Family Effect

While they were gone I was feeling my ALS more prominently, more twitching, gimpy walking, brief cramps when stretching in sleep. A little stumbling. Now that they are back I notice that the twitching has slowed down, and I feel good and whole. The Family Effect? I guess.

It was such a joy to see them. I saw my kids somewhat with new eyes. And they had made developmental leaps while away. My wife says that a change in setting, or change in general, can stimulate kids' development.

There was an enormous moon near the horizon as we walked to our car last night, and my daughter said something very complex about it. I don't remember what she said, but I do remember looking at her and thinking that she was less a toddler and more a two-year-old.

At breakfast this morning my son said something long and complex that involved the phrases "...what I consider to be..." and "...so in my case...."

Last night he specifically asked that I be the one to put him to bed. And he asked that I do it three nights in a row. My lovely wife and I are going to continue switching off, but I was honored.

I have made an appointment to get my blood drawn and tested for:

• Cholesterol (HDL, LDL, VLDL)


• Trigylcerides


• Lyme factors (IGG, IGM)


• Bilirubin


• Serum glucose

No big reason, just curious, and it will be useful information going into my next visit to the ALS clinic, which has 'workshops' where they check all your functions and answer your questions. I am scheduled for Feb. 14, Valentines Day. I checked this with my lovely wife, and she says it's OK.

She asked me to marry her on a sunny Sunday morning, Valentines Day. I watched several movies with Cate Blanchett while the family was away, and when I saw my wife at the airport, she reminded me of Cate's blond characters. She has the same sort of inspirational face. Seeing her with new eyes, I saw her as others must see her. Lovely, that's true, but also sweet. She is the one I know so well, and count on.

By the way, my programmer friend solved the puzzle. The puzzle was super-easy: Can you spot the flaw in this code?

for (int i = 0; i < myArray.length; i++) {
i--;
System.out.print(myArray[i] + " ");
}