It's been good to be back with Kari again. She is coming out of a very hard period of pain and nausea. We hope in the next couple of days that her body will make adjustments to the powerful antibiotics that contribute much to her stomach pain, but which are needed to combat an intestinal infection. And we now know that much of her shoulder pain and headaches are due to very tense muscles. "The muscle up the back of my neck feels as hard as a rock," she says, and it is--though because of the collar she wears, it's hard to get back there and massage it much. We try, though, and she seems better able to sense when her muscles are tense and she needs to try to relax. Trying to relax is on her mind a lot, which is good, but ironic too: trying hard to relax is a paradox. When she was being suctioned just a few minutes ago and her arms were jerking upwards, she said to me a couple of times, "I'm trying hard to relax, I'm trying hard." It's working too. Her arms don't jerk up nearly so hard as they used to, and it's easier to bring them down afterwards.
Talking with Aaron over the last couple of days, I think he's just hoping to establish an even keel for himself and Kari and everyone, so that we all don't get too excited when good things happen, and we don't get too down when bad things do. The good and bad are all part of the process. Since we were speaking of the Cubs a few days ago, I thought of the Bulls. When Phil Jackson took over he said that his greatest concern was that the team got too high when it won and got too low when it didn't. They had to establish a more even keel and not rock back and forth so much. Don't get so excited about winning or losing: that sounds like a formula for mediocrity, but, as we know, it led to a great dynasty. Not getting too excited about "winning" might seem like we're not thankful enough to God, but that's not it either. It's hard to explain, and what comes to mind immediately is another sports analogy. When asked about what he thought about football players celebrating so outrageously when they scored a touchdown, one coach said he'd rather have a more muted celebration: you know, as if the player had been there before!
I think of God not only promising us victory, but of that victory already being won. We've been in that endzone over and over before. We can focus on the here and now and go through whatever it is, good or bad, because we know we have already won. Not rocking back and forth between highs and lows is, then, an expression of serenity and confidence. We'll be OK, no matter what it looks like now. Pray for us with this confidence and serenity.
--Richard R. Guzman
7 comments:
Hi Mr. G,
Im really sorry about kari and i hope she gets better as soon as possible. I also want you to know that every thing at gage is going fine. I really like the french horn, its coool.
The first day was pretty rough though at gage, not finding you when i heard u were their was a dissapointment, but i understand you want to stay with kari,.
P.S. I am praying for the both of you every single day.
Well, Kari and Aaron:
I guess that I need to get my plug in as well.
For all your information needs, please visit the school's website.
http://www.rusd.k12.ca.us/ourschools/gms/gageweb/Index.htm
Or the Library's site at www.mrsw.info.
IF you need a daily word , there is always the positive alternative http://www.air1.com/
Hmm. Not as interesting as Barbie Dolls, Evidence Eliminator, Home Income, Met Art, or anything else that might be posted. But those are the best that I can offer.
Keeping an even keel sounds good. Makes me think of the disciples being in the boat with Jesus, for some reason. I am not as eloquent as your Dad is on this site (Aaron, does he write for a living? OR is he just a brilliant man of God?) There was the step of faith onto the water at one point, and the time that the waters were calmed when the guys were afraid.
School has been.... school. Weather is hot; a/c working in some rooms, but not all. Bells ring, signaling the beginning and end of class. Teachers bring their own food, or eat in the cafeteria. Announcements are made, and people pay attention (or not). 7th graders clean up after themselves automatically, while 8th graders may need to do a line up soon.....
The big happening today was that some 7th graders ran through the library at lunch today shooting something out of a spray can (LOrrie thought that it was paint for graffiti, but it turned out to be deodorant).Wow.... So I guess that I am saying that you both will be back in the area, and that you'll get pretty much what you expect from our middle school. I guess that you crave the normalcy.... and I suppose that's a pretty normal craving. So this was your dosage for the day.
Jacob is glad to hear that you maight be an Apple convert..... he was surprised (since you are so bright and kewl) that you have any doubts about whether Apple is the superior product!
Anyway, don't forget that reading blogs can be a dangerous business. So beware!
Well, Kari and Aaron:
I guess that I need to get my plug in as well.
For all your information needs, please visit the school's website.
http://www.rusd.k12.ca.us/ourschools/gms/gageweb/Index.htm
Or the Library's site at www.mrsw.info.
IF you need a daily word , there is always the positive alternative http://www.air1.com/
Hmm. Not as interesting as Barbie Dolls, Evidence Eliminator, Home Income, Met Art, or anything else that might be posted. But those are the best that I can offer.
Keeping an even keel sounds good. Makes me think of the disciples being in the boat with Jesus, for some reason. I am not as eloquent as your Dad is on this site (Aaron, does he write for a living? OR is he just a brilliant man of God?) There was the step of faith onto the water at one point, and the time that the waters were calmed when the guys were afraid.
School has been.... school. Weather is hot; a/c working in some rooms, but not all. Bells ring, signaling the beginning and end of class. Teachers bring their own food, or eat in the cafeteria. Announcements are made, and people pay attention (or not). 7th graders clean up after themselves automatically, while 8th graders may need to do a line up soon.....
The big happening today was that some 7th graders ran through the library at lunch today shooting something out of a spray can (LOrrie thought that it was paint for graffiti, but it turned out to be deodorant).Wow.... So I guess that I am saying that you both will be back in the area, and that you'll get pretty much what you expect from our middle school. I guess that you crave the normalcy.... and I suppose that's a pretty normal craving.
Jacob is glad to hear that you maight be an Apple convert..... he was surprised (since you are so bright and kewl) that you have any doubts about whether Apple is the superior product!
Anyway, don't forget that reading blogs can be a dangerous business. So beware!
Wow. How did I do that? My dose of normalcy is there twice.
Mr. Guzman, you (and all the others) are doing great with the update postings on Kari's days. I am so sad that some sleazy opportunists feel the need to misuse such a helpful medium as this Kari and Aaron blog has been. They are taking advantage of a very helpful communication tool in this unique situation in your family! Please know that those who care are attending to the legitimate comments of others who care, as well.
Hi - you don't know me but I am a friend of your friend Amber back in CA. I have been keeping track of your progress through this page, and praying for you every day from here in Maine - another little corner of the world covered! :-)
I have a suggestion for dealing with the comment-spam you've been getting - when you are logged in to blogger (like when you're posting a new entry) you can go to settings and click on the "comments" tab. On that page, you can click yes on the option to "Show word verification for comments". That will make sure it's a real person leaving a comment, they'll just have to type a word that they see in an image when they post. I hope this helps!
Richard, your message lifted my spirits. Sometimes after I've read the recent blogs I feel so down and discouraged - as if I had any reason to feel that way - and I can now see things from a different point of view. You're so right, Kari and Aaron have won the survival battle and will eventually win the war. Thanks!
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