A Big Day in Little-Boy-Land

Yesterday was a big day in little-boy-land. First we went to swim class, which is just painfully cute to watch, especially when the kids are holding their fingers up like bunny ears and bunny-hopping across the two-foot section of the pool. Next, we went to Rubio's (fish tacos) for lunch, then on to the shaggy kiddo's haircut appointment. This was particularly huge because it had been months since his last professional haircut, and I was on the verge of cutting it again myself. The kiddo hates all haircuts, so our appointment was super-fun. (!)

Despite all this excitement, however, the highlights of our day, according to the kiddo, were the dead animal sightings. When we pulled into our parking spot prior to the kiddo's haircut, we noticed we'd parked next to a white SUV with two dead mourning doves impaled on the antenna, and blood splattered along the doors. Totally gross and kind of shocking, really, since (last I checked, anyway) birds don't tend to fall out of the sky and impale themselves -- especially not two on the same antenna. Okay, I was the one who was shocked; the kiddo just wanted to talk about it for the rest of the day. After his appointment (yes, the birds were still there when we came out), we took the long way home by the lake and saw a live squirrel messily devouring a roadkill squirrel. Again, totally gross, but the kiddo was so intrigued that he begged me to turn the car around and stop so he could get a really good look. And yes, we had to talk about this for the rest of the day also.

Boys. Gross.

Oh, and I also saw a swarm of bees over the swimming pool yesterday, but I didn't tell the kiddo because he would've freaked out. Hmm. Did anyone see "Magnolia"? I might bring a very sturdy umbrella today. ;^)

Dodging the Bullet

I still don't believe it, but we got really good news today. Apparently the colonoscopy went fine, despite the fact that my dad was about 14 YEARS overdue for one. That's right, he'd never had one (apparently one should start these at age 50), and we were all expecting it to turn up something terrible that would explain the drastic drop in hemoglobin. But it turns out (and this is the part that I still can't wrap my head around) that the hemoglobin drop was caused by esophageal reflux!

My dad's esophagus will take four to six weeks to heal and he will need to take Prilosec or something like it for the rest of his life. The doctor said this is a normal thing that happens to some people as they get older, as muscles lose their elasticity and control. He also said to limit the spicy or greasy food, which my dad pretty much does already, although I expect he'll be even more mindful of it now. Apparently the reflux was damaging his esophagus, and unnoticeable amounts of blood were being lost, which caused the drastic drop in hemoglobin.

I sort of feel like I should've said something to my dad when I first noticed his color seemed off a month or two ago, but at the time, I thought he'd just been staying inside too much and needed to get out more, or that he was just, well, old. I know I mentioned it to my mom once, and to my sister, but that was the end of it. My mom doesn't try to force my dad into any medical procedures, since the effort would be futile. (She's pretty good about maintaining her health.) But yes, life is good, and strange.

As my dad said, from home, where he was playing gin with my sister, "they" didn't get him this time. I realize that we won't always be as lucky as we were today, but today has been great, and I'm thankful. Thank you guys, too, for your support. It means so much to me. :-)

My Dad's in the Hospital

Last week my dad had a blood test, and the results came back on Thursday. His hemoglobin was drastically down, and he hadn't been feeling well recently, naturally. When the result came in, the doctor said to go to his regular doc or the ER, so he went to the ER because it was late in the day. The hospital ran some tests, released him, and he went for an echocardiogram on Friday morning. His regular doctor told him he recommended a blood transfusion, so after some balking, my dad went to the hospital again for two units of blood, which takes several hours.

This morning the hospital is starting him on his third unit of blood and his doctor has been there, checking on him. The doc recommended that my dad have a colonoscopy, because a drastic drop in hemoglobin can be associated with colon cancer. I'm taking this possibility the worst of anyone in my family, so it's probably best that I'm not there. The others are of the mind that these are just tests, that we're just trying to assess the situation to see what's really going on, which is very practical and smart, of course.

