After having breakfast I picked up the newspaper from this past Sunday that Mario abandoned on the floor out of all places. A story on the front page called “Just One Wish” caught my eye.

I figured I’d read the article and then take a nap. I was so sleepy this morning I actually turned off the alarm and went right back to sleep, leaving the boys and I with only 40 minutes to get ready instead of the usual hour and 15. After reading this article though, there’s no way I can sleep. I’ll just lay there thinking about what we can possibly do for this family.

The Garcia family — Martina, 42; Juvencio, 41; Juvencio Jr., 16; Andres, 13; and Marcos, 1 1/2 years old — live in a church bus that was converted into a home near FM 1925 in Edcouch.

Martina has liver cancer, which spread from her colon, and undergoes chemotherapy that leaves her sick and feeling weak. (Source/full story: Themontior.com)

This story hit me like a ton of bricks. I bawled so hard my head began to hurt. Shame on me for silently complaining about not having new window treatments, or new slippers, or a new bolster pillow when there’s people out there who are sick and actually need clothes and food. For the second time in less than a month I feel humbled and just lucky to have the life that I do, no matter how “bad” it may seem sometimes.

They live off of Ramen noodles and beans almost every night. Martina couldn’t even enjoy the first, most special months of her new baby’s life because when he turned 6 months old, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to her liver. Her husband, Juvencio, doesn’t have much work because he looks after the children when Martina’s feeling too ill after her chemo treatments. The floods that invaded their part of the valley during summer ruined some of the few things they owned, including an adjacent building Juvencio built 5 years ago.

The two eldest boys, the 16- and 13-year-olds, were shy during the interview and didn’t want to say much. I can’t even imagine what this is like for them.

I can relate to them, though. I don’t mention it much, and it’s going to take a lot to put this into writing, but when I was growing up we were dirt poor. We got by on my Gramma’s SSI check and welfare. At the end of most months, when funds were low after paying bills and buying food, we’d live off of bread and baloney sandwiches and city water. We spent days at a time sometimes without water and/or electricity since my dad would conveniently disappear when he was supposed to send money for the bills. My mom couldn’t work because she didn’t have an education and the GED classes she would have liked to attend weren’t offered in our area. Besides, even if they did have classes available, we had no form of transportation and Mom never learned how to drive. But still, even through all that, John and I remember having a mostly-happy childhood. Once we were in middle and high school though, it became a little embarrassing to tell our friends where we lived and even worse when they would go over and they found out we didn’t have indoor plumbing. We didn’t live in a shack by any means, but it was a small, 50-year-old house at the time that needed many repairs we didn’t have money for. That’s where I can relate to the Garcia boys. I know how tough it is being a teenager to begin with, but to have to deal with everything that’s been put on their plate makes their lives even tougher.

The fact that this may be the Garcias’ last Christmas together is just devastating. Although we may not be able to do a lot for them, I’d at least like to donate clothes and toys for the kids. Mario and I were just talking about how much stuff we have in the storage unit that we need to get rid of in a garage sale, but I’d feel so much better giving whatever I can to this family. My boys have plenty of toddler toys they don’t use and toddler clothes they grew out of that can be given to little 1 1/2 year-old Marcos. Both teenage boys wear Medium, and Mario bagged up tons of Medium sized shirts. And although it may not be much that we can give, I’d like to donate money, too.

If you live in the McAllen area or anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley and would like to donate, Themonitor.com states that donations are being accepted from now until December 21st at the building on the corner of 12th Street and Chicago Avenue, just west of the Chase Motor Bank buidling at 200 S. 10th Street in McAllen. You can call (956) 279-9047 or (956)-279-9048 with questions or to make monetary donations. It says that all donations are accepted, including, but not limited to: gently used clothing and toys, food, furniture and money.

It’s quite nippley out. It’s not even that drizzley outside and it feels frigid out there. I had to cave in and put on some sweatpants. I never wear sweatpants while I’m pregnant because I get hot really easily, but I was freezing this morning. And since the washer/dryer are outside and I had to get Mario’s clothes out to iron them before he got ready for work, I got cold and not even standing in front of the spaceheater helped. I’m praying I don’t get sick.

It’s been cold almost every day since the last week of November. I need to backtrack and read my entries from November-December 2004 so I can check if the weather’s the same as it was at that time, because that year it snowed. In South Texas. On Christmas Eve out of all days. That would be so awesome and magical if it happened again this year. I’d be really surprised if we don’t at least get sleet or something. It’s so COLD!

Jaylen and Eenan are doing much better. Eenan slept over at my mom-in-law’s last night and showed up a while ago wrapped only in one of Mary’s sweaters–he was naked other than his underwear. Darn kid. He started hacking while he thawed off in front of the heater. I started putting clothes on him and tell him, “Ahhh! Are you coughing again?!” He clears his throat, waits a minute to supress a cough, and says, “Nope.” Mmmhmm.

I dropped the kiddos off at school yesterday and came home, had breakfast and slid back into bed next to Mario, who makes me insanely jealous since he gets to sleep super late without interruption. It was the best 2 hour nap I’ve taken in a long time. I think it’s the cold; it just knocks you out and being wrapped in a thick, soft comforter next to a very warm husband makes it all the better.

We picked Jaylen up and John, Jaylen, Mario and I packed ourselves in the truck and went to pick up his paycheck. We had just about every bill to pay this paycheck, so we set aside all the Bill Money and deposited a bit more “just in case”. We won’t get to buy any presents this time (although I’m going to town after John gets out of work to visit Gramma and get Mario a pocketknife he wanted) but I’m just glad we paid all the bills plenty of days before we had to. I still have to go grocery shopping though. I loathe grocery shopping, especially when I have both kiddos with me. It never fails that one of them throws himself on the floor and that just so happens to be the exact moment that the whole store’s quiet and everyone turns to stare. *Hiss*.

