Samantha Washko

Journal

Sunday, June 15, 2003 9:58 PM CDT

New Picts on the Photo page. (Well, they're old picts but new on here!)

Sunday, 6/15:
We went to the Rowan County Relay for Life. Big thanks to all those that participated and sponsored and raised money for the American Cancer Society and to those on teams and setting up such a fun event for the kids - they loved it! The survivor lap was a little emotional for me. Especially watching everyone clap for the survivors and seeing how very proud everyone was to be walking that lap. Sam got to help hold the big flag with the other child cancer survivors. While she held the flag, a trio sang the star spangled banner and I looked over and there's Sam, belting it out as well. We let Sam and Matt indulge in snowcones and elephant ears (my personal favorite) and face painting and hair painting and popcorn and bouncing in a bouncy moon walk type thing and through a bouncy obstacle course MANY times... lots of fun! Sam wanted to be all in purple for the event. She loved the Christ United Methodist Church bubble machine and the bouncy playground the best.

Matt said the cutest thing to me that night. I got my hair cut for Locks for Love in memory of Cassie Schembari to help make a wig for some other beautiful cancer patient like her and of course in honor of our beautiful Sam too. It barely reached the minimum length of 10 inches in a braid and needed to be chopped VERY close to the head to make it. I did not think it would be long enough yet to make it, but it barely did. Sam got all teary and kept whispering to me "You don't look like Mommy anymore". This was not the response I expected from her since she says she is growing hers as long as Rapunzel and then getting it cut to make several wigs for Locks for Love! Matt looked fearful but just kept a hand on my leg to reassure me "it'll be OK, Mommy" as though it was hurting me. Afterward with no mirror to see how truly short it was, I could only guess how "wonderful" it looked when Matt said, "Mommy when I got my hair cut and got home and looked in the mirror, my cheeks and ears looked so different that it hurt here (putting his hand on his chest), but it's OK now and doesn't hurt anymore so when you get home Mommy and look in the mirror, it's going to REALLY HURT YOU Mommy, but you'll get better." So sweet of him to console me like that. You can just imagine how very much I wanted to avoid getting home and looking in that mirror! Anyway, both Sam and Matt declared before bedtime that I "looked like Mommy" again and all was well.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Father's Day today and ate and ate the best food as usual (wish I could cook that well!) Matt had a great time playing football outside with Grandpa and Daddy until they were all "sticky sweaty." Happy Father's Day all you Dads!

I pray for all those children recovering from their transplants and getting ready for their transplants and for all those undergoing cancer treatments and for all those on the prayer list. Thank You God for so very many caring people to put together and plan and run the Relay for Life.
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And here's some old entries that I never got in here:
Monday, 6/2:
Another good weekend here. Everyone is healthy - thank You God! We enjoyed watching the balloons at the balloon rally in Troutman last night. At one time we counted 22 hot air balloons all in the air at once. Odd coincidence but on Saturday, Aunt Linda sent the kids a postcard for their collections and it was of hot air balloons in New Mexico! We saw the balloons last night set up and blow up and take off and onthe way home we saw a lot of them landing too since they went the direction heading toward our drive home.

Wednesday, 6/10:
We're all healthy and doing great. I even took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's yesterday! We met some of their cousins there and had fun! We wanted to be there right when they opened so we didn't hit crowds and I felt like we left about 10 minutes too late for my tastes - it was starting to get crowded! I was determined never to take the kids there with all the germs that must be lurking there but I must really be relaxing to let them go to "germ heaven"! There really weren't very many people there other than cousins and us until we were leaving so I was able to relax fairly well. Sam had a list of things to do when she got better. She made it when she was in the hospital, and "Go to Chuck E Cheese's" was on the list. When I had the scare the other week with her swollen lymph nodes (which turned out to be nothing at all, just overly paranoid parents), I realized how easily I had forgotten that I promised myself she would get to do everything on that list if I could just have her alive and well and now I will not be lax about it and take anything for granted! Some days I do take for granted how very healthy we are and things seem so very regular and "normal"(I hate that word) around here.

The kids have been swimming a little. Matt is a fish and mostly stays under the water - I wonder sometimes if he has a built-in snorkel! Sam is a fish yet stays above the water and manages to keep the top of her head dry the whole time - how anyone can do that while staying in the water the whole time I don't know but she doesn't like being under and Matt does! We've been to the lake a few times and in the sprinkler a few times and in the neighborhood pool and just are enjoying ourselves this summer so far! We are so thankful to God for his daily blessings of such good health!

We pray for all the other children undergoing cancer treatments and transplants and we pray for their siblings as well since we know how hard it can be on the whole family.

For anyone that happens to read this from Salisbury, mark your calendars for a blood and bone marrow drive on July 8th. If you didn't get the chance to be typed yet, it's a good chance to - it's at the Civic Center here with the American Red Cross running a blood and bone marrow drive. If you already had a chance to get typed and are on the registry, then maybe you can donate blood. I am so very thankful for the many people that have donated blood that kept Sam going! If you're donating blood, getting put on the bone marrow registry is as simple as giving permission for a couple of drops of that blood to be tested and requires no additional needle stick. If you donate blood - see if you can break my record - a full bag in 7 minutes!

Thank You God for giving us such health to enjoy life like this! Please bless all those less fortunate!

Look at past journal entries

Email address  : nancyw@webkorner.com

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