brittle heaven

Been away for a while regrouping. My wife and I went to Hawaii (the big island) for a full week while our Adrien stayed with his nonna (my mom) and grandma deedee (marla's mom) back in detroit. Apart from the awfully difficult separation felt without Adrien for such a time, we really did enjoy ourselves to the best of our abilities (considering marla is now six months pregnant)accentuated by a day trip to waterfalls and the Mauna Lona volcano; a trip to a kona coffee farm; a full day (for me and new friend Carlos) of jumping into and out of Pacific ocean waves under a beaming sun; a dazzling array of exquisite foods and island drinks (for me); morning runs beneath bright dawn skies and beside colourful, singing birds; generally breathtaking sights from one place to the next; and a fair dose of rest and relaxation. Unfortunately for Marla, she did have to do more work than either of us anticipated (it was, after all, a trip paid for by her company as a reward, but still). Unfortunately for me, I came down with bronchitis, and was totally bed-ridden for the last two days (including the flight home -- thank god for the doctor's prescription of zithromax which gave me any chance to get home) of the trip, and am still feeling the miserable effects of such affliction.
To compound matters, on our return home at 6am on saturday, we already knew that marla had to fly the next day (sunday) to england for business for the week. On top of that, our furnace had broken (a part did, anyway) so here we were, i was very sick and we were both deathly tired and adrien was going to be reuniting with us at around noon and we could see our breath in our house (5 degrees outside) and the whole place was just so cold. Plus, our stupid decrepid cat threw up all over the house.
Finally, much worse, on sunday before marla had to leave i called home to check in on my father, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma about 11 years ago. He has defied all predictions for a person diagnosed with such a disease by years, but it appears that great gig in the sky is finally calling him home. He is on hospice care at home now, and after a phone call in which he could barely understand a thing i was saying, tears swelled my eyes, swiftly succeeded by the embrace of my 2 1/2 year old son, offering me a hall's menthol cough candy and asking if i was okay.
It's been a bitch of a week, the way i feel and with marla away and just me and adrien. I've been writing throughout. Some hawaii ideas will surface over time. The most recent pieces, directly or indirectly pertaining to aspects/memories of things about my dad have been seeing the light of day at the site i share with my brother, www.thejesuitsieve.blogspot.com At least for now, they feel more appropriate there. I'll be visiting him, and my brother Daniel who is in Detroit on leave from the military to see my dad, this weekend.