week of chaos

oh. my. word.

i don't even know where to begin, this past week has been such a whirlwind!  first of all, i didn't swim the pennock island challenge.  my teammate and i decided the night before that with no previous training and less-than-desirable wind conditions expected, we were in no shape to swim 8.2 miles.  so mishele ended up kayaking with her husband, and i managed to get a spot on the guardian paramedic boat - our thinking was that if we could see the race and how it all works, we'll be better prepared for next year.  and i am sooo pumped for next year now!  the guardian boat ended up picking up two swimmers; one made it half way before succumbing to the cold water, and the other didn't finish the course before the 5-hour time limit.  it was a beautiful day, but i was glad we didn't swim because even the most seasoned swimmers said the water was colder than it had been any of the 7 previous years... i went to the banquet that night and sat with our new KKW coach (yes, the one that half the swim moms are trying to set me up with) and a coworker's family; it was a good time and i saw some swimming faces i haven't seen in a while.  has definitely gotten me motivated to get back in the pool and start training for next year's pennock - i think having a definite goal will help me stick with it.  i'm still going on walks, started adding a couple minutes' intervals of running last night, and am going to swim the next 2 wks before work starts.  then join up with the masters' team again in september so i'm held accountable for workouts.

this week was also the last week of extended school year (aka summer school for sped kids), FINALLY.  the kids are pretty fun & we got to take them out to different job sites everyday for job experience; i took kids to the salvation army, a & p grocery story, tatsuda's grocery, the narrows restaurant, wal-mart, the landing restaurant & hotel, and the pioneer home.  it was fun, it went by fast, but the last week nobody wanted to work.  at all.  kids or staff.  today was definitely a "TGI-freakin'-F" type of day.

to add to everything else, last night my grandpa ended up getting medevac'ed south to harborview medical center in seattle.  he was acting out of sorts yesterday, was shakier than normal, had a headache, and fell trying to sit in his chair.  the ambulance came to get him because of faster service in the e.r., but it sounded like a mini-stroke or something at the time.  we don't have the capability to fully diagnose and treat brain things here in ketch, so the doctors felt more comfortable sending him south, since it could have been a mini-stroke or maybe a brain tumor.  we haven't heard much of anything since last night, except that they're running tests.  we've been fussing over my great uncle all summer as well, since he got really weak and lost a lot of weight, but there hasn't been anything to explain why.  he's been doing better, but the doctors are also sending him south for more tests in a couple weeks, since he is back to eating healthily but not gaining any weight still.  the internists are supposed to figure out if it's the steroids he's on that are preventing nutrient absorption (which is a side effect) or if he's got something more serious like cancer. 

keep them in your prayers...and hope this next week isn't quite as crazy.