How to plan a delightfully romantic honeymoon

September 16th, the day after Mike was re-admitted to the 6th floor at UCLA, for the umpteenth time, he was transported back down to the radiology department to see Dr. Percy Lee, the radiologist, and get mapped for radiation of his spine at T3-T6 since that was the new area of growth. Three hours later, he had radiation. I passed the time by reading “Christ the Healer” and playing Angry Birds on our iPod. Mike’s parents and sister, Trisha, spent most of the day in our hospital room and then in the afternoon they went for a walk to a popular ice cream shop where you custom order ice cream sandwiches with different kinds of cookies and ice cream filling. They brought some back to Mike and he devoured them. The basis of his recent diet, Ensure pudding and Ensure smoothies, weren’t quite hitting the spot adequately. While they were walking around Westwood a couple blocks from the hospital, everyone had noticed that the movie premiere for “Dolphin Tale” was being set up at the Westwood V...

Today marks the two year anniversary since Mike’s family and I had to say goodbye to him in the hospital room at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane. And I can feel it; it’s like September puts me in a fog of sadness without my even having to think about it. Something in my heart just knows to ache this time of year. I think it’s the change in weather, the colors, it all screams “MIKE!” He adored this time of year, and I just feel his presence more in the fall. This season gives me déjà vu of getting up early and saying goodbye to him as he headed into hunting camp for up to a week at a time. The piles of hunting gear all over the house, the numerous fall fleeces and jackets that Mike insisted all served different purposes, the many different pairs of boots, camouflage clothing, his gazillion coffee cups and the smell of coffee in the air…it’s all him, and I feel it so close to me. I ache. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, I al...