Our First Kidneyversity! The Greenwold-Demings know how to throw a great party! - Carolyn's Poem for me: Ruth's Kidney

Lamppost garden is party-ready.

Neil was the first to arrive. We sat in the kitchen, drank coffee, and talked and talked. A very interesting guy, Neil has twin girls in college - Brittany and Amanda - and a son who's a Cheltenham police officer.

My amazing daughter Sarah Lynn Deming who coordinated the party and kept assuring me, "Mom, we have plenty of time, we'll get everything done."

And we did!

On the stove behind Sarah is hot spiced apple cider she made and vegetarian chili I made.

Sarah and I each have one kidney. She gave me hers exactly a year ago on a snowy April First. Today it rained a bit, the sun came out around 6, clouds returned and it rained some. Did we care? Would you complain if you're having a blast? Read about our operation here.

My own two kidneys, which surgeons leave in the body, are now completely useless and shriveled up.

I thank them, tho, for their wonderful 65-year tour of duty. A big round of applause please for the little fellows.

We love Fontaine who works at the Willow Grove Giant. She's a personal shopper for people who order over the Internet. Fontaine loves to shop and I'd often meet her at Impact Thrift (where I bot one of my couches). Now she gets paid to do it.

We had a nice contingent of people from Abington Friends School where Sarah graduated. She went to school with Jonathan Ford, who is married to Audrey, and they have a darling little boy Martin, named after Jon's grandfather. Martin loved climbing up the stairs and running around the upstairs rooms.

See the yellow push-button phone? Jon Ford artfully painted this in art class at AFS and gave it to us.

I also had a sign above the oven that read: Check oven for objects before turning on.

Every time Jon would come over he would open and close the oven.

The yellow daffodils are from the abandoned house a couple doors down. Sarah and I walked into the backyard. It's always fun to trespass and know you won't get caught.

Well, I walked on the backyard deck, which was wet, and I fell right down, didn't get injured and then we picked the golden daffa-down-dilly.

Mom's first cousin Lloyd drove in from Manhattan using his GPS. A former psychology professor at Queens College, he maintains a practice in Manhattan.

He told me he has a patient who refuses to take meds for depression. He's giving him biofeedback which he says works slowly. He asked what I would suggest. I recommended the man get counseling twice a week, journal, and get aerobic exercise.

Fontaine, whose daughter works at a hospital, said she met a woman who said she'd rather die than take medication.

My sister Ellen in fabulous scarf. She takes great c/o my mother, though she is only three.

This is from a poem by AA Milne... James James said to his mother, mother, he said, sad he; You must never go down to the end of the town, if you don't go down with me.

Larry Wilkins was the librarian when Sarah went to AFS. Now he's a guidance counselor who will retire next year. Boyfriend Scott is on the stairs. We bot this b'ful blue shirt at the shore so he could show off his big muscles.

Two other AFS teachers came, but their photos didn't show up: Fern Mofsen, Sarah's former middle-school English teacher, and Christine Long, upper-school English teacher who assigns her kids exercises with Twitter. They're currently reading Frankenstein. Who's the author? Why, the wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Read Oxymandias here. You'll love it or I'll eat my diabetic pink sox.

Rob, how come you weren't at my party?

Ah, here's Judy Kroll, who's already planning for Passover. She went to back-to-back concerts to see Bruce Springsteen at the Wells Fargo Stadium.

The Boss wandered into the audience. This photo appeared on the Internet and our Judy is in the background looking like the kid she is inside.

Here's mom w/her granddaughter Jade.

Aside: I'm watching Twilight Zone now. This guy, Martin Balsam, has a wax museum in his basement of serial killers like Jack the Ripper. You know they're gonna come alive. Though I wasn't the least bit afraid of my kidney operation, or my back surgery last August, I am t-t-terrified of the Twilight Zone. To solve the problem, I pressed MUTE!

Oh, no! I CAN'T SPEAK!

Sister Lynn who lives in New Hope. Her oldest child, Jade, will be married in June.

Nicole and Grace Catherine who stuck an entire fat strawberry in her mouf. I'm called Bubby to my g'dtr to preserve our Jewish tradition. Rich Fleisher is called Zayde to his grandson Alex Reid, tho Ada goes by Grandmom.

Niece Nikki and Jade's fiancee Matt.

(Jack the Ripper just killed Martin Balsam's wife. Martin had previously told her he loves all the criminals in his basement and talks to them every morning.)

I told Ron Abrams he looks like a wise rabbi. He's an atty who will fly to CA to visit his granddaughter Miryam. Ron's daughter is expecting a son any day now.

He told a great story about an atty friend of his who donated her kidney to her husband after initially refusing. Should that be part of the marriage vows?

Thing is, it's a chilling thought to donate a kidney. But when you're the recipient - like moi - you desire it more than anything!

The Weinsteins - Arleen and Stephen - chat w/Ada. They bot me a terrific gift: Goat Soap. I was getting tired of Irish Spring, of which I have an endless supply.

They recently visited the Wharton Esherick Museum, where we'd gone on Ada's Outing. Scott talked to them about their favorite vacation spot: Belize, the former British Honduras, where English is the primary language. They snorkel there and pet the underwater animals.

If only Scott weren't afraid to fly.

What you don't know is that on the Left are mom's Pecan Tarts, one of the greatest desserts ever invented, equal only to Ada's moist double-chocolate brownies.

Hello Barb! She works at Citizens Bank - hey another bank w/its own stadium - and just licked her platter clean. Lynn's delicious vegetarian lasagna.

Family.

Neighbor Patrick lives in the catty-corner blue house. He's an electrician by trade. His dad comes over to babysit the kids.

Patrick, a former wedding photographer, who would tell the brides "Stick out your breasts," brot Sarah and me a wonderful gift.

He was at my pre-kidney transplant party last year - doesn't time go by so quickly? - and brought us each a framed photo of ourselves.

One time I met Patrick's dad at the eye doctor's. He was waiting for his wife. We stood in the downstairs hallway and jabbered for 45 minutes.

The art of conversation. That's what this party was all about.


My sister Donna stayed afterward to help clean up, as did Mom, who vacuumed the living room, and boyfriend Scott who is entering his "sixth sensational season" as my boyfriend. The quote is actually from the Tavis Smiley Show.

RUTH'S KIDNEY


Ruth's new kidney
must be special for her
Donated by her daughter
it matched perfectly.

Does this kidney filter out
lines of poetry that emanate
from her brain working overtime
to write thousands of poems?

It also does wonders with blogs
that are read everywhere
Just how it affects the internet
Only the kidney knows how.

As her friends we are grateful
that our mental health worker
has a good kidney now
She is with us, healthy and WOW.

So Ruth take care of your kidney
a miracle for sure
Forgive this sing song poem
from a non-transplant poet.

WISH I COULD BE WITH YOU ALL

Carolyn Constable April 1, 2012