Rodney Curtis

I’m beginning to fear I’m a fair weather blogger. There are stories and thoughts and sillies that have backed up in my pipeline and yet — holiday in and holiday out — I’ve neglected to share anything with you. Spank me. Throw garbage. Hurl epithets and epitaphs if you must. But love me in the end. (Uh wait; that sounds gross).

Like I mentioned to the folks on Spacebook, I didn’t know it was possible for Christmas to get brighter but while watching a movie last week, the doorbell rang and carolers sang a Rodney song. Apparently the Beaumont nurses and staff adopted our family for Christmas and showered us with gifts and song.

It’s quite impossible to thank them. They worked all summer to make me better and have swept across the calendar to December still by my side. I secretly fear I won’t be as good a person once I recover as they all are right now.

I guess it’s not a secret now, eh?

My daughter Skye didn’t completely think through the message she posted on her friend’s Facebook wall last week. They were watching a movie during a sleepover and around 2:00 a.m. she was shocked when one of the characters got killed. HE DIED!!!, she wrote in all caps. Little did she realize, the post showed up in her news feed where family and friends could see it. I commented on it as soon as I realized the possible confusion the next morning. Although I understand the similarities between me and Ryan Phillippe, I wanted to dispel any fears that perhaps something bad had happened over night.

Blood brother Scott gets a pass from me these days for just about any behavior, even destroying Christmas centerpieces. When he got up and decided to spin Marci’s exercise ball on his finger, Taylor tossed her camera into movie mode to record the epic failure. Normally this type of boys-gone-bad behavior would truly annoy me but deep down, it didn’t bother me at all. Maybe it’s because he handed over his stem cells a few months ago. Maybe I’ve become a better person. But probably it’s because I knew a good story trumps a dopey snowman made out of fake ice cubes any day.

Speaking of Scott, he handed me what hopefully is the last of the bills from all my brother’s and cousin’s blood testing. All the incredible fundraising over the summer and fall truly made a difference and covered the medical costs not covered by insurance. I thank you all for that, truly and deeply.

But I want you to know I did my part too. The $40.00 doctor bill he gave me was for a random scan I didn’t know took place. Later that night after giving me the bill— with all the cousins and brothers that were tested — I played poker and won exactly and precisely $40.00. I’m not sure they all appreciated the coincidence though.