The Week I Never Want to Repeat

Now that this week is almost over, I think I can finally detail the hell that was last week. The photo is, of course, unrelated but I really like to include pictures. The worst part of last week was losing Parvin. But in addition to that, we had a doozy of a week.

Sunday: Tim was at work and a call came in from a number I didn't know. Naturally, I didn't answer but did stay by the machine in case it was a call I wanted to take. The woman on the line said "Tim, Tim if you are there pick up." I assumed it was a friend calling from someplace other than home who might need medical help. When I answered, it was clear she was not. She said she was from Eggelston & Associates and would reach him another time. On occasion, Tim will get subpoenaed for something that comes through the ER. So I told him to be on alert.

Tuesday: Eion had been acting a bit pilly. Tim & I both thought he must be teething. But after several days of crying & not sleeping well, I thought I would take him to the doctor just in case. Poor kid had an ear infection, strep throat and pink eye. Just goes to show, you don't want to be a Physician's child because you have to be bleeding out your eyes before you get to go to the doctor!

Tuesday Night: Tim calls me from work to tell me that the person who tried to get a hold of him on Sunday called him at work. He received a message that said to call Lynn and that it was personal and urgent. Naturally, he threw it away. (For those that don't know this, Tim is very anti phone. He rarely answers it.) But she called back & the secretary put her through. She told Tim that I had been having an affair for months. He naturally scoffed at the idea but she said he should hire a private investigator and check our phone records. This is when he hung up on her. Now just to make sure this is clear, I am NOT having an affair. Even if I were so inclined, I totally don't have time for such nonsense. But it was unsettling to think that someone was feeling so venomous toward me.

Wednesday: I spent the morning making sure someone hadn't stolen my identity and trying to get to the bottom of Tuesday's odd phone call. My credit report looked normal but I didn't get any answers.

That night, we found out about Parvin. Tim was at work. I was too upset to sleep. So I went downstairs at midnight & got myself a bourbon. That was when I saw all the police cars and fire trucks. I went outside in my pjs and fluffy slippers , bourbon in hand, to investigate. A van had flipped over into our neighbor's yard. (For those not familiar with our house, we are on a mountain so we (and our neighbors) actually are below street level.) They said everyone was ok but I could see some were being loaded up to go to the hospital. So I called Tim at work to let him know they were coming. About a half hour later, he called me back & asked if the police were still there. I said they were and that it was a bit odd that they seemed to be walking around with flashlights. He said they were looking for the loaded M14 that the passengers of the van had stashed in one of our yards! (They found it.) Three of the four passengers went to jail. Tim asked one of them whay they were on our street, which is a cul-de-sac. They said they were dropping someone off. He informed them, "I know none of y'all live there so you'll need to come up with a better lie." At which point the person burst into tears.

So how is that for a week?

Remembering Parvin

We lost a close friend this week. Parvin passed away on Wednesday, April 26th, after suffering from an anoxic brain injury. He was young and this was very unexpected. We are so sorry for his parents, sister, wife and son. Our hearts go out to them.

He meant allot to Tim and me. We both met Parvin in 1990. Tim was Parvin's roommate for 3 years in medical school. His sister, Olivia, was my roommate at UofM. They introduced us so the first thing for which we will remember Parvin is bringing us together. We had so many fun times when they were in medical school. We spent one summer driving around Detroit in this gigantic 70's Cadillac (that had an 8 track so we listened to only vintage tunes) and going to Lafayette Coney Island. He and Tim were living in this beautiful house in a very bad neighborhood - think crack house across the street. When they first moved into the "Field House" they had a party. Virtually no one came. They couldn't understand why until someone told them about that morning's headline: "Three Shot on Field Street."

The following fall they moved to a slightly less dangerous hood but still most certainly the hood. It was at the John R house that Tim & I came home to find Parvin listening to music one afternoon. He said, "You know, I listened to this Sir Mix A Lot album from start to finish & I don't see why you own it." We spent the next three years hanging out at The Post and Excalibur. I will never hear the song Shot Down in Flames by AC/DC without thinking of him.

Parvin moved to Atlanta after medical school to do his residency at Emory. While there he met his wife, Angie. The first time she met his family was in 1995 at our wedding. We later went on vacation with them in Snowbird, Jamaica, and San Diego. We both had the honor of being in their wedding in 1997.

Parvin and Angie moved to Roanoke in 1998. The next year they recruited us here. We would never have found Roanoke without them and owe them thanks for bringing us to a town in which we are so happy. We had many great times with them here - cocktail parties, hanging out at Smith Mountain Lake or just going out to dinner. We were sad to see them go to Park City, UT in 2003 but we think of them all the time as we bought their house!

Parvin is woven into the fabric of Tim's life and my life in a way that few other people are. He was a great friend and a wonderful person. We will never forget him.

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we went to the Roanoke Country Club Bunny Breakfast & Easter egg hunt. It was a big hit with all three kids. Maggie was the top egg finder in our family. She was a girl on a mission. She didn't stop looking until we assured her that all the eggs were gone. Then she went to talk to the bunny. She won't sit on his lap but did tell him over & over that her name was Maggie.

Eion chose not to hunt. He cruised around the parking lot instead trying to see just how dirty he could get. I'm sure if we told him that there were choking hazards and chocolate in the eggs, he would have been all over it. He also shunned the bunny.

Morrigan, although not finding as many eggs as Maggie, was greatly improved over past years. In previous hunts, she tried to get the balls from the golf course that tell you from where to tee off. She also had one year that she found one egg & quit, telling everyone proudly, "I found the egg!"

Full photo coverage in the Flickr badge on the right!

Morrigan Playing Soccer

Morrigan started playing soccer a few weeks ago. Although she seems to be having fun, she is often distracted by her own shadow and has to stop in the middle of the game to hug the goalie. Here is a picture of her showing her teammates, in the middle of a scrimmage, a flower she found. The coach is on her way to get things started again! We are not counting on an athletic scholarship.

RAMA Wins a HAP Award!

I found out this week that RAMA (Roanoke Academy of Medicine Alliance, I'm the current president) won an AMAA (national) HAP award for our Book & Author Dinner! Ok, I won't bore you with all the details but I will say it is a big deal. They only gave out four of these nationwide this year! I'm pretty excited since when I filled out the application, I thought there was no chance we would win. Incidentally, the picture has nothing to do with the award. Tim & I went to a James Bond party & dressed as Bond & Jill Goodhead in Moonraker.