Blessings

The bloggin babe is back again- just trying to settle in a bit - tho this time without the additional appendix problems or any other maladies that might be hulking about out there! Caleb is home - that is the best news... we arrived here the day after Thanksgiving and have finally settled into a pattern of daily living. Caleb has traveled into town a couple of times to visit with friends and to dissassemble his gifts around the cannon. His language is improving. He is strong physically and is making more sense of the world around him. In short - we are happy to be home. I must say that this community strikes me as no other - the entire town seems to rally behind us and we feel the energy. It is so easy to find myself thinking about the what-ifs and I have shared these feelings with Kai and Max who also do their share of second guessing, but we are finding it more helpful,if not necessary to consentrate on what we do have and what is rather than wasting our time on the past. In that regard, being home has been perhaps a bit more difficult for me - it is a constant reminder of who Caleb was as we face the unknown of who he will be. One thing I can tell you is that his golden personality shines through at all times. He is eager to work, he is smiling more often than not and he is grateful to any one who is present with him. He is a gift to us and we intend to make the best of what life has dealt to us and to remember that all that is important is the here and now and that we are loved. We could not have done this without each and every one of you out there. Life is good. Blessings, Mumsie

making it clear

just order tees and hoodies under comments - that gets to me directly and wait to send checks- i want to be able to fill your order - then i will ask for the check when your goods arrive to you -- yes- they all run small. Mu,sie

Hoodies and tees

They have arrived- Hoodies and tees for Christmas presents - order now while supplies last as they say!
We have black hoodies - size small through 2Xlg - all unisex sizing - see below....

Alternative Apparel

Women's sizing

small/ 0-2 Med/4-6 LG/6-8 XL/8-10
Chest 30-32 32-34 34-36 36-38
waist 25-26 27-28 28-30 30-32
in inch 15 16 17 18

Men's t (can be unisex)

Hanes 50/50 T Lg 22 inches wide

Gildan zip up hoodie unisex

Gildan zip up med lg XL 2XL
chest width 21.5 23.5 25.5 27.5
(inches)

If you live near us - call and you can pick yours up. 508-349-7409.
otherwise - e-mail your desires. I will ship out next week in time for Christmas.

Pricing---Hoodies $40 per hoodie- $5.00 shipping per hoodie - $3. for every extra order.
Tee shirt $20.00 $3.00 per shipping plus $2.00 extra for each additional.

We are using the honor system so as soon as you place an order - I will send them out on a first come , first serve basis... no refunds... so pay attention to sizing. I think they run small. Kai is in a Large and Max is in a 2Xlarge. I am in a Large as well. Tour bill will be attached to your order - please send in as soon as possible. Thanks - we are well. mumsie

Get your gear!

A local event is happening tonight at the Harmon Gallery in Wellfleet. Traci has offered a space at her Small Works Show Opening to the Caleb Potter Benefit Fund crew to sell shirts etc. So if you're in the area, join us tonight for some art, some wine and some fund raising!

WHEN: Tonight
WHERE: The Harmon Gallery, Commercial Street, Wellfleet
WHAT TIME: 5-7 PM.

!!!!There will be sweatshirts, tee-shits, stickers and pirate CDs available!!!!
All profits will go to the Caleb Potter Benefit Fund.
Thank you to Traci and to all of you out there for your support!

P.S. Volunteer lads and lasses are more than welcome. The more the merrier!

out of surgery

Celebrate tomorrow- pig out for me, kiss someone you have just met and celebrate life with continued thanks for all you have!! The Lad is fine! We are even better! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!! Mumsie, Jan, Tim, Jennie, Kai, Max and the fat and ever present Spudly dog.

Here we go.........

