Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!

So, you may notice a change in the blog. Just a little one. I figured, new year, new marriage, new house (INHALE) new car, new kids and experiences, I might as well change up the blog, too. And why not?

Our new year started off Thursday with a lovely dinner at Anthony’s, downtown on the water, followed by adult beverages and games at Dan and Trish’s. They had a couple of other friends over, so it was a quiet evening. So quiet, in fact, that I asked if we could pop open the champagne around 10pm and toast, so I could go home and go to bed. No one went for it. I made it until midnight, then shortly after, Todd and I headed home (after I slipped on the stairs and drove the corner of the Apples to Apples box into my back. Happy new year, indeed!)

Friday was muy productive. I cleaned the kitchen and the bathrooms, while Todd and the kids took out garbage and recycling and tidied up. We took down the tree and other decorations, but left the multi colored lights up around the windows because we were having people over for a Rock Band movie night. The colored lights just added to the….rockiness….of it all.

At 6pm, Steve, Stephanie and Raff came over and we ordered pizza and watched This is Spinal Tap. Then, while still in rock out mode, we broke out Rock Band. And the house was officially rocked. I sang a couple songs, played drums once, played bass once, then just hung out to watch and chat with Steph. It was a fun night.

Saturday began with breakfast at the Easy Street CafĂ© (cheap, cheap, cheap) then turned into a mission to find a couple of Rock Band expansion packs (classic and country – just like Todd and me). Once those were acquired, back home for miscellaneous projects around the house. Then some family bonding with Family Guy’s Something Something Something Dark Side and few episodes of Buffy.

Yes, the new year was starting off well.

Until 5am on Sunday morning, when my dad called to tell me that mom had had a heart attack.

When he called, she was stable and being flown to WVU hospital. He called a few hours later and said by the time he’d driven to the hospital (two hours away), they’d already placed two stents in her completely blocked arteries and she was doing much better. The pain was virtually gone and she was able to eat. She was in good spirits and joking around with him.

She’ll be in the hospital for a few days, just for observation, but should be home for the weekend. I’m sure I don’t have to tell some of you this, but there is no feeling like being 3000 miles away from a parent when these things happen. There is panic, guilt, sadness, more panic… It’s exhausting. At least when I got the call about her lung cancer, I was in a position to pack up and leave for a month. Unfortunately, I’m not self employed these days and can’t tell my clients to just clean their own toilets.

So, needless to say, I wasn’t very productive yesterday. Todd and I watched the Seahawks game (thank gawd the season is over) then walked down to the store for dinner fixins. Hamburgers, french fries, onion rings and green beans. Yummy.

And here we are, back to the grind, the holidays over, my cube un-decorated. Sniff. Oh, but Presidents’ Day is a mere two weeks away. If we can just make it until then…

5 comments:

The Hamilton's said...

Glad you had a nice (though quiet) NYE. I can only imagine how hard it is to be that far away. I had a hard enough time being 1+hours away when mom had breast cancer. I'm so glad your mom got medical attention when she did! {{{HUGS}}}

Trish Loyd said...

I hope your mom keeps healing. Our prayers are, of course, with her and your dad and you. And Dan wants me to point out that MLK Day is in 2 weeks; President's Day is in February. But that's Dan for you.

Anonymous said...

Will put your mom at the top of my prayer list! My 46 yr old diabetic friend just had 2 heart attacks, & then triple bypass surgery in 2009, & is doing better than ever and feels great. They do amazing things with hearts these days so hang in there and I hope you will get to see her soon. - Sharon

Dee said...

Love your mom! I just talked to her! She sounded good. I know you wish you could be there - so do I! I'm hoping that this was a blessing in disguise and that her legs are not going to hurt so much now and her breathing is going to be better. Love you too!

Anonymous said...

I got to talk to her today (Tues.)! She sounded great. Said she'd always wanted a helicopter ride, but not like that! I'm so thankful she's better. And I know how you feel being so far away. But I also know you'll keep close tabs on her and talk with her often. Reckon she's going to be hardheaded about all this? HaHa! I love you. MM