...And After All You're My Pillow Wall

We've had a totally relaxing Sunday. When Jo Ann got home from mass, we put another hour into weeding through the books and toys and miscellaneous human artifacts that came out of the play room of old. Following that, Grady and Jimmy went to play basketball, and the rest of us brunched at Town and Country on Sunset Boulevard. Pablo excitedly agreed to go, stipulating that they should have strawberry jam for his pancakes. He ate well, and kept it down. These days, it's not enough that the food tastes good; it has to remain in his G.I. tract in order to get a full-star review.

After brek, P donned a face mask, and I took him and Mommy next door, into our new building. I wanted to show them what Peter and I have been up to with all of our meetings and appointments at the mysterious corner of Sunset and Lucile. Jo Ann was pleased to see the progress. Pablo was pleased to see a hundred things he could jump off of.

From there, we drove to the charity resale shop of LA, Out of the Closet, to drop a load of books 'n things. Then we zipped over to Eagle Rock to deliver a chandelier to Carrie and Dan and made our way home. When we got home, Pablo and I shaved our heads. His short hair was starting to thin and bald spots were beginning to appear. I had a two-week-old mohawk—which is about as long as a 36-year-old dude can rock such a look. Plus, I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with a prospective management client. You know, it's hard out there for a pimp, and I don't want to blow the vibe of the meeting looking like some sort of a diet punk Travis Bickle.

In a few minutes, Clint and Rachel and baby Jonah are bringing dinner over. They live directly across the Silverlake valley—we can see their house from ours—so when they sit with us at the dining room table, they can eye their crib. Last Sunday, G and P built this impossibly huge wall of pillows in our stairwell. When it was completed, they screamed through the wall, up the stairs, to get our attention. I walked halfway down the stairs, my eyeballs popped out of my head and all parties on both sides of the wall erupted into laughter. I want to convey that in the past eight days—since the close of Pablo's pain-laced tummy-tastic abdominable snowman period—we have had some serious fun around here.

Here's a pillow wall photo:

...and video:

In an organic way, Pablo and Grady have caught up on months of missed play and laughter. It's worth noting that Pablo does not openly yearn for his old ways of play in the back yard, at the park at bottom of our hill, and at school. He has found new ways to exercise his mental and physical muscles—namely games, reading and physical props like swords, knight vests and ships.

This morning, P and I played multiple games of Candy Land (he creamed me every time). Polly plays countless games with Pablo every day. When you play a game with Pablo, he sort of narrates the proceedings, offering up spicy commentary on his moves and yours. It's hilarious and adorable. I often hear Pablo's newest terminology while playing a game with him. A few months ago, he called me a 'sassy freak' during a game of Uno. The final point I want to make is that Pablo, like his older brother, has inherited Jo Ann's perfect balance of gaming skill, luck and shrewdness. I posses none of those characteristics and often play the role of witless opponent.

A look at the week ahead:

Tomorrow is the final day of radiation (can I get an FFFFFF yes?!). We have an appointment with Dr Mascarenhas on Tuesday, and a test or two. We're expecting to be at CHLA most of the day. Wednesday, we turn ourselves in at the front gates of CHLA for a six day (minimum) stay for chemo. Jo Ann will write a post with the details on what will be pumped into P's body during that time, and why we'll be there for so long.

Hope you are had as much fun as we did this weekend....