Strong but gentle, pliant but tough, fierce but feisty, scrambled and yet hard boiled at the same time--my Caleb is under going surgery at this very moment. We have girdled him with our love and expect nothing less than a positive result. Kai, Max and Tim will arrive tonight and tomorrow we will light a candle on Caleb's tray table, eat a Thanksgiving dinner prepared by disgruntled cafeteria workers who want to be home, and we will bless the time we share and the love we have grown to expect from one another. Indeed - it will be the Thanksgiving that memeories are made of. I will let you know of the outcome as soon as I know- but rest assured- the boy was ready to roll and is looking forward to the sands of Fleet between the feet. Enjoy loving one another tomorrow. God Bless...Love you most decidedly. Mumsie

Quintessential Caleb

All of the logged comments are so helpful to me at this time- as always, thank you. Like a run-way, Caleb and I are in a holding pattern waiting our turn for take-off to the operating room. Seems that airports are not the only places piling up around the Holidays. Looks like we will go Wed. or Friday - either way Kai, Max, Caleb and I will be enjoying a turkey dinner from some exotic take out in Bean town! Thank you Mr.Judith's sis for the generous and lovely invitation to join you, but I move with a tribe and that is just too much to ask and besides - we would not be anywhere but beside Caleb.
I am looking out the window watching the rain drops that are about to fall and I feel the tears well...holidays are so special to me, to us in my family, and to miss this is hurtful. I cannot explain the short, sweet taste of being home and the disapointment to follow of being flung back to our home away from home so suddnely. Caleb is fine and this will be brief in the scheme of things, but to taste the tastes of home and to not be able to stay leaves a bitter smear. Still - we hope!
My friend El and I used to sit around and pontificate on the belief that on some other plane at some other time, we all chose our destiny. In that place in time you clearly see what it is that you need for the evolution of yourself and excitedly sign on for yet another try. It seems so obvious and so easy at the time and then the next thing you know you are getting slapped on the behind, crying the first of many tears to come and your journey has begun. Believing this, I must remeber that Caleb has signed on as well and I must trust that the outcome will be for his evolution and growth. Kai, Max, Jan and I will be forever changed through this and I know deep inside that it will ultimately be for the better. The very thorough universe never effects just one when it can touch five. I, on the other hand will get to exercise my right as a mother to love unconditionally while realizing that I do not get to choose for him what his life will be. I will learn and re-learn the art of letting go. I look forward to the day when I sit next to Caleb and recount all that has transpired and he smiles up at me knowingly. Happy Thanksgiving, all my blessings be bestowed upon you. Love, mumsie.

Rude awakening

We arrived home to such a wonderful gathering in Fleet, helped Kai to heal from his yanked out appendix, mourned with Anna and her sister over the tragic loss of their mother and just when we thought things might get back to some semblance of order - we find ourselves back at MGH. It looks as tho Caleb might need cerebral drain for the CSF fluid that will not automatically absorb - so here we are. I now get it - things can always be worse so try to focus on the positive. Kai can live without one body part and we still get to be with Caleb. I need to constantly remind myself lest I forget! If all goes well, this procedure will take place Monday and we might be still home by Turkey day!
So the good news is just that - Caleb is still with us and in the short amount of time that he was home, he was doing beautifully....walking the dog each day down our beautifully, crimson covered, tree lined roads through the woods, eating lots of home made dinners and healthy soups, doing his brain gym ( exercises for the re-wiring of the brain)and as the boys said - just looking more like Caleb and less like a patient. We are blessed, as all of you are who are loved and who love. Mumsie

A Snapshot of Edie Sweet

This is what she had to say when she said it July, 10. She always said it so well. Please open your hearts to support her family. Thank you.

