Todd is doing much better these days. One of the lowest points for me was about 2-1/2 weeks ago when Todd was feeling very poorly and very needy (SO, so unlike him!) and I just didn't know what else I could do to help him. I felt I had done everything I possibly could, and just didn't have a lot more to give at that point. Luckily a dear friend came over the next day and talked to us about his similarly "down" experience a few months after treatment. It made a big difference, hearing what he had gone through, and what had frustrated him, and what he did to get through it.

I think that discussion and a little more healing time, combined with the family needing Todd to be "Dad in charge" when Dash broke his toe and Carolyn needed major "only dad can do this" help with her delayed flight and lost luggage, has helped Todd really start to regain his place in the family. He is, of course, still physically fragile due to all the weight he has lost and some of the meds he is still on, but this latest "bump up" in his recovery is most welcome.

In addition, he has given up on drinking those bottles of Ensure, and is eating more "normal" food. Just this week I FINALLY felt that he had three reasonable meals on the same day. Although not large portions by any means, it was a nice variety. For dinner I made him bay scallops, sauteed with tiny shards of fresh crookneck squash from our garden, and peeled plums (the peel is too bitter for him) with white nectarines. Such a relief from all the weird baby foods that were neither appetizing nor that nourishing! Lunch is often a quesadilla with cheese, chicken and corn. French toast with maple syrup is often the breakfast of choice, as it stays warm long enough for Todd to finish it. Eggs get cold too quickly, as he eats slower than his normal slow.

He is more open to trying a bite of something now, which is great. Today we shared a hot fudge sundae; he said it wasn't as tasty as it should be. (Hot fudge, how can that be??) So some things don't taste as good right now, some are still too difficult or dry or spicy to eat (nothing with black pepper, no citrus or tomatoes, for instance). But the list of edibles is growing, which makes it easier for me to come up with appetizing choices. This week the plums on our tree are ripe, so we we are enjoying them with almost every meal. In the next few weeks we will have white nectarines and apricots.

Tuesday was our 20th wedding anniversary, and we actually went out for dinner for the first time since Valentine's Day, before treatment started. Dash and Lauren came with us, also our neighbors Vince and Mary. We went to the little sushi place down the hill from us. Todd and Mary had tempura, the rest of us ordered unagi, tobiko, spider roll (with soft shelled crab), california roll with scallops and a few other things the sushi chef recommended. I brought a framed photo from our wedding day to decorate the table. We had such a nice time! We've had a lot of fancier dinners for our anniversary, but this was one we will always remember.