We can’t all have Gabrielle Reese for a mom!

**Ok, in case that was a totally obscure reference…Gabrielle Reese is a rocking beach volleyball player.

Nathaniel didn’t make the volleyball team. He was tough about it, though. He was comforted by the fact that only 1 4th grader made the team, and he’s genuinely happy that his friend made the team. Last year he would have been in tears and a mess, so I’m really impressed by how well he took the news and how mature he was about his disappointment. Instead, Nathaniel and Rachael will both be playing soccer….in the Florida heat…running outside…in the heat…heat like the surface of the sun…and they’re happy about it! I’m such a wuss, the only time I run is from the air conditioned car to the air conditioned building.

Peyton spent the day at Grandma’s house, playing and being spoiled within an inch of her life. I think the sooner that she is able to get into school the better for her, she really needs to make friends her own age and learn to interact with kids outside of the Children’s Cancer Center again. The CCC has been a lifesaver throughout her treatment, because it’s been her only real source of playmates.

I struggle with the idea of getting her back into school, for all the same reason I’m sure most parents in our position have. Will she get teased? She’s going to get exposed to so many germy little hands. Will she struggle to make the benchmarks? But I also feel compelled to give her the normalcy she’s missed out on for the past year, I want her to go to preschool and be with other kids her age. I think when she does she’ll start to be a little less clingy, which would be a great thing. When people talk to her, I fear that she’s going to try to climb up my leg and back into the womb.

The big worry for me is to figure out how I’m going to go back to work when she’s ready to go to school. For the average mom it can be hard to work because if your kid is sick that is the first priority. What place wants to hire a person who comes in and says “I’ll work for you and do the best I can, but I can also call you at the drop of a hat and be out for a week.” Yeah, I don’t see a lot of job offers swinging my way. I know that it’ll work out, that the right job will open up at the moment I’m supposed to go to work. God works good that way. I’m still considering going back to school, but it’s all a matter of timing and confidence in where Peyton is in treatment.

A company called Dynamic Painting came out today at the request of the Brandon Foundation. They are a group here in Brandon (obviously!!) that works with families dealing with cancer, not just pediatric cancers, and helps to take the strain off the family by providing household services. We have a deck in our backyard that is falling apart and we just haven’t had the time, energy or money to deal with it. We pretty much tell the kids “don’t fall into a hole” and let it go. The Brandon Foundation gets companies that will donate time or services to families like ours and they match them up with a need. So the guys came out today and decided that the whole thing needs to come up and go away and a new decking be put down….that’s AWESOME! I am so excited about it and so thankful for the generosity and compassion that these businesses display.

f.r.o.G.
—Anissa

ps…don’t forget to sign up for a walking team for the Cure Kids Cancer Challenge on September 29th in Brandon!!! If you can’t make it that day, sponsor the Mighty Mighty Mayhews for the event.