A Good Crop

I'm older than two-thirds of the people I know. I rode in on the shirttails of the sixties and twenty years later the boys who did return home from Viet Nam were men who didn't vote; twenty years after that are men who are dying from cancers caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Then there's the hippy side of the sixties. We all know the history; the disappointment, the drugs and money, and 'it's not going to work anyway' attitude. And the nether side of the Civil Rights movement -the gunning down of leaders, the violence and inequalities that persist today. All of this coupled with the breakdown of formal religion results in a breeding ground for violence, apathy, or if possible a materialistic scramble to the top of a ladder of opulent spending. Gross generalizations, I realize, but I am trying to give a picture of where I come from as a single mother, artist, and laborer.
I've seen a lot go down. The demise of the local fishing fleet has been one of the most heartbreaking. To have the tradition, culture and livelihood wiped out by international factory ships depleting the waters while our own small boats post for-sale signs or go off to auction in the government buy-back program, a list as long as those lost at sea, while displaced fishermen and families move off-Cape - is a loss that makes the heart sink.
And then there's all the greed. And the war. Not to mention the present regime so unhealthy for the working class.
Sure. Lately these last years of feeling my age, is the knowledge that, if I let it, the hot fetid breath of disappointment in life could very well sour what I've got left of it.
However…
This week an overwhelming tide of hope washed in, so strong, so viable, so present and so here-to-stay-not-going-away. It came onto the shores of Cape Cod where a tragic accident occurred on Independence Day. A beloved member of the community, twenty-five years old, was injured in a skateboard/truck accident, the board dragged under the wheel and our friend up in the air and down on his head. By nightfall the word was out. Seven per cent chance of survival.
And then the tide roared.
His generation, the twenty to thirty year olds, are praying. On the Town Hall lawn they're praying. Twice a day they're praying. In every store in five towns is a magic marker flyer 'Pray For Caleb". On surfboards paddling out in the Atlantic into a circle one hundred and twenty-five strong, they're praying while Caleb's pirate kites fly high from the dunes. Praying all over town. Praying in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. They are brothers and sisters and they are not going to let this tragedy go down It's as simple as that. They are not going to let it happen.
Each day as Caleb wiggles a toe or blinks an eyelid or comes off the life-support and takes a breath on his own, the prayers are rampant. The young women sew leis for the off-shore surfer circle. Donation cans are stuffed and emptied five times a day. Tourists in restaurants read the news and voice their rational, judgmental, negative opinions and are blasted out of their coffee cups by the waitresses. Only positive thoughts for Caleb!
Now I am drawn into the circle of prayer by my twenty-five year old daughter. Beside the pirate flag we light the candles at the vigil on Town Hall lawn for Caleb, the much loved shellfisherman and surfer. Tomorrow undergoing brain surgery. Tonight, hands held, the prayer circle rings three deep to include two hundred and fifty people; octogenarians and three week old babes and the rescue squad who picked up his pieces. The gathering swells. Chanting soars. Only positive vibration is accepted.
Here I am uplifted by the hope, the determination, the force and yes, the know-how of this young crop of people.
It's here again. The hope. It can not be dismissed.
I don't know how they know how to do it. The drumming. The chanting. But it's here again. A gift of the spirit.
And I'm thinking because I've felt it before, and I've witnessed it go down just as I've witnessed the local fishing fleet go down, that these are the people who can do it. These twenty to thirty year olds. This generation. This good crop. They can raise the young man, brother, lover, son, best friend, beloved, raise him off his death bed. They can sustain the local traditional industries. They can collectively raise natural wind and solar resources to replace death-bound oil. They can find a way to feed the people. They can spread healthcare to those who can't afford it. They can. They will.
For God's sake they've even brought me into it! No longer tottering on the edge of skepticism and cynicism, I can say 'we' again. We will do it.
I'm with them. I'll give them all I've got.
Because this crop has given me back what had slowly hemorrhaged away these past forty years. Hope.
Hope.
More power to us all.

Edie Sweet July10th, 2007

Anna and her sisiter

We too are so sad for Anna and her sister. Anna worked so hard for Caleb's wicked jag and has been a devoted friend to Caleb, and a constant bright beaming light of positive energy. We will all rally to help.

On that note, it is difficult to post today so I will just say that we are blessed to have Caleb with us.

