Emily Updates Volume 2 photos page up on the book site
Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 5:26PM Find the page here.
Believe it or not, this was our first family portrait. Vonne had bought some package earlier in the year, from Sears I think, and we had this one portrait sitting left that we had to use up before the end of 1994. Em was falling apart at this point from the nonstop chemo of the "induction phase" lasting 13 weeks post-diagnosis in July, so we figured, this might be the only family portrait we'd ever have that included her.
I really love this photo. My raccoony eyes from fatigue give me away (I was drinking heavily at the time too), and Vonne, starting her second trimester with son Kevin, is looking wan, but she musters something like a smile. Emily is happy enough, if a bit ghostly with her complete lack of hair (notice the missing eyebrows). We are barely holding it together in the fall of 94.
Then again, we held it together enough to write the Vol. 5 retrospective this last August.
The portrait was shot during the "missing" time of Volume 1 (after the first two chapters but before I started the diary), so we include it here because I described the picture in Chapter 4 of Volume 2.
Reader Comments (3)
I bought the $79 Kindle last Friday, received it on Tuesday, downloaded Vol I Updates on Wednesday, finished Vol. I on Thursday. Let me say some of it is pretty intense. Thank you and yours for sharing it with us.
Some months ago I downloaded the Kindle for PC to my laptop and then downloaded Gulliver's Travels, which I read in several short times and it kept track of my place. then I got bogged down and hadn't been back until I got the new Kindle and with a couple of clicks had my place in the new device. It was kind of cute how Amazon originally dinged my account "$0.00" for Gulliver's Travels, they have lots of those. I also have PNM and GP on it for when I travel. And for anyone who cares about American History and secondary education, I highly recommend Loewen's, "Lies My Teacher Told Me".
Sometimes all you can do is just put one foot in front of another. Keep moving and don't give up. Think of all the millions of times in our history that a small family has suffered through fatigue and hardship. There is something in us that wants to pull through...to live another day.
God's speed to the Barnett's for the rest of the journey.
Having my 1 year old changed my life, and with the second on the way I think its changing again. So hats off to you and Vonne, if I think I occasional;y have it rough on those long nights without sleep and a small boy determined to call shenanigans I can only begin to image what you must have managed.
And those raccoon eyes are catching.