Saturday, September 20, 2025 – Day 403

Saturday, September 20, 2025

Good morning, blog readers. Welcome to Saturday!

A quick reminder: we’re ordering Andy’s Army t-shirts for the Chicago Marathon. We added about a dozen names to the list yesterday. I’ll publish the updated list tomorrow with everyone who’s requested one. Orders close at the end of the day Sunday, so if you’d like a shirt, let us know. Cost is still TBD but will be nominal.

Yesterday morning, my triplet brother Tom stopped by with a big pot of his homemade chili—complete with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and oyster crackers. One less meal for Cindy to plan, and that’s always a gift. Thank you, Tom!

Tom stuck around for a couple of hours, and we caught up on the wedding, his kids, life in general, and even dipped briefly, very briefly into politics (limited to news sources). I don’t spend much of my day following politics anymore. With ALS, survival averages 2–5 years, and whether it’s the midterms or the next presidential election, I don’t expect to be here for either. So for me, it doesn’t make sense to waste energy on divisive debates that rarely change anyone’s mind. Although, it’s Illinois, I may be able to vote for the next 50 years before I’m scrubbed from the voter rolls.

While Tom was here, giving my voice a workout, Jessica—my pulmonary tech—dropped off the new bubbler (humidifier) for my sleep respirator. It’s supposed to help with my desert-dry mouth at night. I noticed some improvement right away, though I still had some cotton mouth overnight. It’ll take a few nights to dial in the settings, but once I get it right, I’m hopeful it’ll also ease the strain on my voice. Fingers crossed.

I wrapped up The Gray Man. It was action-packed, but honestly, the main character had survival skills closer to a cyborg than a human. Entertaining, sure, but too far-fetched for me. So, I’m back with my old friends in the Prey series—currently Masked Prey, about halfway through, with Ocean Prey already waiting. Thank you again to my anonymous book gifter—you remain a mystery!

We closed the day with dinner at The Breakers with Barb, Mark, and Linda (Barb and Cindy’s cousin) who came down from LaCrosse to see her kids. The Breakers is always a treat, but dangerous territory for me: their Mai Tais are legendary and wicked strong. I’ve learned my limit—just one—or I won’t make it back to the car. The food was delicious as always, and best of all, we brought home plenty of leftovers. That’s another night of dinner Cindy won’t have to prepare. Although, she had two Mai Tais and may not remember we have leftovers. 😉

Have a wonderful Saturday. Love you guys! ❤️

Today’s photo is of baby Benson, born on September 13. Proud mother Felecia (Tim and Shawn) and father Matt. It was surprising to have two births on Alex and Nicole’s wedding day. Congratulations to the new parents.