Love, Mumsie

Report from the Homefront

Caleb, Mom and I just finished a tasty, home cooked dinner. Spudly dog and Boof (the cat) sitting at our feet, waiting for something to fall into their awaiting mouthes. All the normal sounds, smells and sights that make a house home surround us. This is where Caleb will heal. He had a pretty good day today. We woke up early, showered and ate breakfast and then set off on a walk. Calebs walking seems even more comfortable and natural on the grounds where he first learned how. Most fleet kids are so used to walking on dirt that we actually walk crooked when you put us on a level floor. We walked with spudly out to Dire pond, all the while talking and telling the kinds of stories that start with "do you remember the time" and end in everyone laughing. I think this is the kind of stuff that is really getting things turning- to have all these reminders around that stir up memories and emotions, even if only subconsciously. Things are going well here and it is just so good to see my boy smiling, talking and laughing at home. I was lying in bed last night, listening to the sounds of Caleb breathing. I was thinking how I almost lost that sound, how we were all so close to never hearing that sound again. All I could do was lie there and love that sound, coming from a few feet away in the perfect dark that surrounds our home at night, and just love it with every bit of my heart.

Mom wanted me to mention that there is a meeting at our house this sunday at one for all who are interested in being closely involved in calebs recovery. she says that to get in, you have to bring at least one bottle of wine.

hospital ward

Kai is in my make-shift hospital room (Caleb and Kai in twin beds next to one another). He is medicated from the pain but feeling better and after a full day of house cleaning, sorting, unpacking, loads of laundry at Carol's house,cleaning again- we are settled in for the duration. Carol and Jenny spent most of the day with me and Max ran errands. Had a visit from the nurse and will start into a home routine with PT, OT and Speech tomorrow. I was at first questioning my decision about coming home instead of going to a nursing situation, which is what was suggested, but now I am certain that in spite of the extra work load on the family, it is best. Spudly's cold nose on Caleb's face first thing in the morn was the first sign among many that this is where he needs to be.
As far as the generator - my good friend Donald brought a little one by yesterday so we could wash Caleb up and do dishes...it was not powerful enough to run a household - so like you, we did the storm in true Fleetian style. As of yesterday around 3- we have power! I am proud of the way the boys do so well under adverse situations..power outage to them at a young age meant staying up late and playing poker by candle light. I just didn't give them whiskey or cigars, but other than that - they looked like profesional card sharks.
I am coming to get my wine Kevin -- before you and all the towns folks decide that it would be better to make a toast to us
and celebrate with my gift - I know how this works. I am a fan of Steinbeck - and that is just what the paisanos would do! Thank you for the marvelous gift - I will put it to good use.

I have ordered tees and hoodies and as soon as they arrive I will give you sizes and cots and we will start shipping......meanwhile-- thanks for all the continued well wishes and for the love. Caleb is going to make it!! Mumsie

stange beginnings

Mumsie here - and what a welcoming home it was. I tried to say to myself over and over - don't cry, don't cry - but when we were greeted by signs for miles over the over-pass...."welcome home Captain Caleb.. welcome home yellowbeard, good to have you back Caleb"... and when we neared the Fleet and Caleb got sick to his stomach but still insisted on driving through town, and then there were all of you- flags a waving, oyster shucking smiling faces - I lost it! Home -it's so good to be home! Well- we arrived at Long Pond, settled in as best as we could considering the power went out from the hurricane. Carol greeted us with hot soup and a warming smile and immediately tucked Caleb into a soft bed. We shared a quiet evening together and off she went . Max, Kai and I settled into what was to be our first quiet night at home. Not 2 hours passed - I was back on the phone telling Carol that I had called Jan, Kai was writhing in pain on the kitchen floor and was rushed to the hospital with acute appendicitis. He was operated on at midnight and I spent a sleepless night pacing the floor, and walking Lizzie through it. Caleb has always loved fanfare.
Now - we really are settled in and I am missing all of you----Life is good - Kai is healing, Max is strong and Caleb is home. Love you all. Mumsie

"Wellfleet braves storm to honor brave man"

From the Cape Cod Times November 04, 2007
By Robin Lord

WELLFLEET — It was a homecoming fit for a pirate.

