It seems the whole world has something to say about John Travolta's loss. It's funny how hard we can be hit by someone else's tragedy. Someone who doesn't even know we are alive. It's really funny how we can walk right past the sick and the homeless and the less-than-sane that surround our homes and offices and shopping centers and feel angry, but when we hear about a dead kid who we haven't thought about since we made fun of his name 16 years ago we cry.

Anyway, of course I teared up when Dave told me that Jett died in the shower. I'm a mom. And human.
I freaked the eff out because I already have a HUGE problem with Jake taking a bath. I hate when he is in there, surrounded by slippery soap and ceramic tiles and an iron tub and sharp spigots and water all while he is full toddler excitement. Needless to say, my boy doesn't get many baths on my watch. Luckily he gets rented out to his aunt and his grandmother on regular basis, who don't seem to share my belief that a tub is a very dangerous place to be. He gets baths all the time when he is with them. Me, I just wipe him down really well or wait until Dave dunks him. Plus it's winter, and his skin is dry, and there is only so much colloidal oat products a little body can take. Good thing there is a pool at the daycare, that rinses the summer grime off him four days a week.

When I found out that Jett had a seizure disorder, I felt really bad for John and Kelly (they said I could call them that). I always wonder how people feel if their faith doesn't allow them to seek certain medical treatments and their children die of something that might have been controlled. I don't know whether Jett was on medication, I refuse to read into his death because it will just make me neurotic and I don't want to invade their privacy, but I know via Tom Cruise that Scientologists frown on some medical interventions. If I lost Jake, I would be awfully angry if you guys searched for the death report and medical records and talked about my beliefs if you only knew what Tom told Matt Lauer. So, I've been spending my days delving into whether or not LiLo broke up with SamRon. I would much rather think about skanky girlgirl action instead of dead teenagers.

Before I had Jake/grew up a little, I always had an attitude that when it is your time to go, it is your time to go. I still believe that, but now it's more like "when it is your time to go (to the doctor), it is your time to go (to the doctor)". Luckily we are a pretty healthy bunch, and it's never really our time to go anywhere. I'm still not a medicine person if I can help it. I don't call the doctor until the last minute. I completely subscribe to the Ounce of Prevention school of thought and it works for us relatively well. But I'll be damned if there is someone with the godgiven talent and knowhow to fix someone I love and I turn my back on them and leave my problems up to a higher (space) power (alien) to sort things out. Before, I felt like our time and place was bound to happen when and where it was supposed to. Now, I feel like there are certain people put on this earth by space (higher) aliens (powers) to help me and help you and we can all live better together in perfect harmony. And we could hold each other in our arms and keep us company while we all drink Coke and grow apple trees and honey bees and snow-white turtle doves.

So, I felt a little better knowing that Jett didn't slip and fall, which is my worst nightmare. Then I felt terrible for his family because I know there may have been something that could have been done to prevent it and I know I would be suicidal with guilt if that were the case for me, but now I'm okay with that because I believe that we are all free to chose our faiths and beliefs and even though I don't agree with Scientology, I'm down with them being down with it as long as it was chosen from their hearts and not because all the other cool Hollywood types were doing it. Then I got over my incessant desire to be on top of Jake every minute of the day by Sunday afternoon when Jake went with Dave and the boys to watch football because my rational brain convinced my irrational mind that the likelihood of him having a seizure was practically zero because no one in the history of my family or Dave's family has ever had a seizure that I know of, and if there was a serious risk of it I would probably have heard something about Old Aunt Pittypat taking the shakeydance from time to time.

And then I got a phone call from my mom on Monday telling me that my brother's daughter Payton had a seizure that morning. So, more on that to come, hopefully only good news.

I'll be over there in the corner if you need me.