Life

Tony had his fourth chemo treatment on Monday. For the last few weeks, he has been wiped out. Chemo is so awful on your body. He's weak, tired, has sores in his mouth, and has lost feeling in some of his extremities. When we go visit, he's in bed. I try and bring the kids to see him once or twice a week. I can tell it brings him joy. But he tires quickly and we don't stay long.



George has been working some very long hours at the store. So long, that I have been feeling like a single parent. He has totally computerized all the inventory. He's redone the wine section and is getting rid of all the clutter. I finally see some excitement in him about what he is doing. The biggest reason is that Tony has let go of some of his control. But not all of it. The other day I was at Tony's with the kids. I sat with Tony and was telling him how excited George was about the store and told him how good the store was looking. He half heartedly agreed that George was taking some interest but then went right into complaining about this and that and how George still didn't know anything about the business.



It's useless to try and explain to Tony that George is trying to take the store into the 21st century. It's the only way they can compete with the mega stores. Tony has never taken risks. When you don't take risks, no growth happens.



I am proud of George. I've taken a few trips to the store with him and he's proudly shown me what he's doing. His dad has always been so hard on him. I can see that when he gives George just a tiny compliment, George gobbles it up. Can you imagine living with a dad like that as a young boy? It has warped George in such obvious ways. He hungers for compliments. Even when he does a small tasks, he needs encouragement and reinforcement.

I'm not sure how long we will be doing this. Business has slowed down along with the economy. I am so thankful that I got the extra hours this school year. We'll see what the next year brings. We are living one day at a time, trying to enjoy the abundance of what God has given us. We have much to be thankful for.