We came back to pick Eenan and Brandon up from school. We went on a little hunt for Eenan’s jacket again, since he forgot it in his cubby and his teacher had locked the door. While I’m waiting for him I see a little boy who looks *just* like Eenan running in a sweater and jeans, hair flying everywhere and his backpack half-hanging off his back. He was searching for a janitor to open the door to his classroom. I got off the car and followed him and we walked to his classroom where his teacher just so happened to be standing with a group of ladies. THANK GOD he got ahold of her since this weekend’s proven to be really cold.

We went back to town, this time with Noelia in tow, and dropped her off at her mom’s office. Then we paid more bills and went to Target, where Mario got his gift-exchange gift for work and John got his gift-exchange present for Matthew. I forget what else we did exactly but we picked up some pizzas from Little Cesar’s (sp?). Yay! No cooking for me.

We ate at home, then I went through our DVD rack and dusted them all off. I really need to update our DVD list since I think we’re missing some and that sucks. Doesn’t help that we have them out in the open where anyone can just come “borrow” some when we’re not here (’cause everybody and their mama has a key to our apartment).

I washed the unsightly pile of dishes afterwards and after Mary got here with the cake mixes and icings I asked her to pick up for me I started making a chocolate cake. For Mario and his buddies at work. He kindly volunteered me to do so after he took some leftover Funfetti cake to work and all the guys ate it within 5 seconds. Mario didn’t even get to have a piece. Most of the guys wanted chocolate, so I made that one and I’ll make him the Funfetti one just for him here at home. I also had to get strawberry icing since John’s still holding me to my promise of making him a birthday cake that I never got to make him (I was working at the insurance place at the time). I guess I’ll do that before he gets home from work.

I hope there isn’t all kinds of traffic. I only have to go to Gramma’s nursing home, Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target and they’re all pretty close together so I don’t have to go into the hellhole that is McAllen during the holidays.

Speaking of McAllen, it’s kind of sad that the city I grew up in and was raised in is the #1 poverty-stricken suburban city in America. Wow.

According to the Weather Channel, it’s 47° now. I wish I could just go shopping in my sweatpants :(.

So it turns out that the “beeping” Jaylen was hearing in his “bwain” yesterday was due to an ear infection. I started getting a little suspcious since he kept saying his ears felt weird later on during the day. Then he said the sound “jumped” from one ear to the other and that it hurt every time he talked. I asked him if it hurt when he swallowed and he said no. He fell asleep just fine; I gave him Motrin just in case he felt any pain and some Triaminic Night Time since he had a runny nose.

He woke up in a pretty good mood. Well, I’m lying, since he gave me a hard time while he was getting ready and to top it off spilt his bowl of cereal all over the floor. Eenan was a bit more cooperative though, thank goodness.

I dropped them off, came home, dropped John off, ate breakfast and reheated some leftover barbacoa for Mario. Then I made an appointment for Jaylen, which couldn’t be set until 2 since the doctor was out till then. Thankfully Mary’d asked Sonia to pick the kids (Eenan and Brandon) up afterschool for me. Mom waited at my house so someone would be here when Eenan arrived.

Everything with their insurance went without a hitch and we were seen pretty soon. They were having problems with some audio test they were performing on him to check for infections, so they waited for the doctor. He was tested for Strep, which came out negative, but he definitely had a full-blown infection in the left ear and the beginning signs of one in the right. And the kid doesn’t even act sick. Dr. Z. prescribed some antibiotics, ear drops, Tylenol (which I wouldn’t be getting since I just bought Motrin) and some mild cough/congestion medicine.

We go over to the pharmacy next door and I ask the guy helping us how much he thinks it’ll come out to. He says he’ll be right with me, which I take as him actually checking and finding out, but instead he just has them filled and rings up my total. I get my Debit card out and to my horror, it’s $30. The co-pay for each medicine is supposed to be $5, $20 if there isn’t a generic. I assume it’s for the antibiotic but when I check the receipt, it says $5. I ask him what came out to so much and he says, “Oh, that’s the congestion medicine. There isn’t a generic.” My mouth drops and I practically yell, “For that, I could have just bought Triaminic like I have been!”

I wanted to tell him to keep the medicine and shove it, but I held my tongue and paid. Grr. Next time I’m going to stand there until he tells me what each thing is and how much it’s going to cost!

We went to see Mario really quick before we went to his mom’s office to drop some stuff off. I was introduced to his friend/co-worker Lenny and Mario spoke to Jaylen for a bit. I told him about how pissed I was that they charged so much for frickin’ cough medicine but he said it was fine–anything for the kiddos. I’m all for getting our kids everything they need, of course, but the fact that I was screwed really irks me.

We get to Mary’s office and she gives us a tour since we’d never seen it before. It’s gorgeous and the decor is so modern. John, Jaylen and I get drinks and then we come home. Then came the nightly routine of cooking, bathing the kids, eating and putting them to bed. I was ready to crash at 9:30 but I figured I should stay up a little since it would only make me wake up even more during the night to pee :(. Alaethia’s so active around this time. She’s been doing something weird where I feel like one of her limb’s going to rip right through my abdomen.

Totally random: I’m SO getting The Biggest Loser Workout 2 to use after I have Alaethia. Have you seen the people on that show?! They all look so damn amazing! If they can do it, I can totally do it. I *have* to!

Okay, talking to Mario on the phone, who’s finally on his way. I’m ready to sleep!