my day with a fighter and a thief

a couple weeks ago, we went to visit my grandma who just started another round of chemotherapy. let me just tell you, after four hours of being hooked up to an iv, i know i would not be as kind and amazing as she was. we walked in the door and she said, "oh goodness, what are you all doing here?" as if we were running into each other at the steak and shake on a sunday afternoon. i said, in a moderately snarky voice, "well, i guess we were in the neighborhood" instead of "we are here for you. remember, you're getting chemo'd." but she forgets that. she is just too awesome to let cancer get in her way. i imagine cancer patients to be sad and sick and being pushed around in wheelchairs, but not this lady. even when all of her hair was gone last summer, she looked healthy and happy and fully intent on kicking cancer's ass. and she thinks of others way above herself. when the nurse said, "watch finn so he doesn't kick the needle out of your grandma's arm," grandma said, "don't worry, it's only saline. it won't hurt him." WHAT? she's a superhero in my mind.


after we left, i had to stop by the babies r us and crate and barrel to buy a few shower gifts. the thriving metropolis of lafayette still lacks these amazing stores, so alas, our trips to indianapolis are jam-packed and eventful. babies r us, ran in to quickly grab a couple baby goo gaas (duh...it's a baby store right). but of course, i can't figure out how to get the registry to print off. i kept trying and trying, when finally the 75 year old register lady, who had been watching me angrily the whole time walks over and says, "can't you see the blinking light? it means you need more paper." i wanted to say, "well, if you saw it from way over there, why didn't you just come over and DO YOUR JOB?" but i didn't. i laughed nervously like i had just been yelled at by the bus driver. they looked oddly similar. of course, abby's registry was 25 pages, so 100 pages later, i had my 4 registries to look at and was off to buy two items off of it. i saved them to recycle at home.

on to crate and barrel. i ran in to quickly grab a couple house-type goo gaas. the registry printed off in a jiffy, because the employees there really care! grabbed a couple things for jen and kristen and a couple things for me (i couldn't resist). then of course went to the register where a new employee was working. a man in his fifties named john, who commented on how cute all my items were and that i was selfish to keep them for myself. meanwhile, finn was having a meltdown, so i handed him the closest non-breakable item to fiddle with. 20 minutes later, many packages in hand, i pushed finn out, packed up the car, drove away and noticed finn chewing on these. i didn't even think to turn around and return them. there weren't any cops around, so i figured i'll start the thievery early.