25 October 2004 - Nocturne in Z Flat, Part II

Thanks for your letters of sympathy in response to Part I. I wasn't looking for support, but it was nice to get all of your letters.

We did indeed survive the weekend! The rest of Sunday went very smoothly. I took the boys for a drive to look at houses (they love going through the really rich areas and seeing the big, fancy, residences with fountains, gates, and sweeping lawns), then we watched a movie, ate dinner, read some books together, did laundry, washed up, and went to bed. Zack fell asleep almost immediately, and Nicky played quietly for a few minutes before going to sleep himself. Except for a little bit of whining at bath time, the boys were perfectly behaved all afternoon and evening.

Zack woke only once last night. At 2:30 in the morning, he got up, turned on the lights, and asked if it was okay to play with his toy cars. I said it was still time to sleep, and he shrugged, turned off the lights, got back in bed, and slept until the alarm woke him at 6:45.

In a few minutes, I'm going to pick Nicky up from school and take him to the doctor to get his stitches out. He won't like having the stitches removed, but he'll be very happy to have them gone because he'll be able to use the pool again. My wallet and I will be happy that we won't need any more doctor visits for a while.

Tomorrow morning, I drop by the lawyer's office to execute my new will, which leaves all of my estate in a trust for the boys. I've informed all the busses in the area to hold off hitting me until after I've signed the new will. The lawyer very thoughtfully prepared the document in August, but I haven't been able to get away to sign the darned thing during his office hours until now. Finally, with both kids back in school, I can start attending to things that have been piling up.

Tomorrow afternoon, Uncle Dan arrives! The boys are really excited about seeing him again. Uncle Dan helped me take care of the boys when I was so incredibly sick three months ago (right after the boys arrived from Ukraine), and the boys both formed a deep bond with him very quickly. They had a wonderful time visiting with Uncle Dan at Grandma's house in Omaha two weeks ago, and are thrilled that he's going to be here again. Dan will be bringing a couple suitcases full of toys and goodies that he and Grandma bought for the boys.

Early Wednesday morning, I'm taking the boys to court to hold the Recognition of Foreign Decree and get Zack's birthdate officially changed to 01 December 1999. Dan will come along and be the photographer (he's much better with the camera than I am, so watch the website for some nice shots), and we're going to make it a bit of a celebration by having everyone dress up for court. My social worker, Dawn, is going to come, too, which will be an extra treat.

I know this isn't very much notice, but anyone receiving this email is invited, too. The actual court hearing will only take a few minutes, but there will be a lot of standing around, smiling, and hand-shaking. Just let me know if you would like to attend, and I'll get directions to you.

Wednesday afternoon, I have my annual physical, where my dear friend and long-time physician gets to yell at me for not taking better care of myself.

This weekend, we're going to Sea World in San Antonio. Sea World holds a big Halloween celebration every year, and while we won't be able to stay until late Sunday night when all the fun stuff happens (the boys have school on Monday, and San Antonio is a four-hour drive from Dallas), we'll have fun anyway. The boys love staying in hotels, and I'm sure they'll enjoy the dolphins, rides, and water slides.

During the month of November, we don't have anything planned except a visit from Uncle Tim and, of course, our first family Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to a quiet month.