My mothers birthday

Left2Right: Gilbert, Marjolijn, me, my father and my mother

My mothers birthday is actually on the 1st of July but because my sister and brother-in-law are on holdiday to the South of France that day they (my sister and brother-in-law) invited us for lunch two weeks earlier. Only I went (to give my wife Monling some off-duty time). We enjoyed a lovely lunch in Breukelen.

My mother and father at Restaurant Robert

Ten days later she (my mother) invited us at restaurant Robert in Hilversum. Monling didn’t know the restaurant and thought that they served some great food. I especially had some great vegetarian dishes.

Left2Right: My father and I

A few few weeks earlier (5th of June) I asked my parents to accompany me on a walk through the Vondelpark. I was pushing my wheelchair just in case I felt tired. We had tea in the “Blauwe Theehuis” and there I found a board you can see at fancy fairs (the kind with oval holes for heads). I invited my father to join me and asked my mother to take a picture. Hillareous!

Later I didn’t see the huge pile of dog shit (must have been produced by a St. Bernard) and instead walked with my new Italian shoes straight through that pile of shit! Not so hillareous! I had to ask my father to clean my shoes (a long time ago he would use his pocket knife for this dirty job, now he used a small stick). I must admit that we can’t do without our parents.

My fathers eightieth birthday!

Today was again a busy day. We were visited by my sister and brother-in-law and reached an agreement over the present for our father who has his eightieth birthday on Thurday the 26th of March. A milestone that must be celebrated! But my dad doesn’t want to celebrate his birthday because, so I believe, he’s not in the mood. And who can blame him for that? A dying son and nothing or nobody can change that. My parents are trying to not show any emotion. And they have become great actors, I almost can’t see that from time to time they are crying. Me too, I also have to cry from time to time.

But I also have to laugh a lot. E.g. about a silly programme on the TV or if our cats look like they are innocent (not!). And I can be very happy because Monling takes good care of me and we love eachother so much. And I can e.g. enjoy receiving so many cards, especially from Caroline Mesman and my sister. They use every opportunity to write. And I’m happy that my family and closest friends pay me a visit that often that I must “hit the brakes” sometimes (for sure while I’m undergoing chemo therapy). Last but least this Blog gives me so much fun and through it I made so many new friends (. 

In short: I’m enjoying myself, it is almost ;-) the best time of my life! But how to tell that to my family. Well, I’m hoping that they read this post again sometime when I’m no longer there. And then I hope that they remember, just like when we were told the prognosis last year, me stating that I had a great life. I hope that they believe me. Because it’s the truth.

My Father’s Birthday

To celebrate his 79th birthday my father invited us (most members of the family, including my aunt) for dinner in a restaurant in ’s Graveland called ‘t Swaentje (The Little Swan). Wonderful food, friendly service and a relaxed atmosphere. I was afraid of ‘emotional’ situations but nothing happened. We has a very pleasant evening. I was glad to be home though and went straight to bed. 

It was especially nice since my aunt was there as well. We (my aunt and I) hardly ever meet each-other. We (my wife and I) have been travelling a lot abroad over the years and we’re clumsy with birthdays (forget them, don’t know when to go, too tired ..). She presented me a with a cookbook by Nicola Graimes “Whole Foods” that gives more than 100 vegetarian recipes for “Health and Healing”. I have several cookery books, including ones about vegetarian cooking but this one is the best. If I had had the right ingredients this weekend I would have cooked something already. Thanks aunt Yvonne!

In his blog Mark Miller (Markmillermusic) has put a few documents on diets and gliomas in his library. Apparently (I’m actually surprised it surprises me) there is this relation but I have no clue what to eat and what to avoid to improve my chances. At the moment I drink no alcohol (for obvious reasons) and try to eat less. It is a good start but I can do more. I’ll keep you posted.