About 60 well-wishers gathered in driving wind and rain on the lawn of Wellfleet Town Hall yesterday, some holding long poles with flapping flags of skull and crossbones in a salute to the man they have dubbed "Yellow Beard."

Caleb Potter was on his way home.

Chuck Cole shucked oysters for the crowd and intermittently banged a drum as they waited for his return from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Potter, 25, had been in hospitals in Boston since July 4, when he was severely injured in a skateboarding accident.

Cole's son, and Potter's good friend, Cedar Freyss-Cole, had draped signs across Route 6 overpasses, and along the highway in Eastham and Wellfleet, so Potter would know of the warm welcome that awaited him.

Soaked, but still of good cheer, the gathering let out a collective roar when Potter pulled up in front of Town Hall in a silver pickup truck driven by his mother, Sharyn Lindsay. When he stepped out of the truck in the parking lot, he raised a water bottle in his left hand in salute, and at first seemed a bit overwhelmed. Lindsay smiled through her tears.

When friends and family members drew close, many crying openly, a grin grew across Potter's face and he raised the bottle again, pumping it in the air. He was back in "The Fleet."

Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO

Get out your boots folks. We'll see you there!

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
-Jimmy Dean

YES, it's rainy. YES it's windy. and YES, Caleb is still coming home! The crew has left spaulding (around 9:30 am) and will be coming through Wellfleet Center soon! We'll plan to be in town around 11:30/12ish. We're not sure exactly how long it will take them to get to Wellfleet but we'll be waiting...nor' easter or no nor' easter! Caleb left Wellfleet during a storm and he's coming home during one. Gotta love that lad! Hope to see you on the lawn!
love, sky

Hurricanes can't stop us!

I agree with Paula - it is very appropriate that we blow in with the winds --- I was going to take my broom, but this is far better.
It is a sad day for me in truth..saying goodbye to my Hospital family is difficult. These people who have come to know us pretty well and who now are among the many who count themselves in with the rest of the Caleb fans will be missed terribly. They are a dedicated bunch - smiles on their faces when we are down, encouraging words always on the tips of their tongues, a warm hug at the end of a long day. You will be meeting some of them who we have convinced that they are true Fleetians at heart. Kristi will never leave after she shows up - and that is part of our masterful plan.. Tonight Kai, Max, Jan and I will throw a party like no other this re-hab has had!
We are celebrating........now I know that it might be wet and a bit uncomfortable tomorrow around 12:30 - but come on - when did a little hurricane stop you? --- do you remember Kai's 21st birthday celebration? Trees falling down, snow blowing sideways, electrical lines down sparking the roads, lights out, a veritable blizzard.........but all of you trudged through the snow from town down roads that were closed. Chad arrived with Pizza's from his restaurant - we had live music by candlelight and one of the best parties I can remember!!!
Fleetians - get your rubbers out!!!!!! Mumsie

Rich

So the very first and most important order of business is to wish my Sky a Happy Birthday. I spent a lot of $$$$ on something with very little fabric -- so make sure you ask Sky to show it off !
Just returned from MGH for a final CAT scan prior to our departure - Caleb lost his breakfast in the transport and I am reminded of how very fragile he still is. So on that note... we will indeed be passing through Town Lawn - but most likely will be staying in the van - and I will be asking all of you to stay at a distance to wave and to call out your well wishes for him. This will more than likely be a draining enough for him -- so many physical and emotional changes in one day. The rest of the day we will be spent situating Caleb and myself into home! To better understand the seriousness of wanting peace and quiet for that day - I have ask that even Jenny not come by (and bless her heart, she understands.) We will be in touch beyond that when I have had time to make out a schedule which will allow all of you in.
Yes - we are excited beyond belief!!!
As my stay at Spaulding comes to an end, I have been reflecting on this journey called life. I was talking with a friend who was saying to me " You never know - this is so hard for you - life is so......" and at that point she was at a loss for words. My dear friend Ellen W, who was standing next to me chimed in with "rich". Life is soooooo rich. And isn't it! Mumsie