When Kathie and Dr. W. were giving me the chemotherapy roadmap talk, during which they outlined every possible side effect known to man and some specific to women, I got the idea that each treatment cycle would be similar to the previous one. Surprise! Every time is different.

This time around, I experimented with the anti-nausea drugs by not taking any. I didn't feel nauseated at all. I also did not have the overwhelming brain fog and head buzz I had last time. I did take the Claritin/Aleve combination Thursday evening when I noticed that my skin hurt when I rubbed my neck and my bones hurt when Steve hugged me.

I haven't been overly tired. In fact, I felt well enough today to drive over to the elementary school and mosey in to the library to be with Sariah during the Maturation Presentation, which I missed completely last year even though it was written down. She was not happy with me about that. Driving, walking, and sitting were entirely too much to deal with during cycle Number Two.

This time is Number Three, which means I have three left, which also means I counted wrong and my last treatment is around January 14 instead of Christmas as I have been telling everyone. Shucky darns.

Bethany and Abbie came here after school to work on birthday presents for a friend's party, and somehow Reuben heard them mention that the party involved bowling. This was a big mistake, because he suddenly remembered that Bapu had promised to take him bowling if he let me cut his hair, which he did. However, Bapu is in Illinois helping Paul and Mom pack belongings into a Giant Yellow Truck to drive here, stopping only once to sleep at a rest stop and shocking us all by calling us to help unload the truck eight hours before we begin to expect his arrival.

Reuben decided he was invited to the birthday party too. He was extremely upset when I didn't share this conviction, and proceeded to exhibit a most impressive screaming display, which was still going strong when we pulled into our driveway after dropping B and A at the party location.

He wouldn't let Nathaniel undo his carseat harness. He wouldn't let me undo his carseat harness. He ranted and raved about bowling for at least five minutes, at which time I went into the house to call for reinforcements, because I could tell that a) I would not be able to carry him into the house, and b) I was no longer able to put up with the emotional baggage he was flinging about.

Reuben screamed in the car while I drank a calming 500 mL of water (only 800 more to fill the daily quota) and tried to think who might be able to soothe the savage beast that had entered my son's body.

James.

He wasn't home, but said he could come in about fifteen minutes. Nathaniel came in to say that Reuben was now screaming for me. Lovely. I decided to go sit in the car and not say anything, because I didn't want to be sucked into the rant. Reuben did let me undo his carseat harness this time, but it turned out to be a mistake, because then his rant involved writhing around on me while screaming. At least I was sitting down.

James and Jason arrived at the same time. After some convoluted negotiations, James and I convinced him to let James carry him inside while I held his hand and Jason held the door. Then I sat on the couch and Reuben sat on my lap for another while before I noticed he was asleep.