve and hose that determines whether waste goes into the holding tank or overboard (only if 12 miles off-shore).  Repairing things is not Bryce’s forte; let’s be honest, Bryce would rather have a root canal than work with tools on the boat.  But if we get the boat yard to work on every little thing that goes wrong, we would have to be as rich as Bill Gates, and that is not going to happen in this lifetime while doing health care.  So with much muttering and the occasional explicative, Bryce does as many repairs as he can.

 This morning Bryce worked on our teak deck, replacing bungs that had come loose over the past several months.  This is a never-ending task, but one that is pretty easy once you’ve done it a few times.  I worked on putting rigging tape over the cotter pins at the base of the shrouds so they do not work loose during a lively blow when the sails are up.  We also repaired some small worn spots on our mizzen mast.  Thus is the life of a sailor—we “pay the piper” for each lovely trip on the water.

 Helen—06/05/10