My dad has been under a lot of medical care in recent years (last year he had a TIA), so I'm hoping that whatever is going on is caught early, but of course I worry and I'm a bit of a wreck this morning. But it's good that my dad has doctors who are up to date on his condition.

He's pretty stressed out, and didn't want to have the colonoscopy today. He wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed and schedule it for another time, but naturally his doctor told him it's best to just have it now, since he's already in the hospital.

My mom said I should probably not go to the hospital, since Dad would find it troubling if he knew I drove 100 miles up there. It would make him feel like things are more dire. So here I sit.

I keep searching for the magic words to tell my son's dad that will soften his heart and convince him to rethink his position on staying in San Diego (we're bound by the court order to stay in San Diego unless we agree to move), because now more than ever I want to move closer to my family, to be able to be there for my dad at a moment's notice. But honestly I can't imagine anything that would truly move my ex, unless it directly pertained to his life. Still, I sent him an email anyway. I'm praying.

I feel too far away from my family right now, and I feel powerless.

Please keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

Crazy Momma Ain't Crazy at All

Well, I gotta say...drugs are wonderful. After being on antibiotics for a couple of days, I felt good as new and was ready to meet up with Crazy Momma as we'd planned. I'd had the opportunity to meet another blogger some time ago when she was here on business, but we hadn't been able to coordinate our schedules and I was so, so bummed. After that, I was determined that nothing would stop me from meeting Crazy Momma.

Suffice it to say that Crazy Momma isn't crazy at all. In fact, she's super-relaxed, funny, smart and very easy to be around. Within seconds after meeting her, I felt like we were friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. Oh, and did I mention she brought her family? Yes, her dh was equally friendly and easy to hang out with, and their kids were adorable. I particularly enjoyed the little conversation I had with the kids when we were having lunch. I had the kiddo with me, and he and the kids ran around pretty much nonstop, except when they were eating or threatening to climb over the seawall. Really, they all were energy personified. I was just trying to make sure my son didn't break one of CM's kids. I would've felt pretty bad about that.

Truthfully, though, Crazy Momma is the kind of person I wish I'd been able to meet sans kids, so we could talk for more than three-minute bursts. She's just so bright and down to earth -- the kind of person one instinctively wants to get to know.

(Hmm. Wonder if I could convince her to move here!) ;^)

Can I Just Tell You?

OMG. At least I didn't have what some of the other folks in the urgent care had -- eye injuries, bee stings, sprained things. Nope. Just acute bronchitis, which isn't a lot of fun, either, but it's better than a bee sting, IMO. And you get groovy medicine with codeine, and antibiotics. Oh, and the doctor was very nice.

The kiddo starts swimming lessons tomorrow. I feel stories coming on.

Crawling back into bed now...

Oh...Heck?

The other day, the kiddo was playing a video game. As he often does, he came in to give me another exciting update on his adventures: "I'm having a battle with the [?] monster, and I'm going to beat the something out of him. What's the word I'm looking for? Oh, yes! [pointing index finger upward] Hell!"

Of course I gave him a stern lecture...after I finished laughing.

Breathe In...Breathe Out

The other night, I had a hug dream -- not a sex dream, but a hug dream. In it, I was hugged in separate scenarios by three different men: a good-looking, trash-talking, tough married guy with whom I used to work, Andy Sipowicz and Mike Farrell (from M*A*S*H). With each hug, I felt safe and protected. I realize anyone who analyzes dreams could have a field day with this, looking at what each man symbolizes, and assigning them to different aspects of myself, but my first, and most practical, guess is that because right now I'm not feeling safe or protected, I'm seeking this in my dreams. Or maybe I just need a hug. Or maybe I need to toughen up. Or something. Hmm.

Strangely Mesmerizing...

Unleash your inner artist.

Roeper Is Nice, But...

I'm not ready to start choosing movies on my own yet.