Thunderbolt

So that’s it, my six-month journey has come to an end and I’m wrapping things up. I hope you all enjoyed this little journal. I hope it has given you a little insight into what it’s like for a regular type family to cope with Cystic Fibrosis. We’re not rich or famous. We’re just people. And we get by a day at a time. What does 2004 hold for us Malchus’? Budd and Karyn had a baby girl on January 19th (Megan Elizabeth). That will surely cause some new excitement. Sophie just turned 5. 5!!! How did that happen? Jules and I celebrated our 10th (!) anniversary on Dec. 30th and will have been California citizens for 10 years any day now. We didn’t get each other fancy gifts; we couldn’t afford it (maybe for 15 years?). I believe I am going to have to find a new job soon. As much as I love it at Klasky Csupo, it just doesn’t pay enough to support the family. Then again, something miraculous might happen with “King’s Highway.” Oh, and Rebecca has asked me to help with the committ...

The night after the marathon, our team (CF and City of Hope) gathered at the hotel bar to commiserate about the race. Limping in with aching limbs, I expected to hear about the great accomplishments of the day. To my surprise, everyone instead shared his or her horror stories about miles 20-24. It was as if every runner hit a wall… a universal feeling of pain and agony (well, not entirely universal, the winning runner finished the marathon in 2 hours and 11 minutes). I also learned that the Honolulu marathon is one of the most difficult races to run. Having heard all of this, I someone, insanely, decided I would run at least one more marathon. I mean, how hard could it be a second time? Actually, Rebecca informed me that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is going to sponsor a marathon in Malibu, CA this coming December (2004). I thought I should show up and run the inaugural event. Plus, you know, I want to really find out if I can perform better by really taking control of those f...

The Marathon At 3:15 am in the morning the day of the race, I woke up and ate a bowl of cereal. Somehow I was able to sleep the night before. I put on my headphones and set the MP3 player to "The Rising", Springsteen had gotten me through the entire training period and I was ready for some inspiration. I wrote the following: Got up 15 minutes ago. Rather, I finally got out of bed. Slept well for at least four hours, maybe more. The last hour was very restless. I think I woke up every 10 minutes. Jules left me an inspiring note that I'll carry with me. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I'm excited and just a bit anxious. But I know I'll finish. Those last six miles are for Jake. This is why I'm here-- to rep CF and raise awareness. By now it's sounding a bit like an old line to a fine routine, but I feel that in my heart. The journey here has been worth it. Now, let's hope I complete this Odyssey with some grace. P.S. If I ...

We've just returned from Cleveland where we were attending the funeral of Julie's grandmother, Vera Flynn. I had originally planned to return Wednesday, the day of the funeral, but changed my mind that day when I felt like I should stay and spend more time with the family. I'm glad I stayed. Although the purpose of our trip wasn't the happiest reason to fly into bitter cold Cleveland weather, seeing everyone gathered together and getting a chance to be together made it worth it. I will conclude everything this week. Aloha.

The Hawaii Trip--- Pt. 1 There are things you learn when going on a long trip, like, not having enough pairs of boxers to get you through a week. Who knew? Fortunately, we would be spending most of our time in bathing swimsuits, so it wasn't a big problem. And when we discovered that our condo in Waikiki had a washer and dryer, the problem became moot. F-R-I-E-D. That's how I felt Friday, December 12 after arriving in Hawaii. We got out of bed at 3:45 am, not that I ever went to sleep. After missing a flight a couple of years ago and having to wait for the next available flight (ugh, what an experience that was... and I swore we'd never take another morning flight) I never sleep well the night before a flight across the country, or in this case the ocean. We got to Oahu fine. It was not too hot, but the humidity was quite noticeable. It reminded me of Ohio in the early months of summer: sweaty but not unbearable. All of us were pretty whipped. The kids were trooper...

Here it is, January 2nd and I'm finally returning from hibernation. While we continue to clean the house for the second time in as many days in preparation for Sophie's birthday party on Sunday (can she really be turning five? How did that happen?), I want to begin my final entries for this journal, starting with some details about our trip to Hawaii. And since me will more than likely be flying to Cleveland in the next couple of days for a funeral, I'm not sure when I will get back on the computer. Most of my reflections on the trip to the marathon come from notes I took while we were there...