But the View is Great

Blogging from the hospital, in what I'm now going to call Mom's Bi-weekly Abuse Sessions. Five or six hours in a confined space with my mother, she's sure this is her chance to irritate me to her heart's content, because what kind of asshole would walk out while they're mom's having chemo??
It's still early, but we started with, "Oh, Mexicans eat lamb? I didn't know that." So I said, yes, of course, and in case you weren't aware, Mexicans eat everything you eat, dummy. "Oh, just hotter though." It would almost be funny is she wasn't so willfully dense.
But we're here, chemo number 3 out of 12. But who's counting?

This weekend we're taking the kids to Oregon, IL (my new favorite vacation place) to Oregon Trail Days. We're going to stay in a tipi, go canoeing and watch all kinds of cowboy gun slinging and Native American dancing. I'm told it's where the Blackhawk indians lived, and the whole weekend is a big fundraiser. We're excited :) Okay, I'M excited.

Dammit, I have to go find a place to plug in my laptop before it dies. Maybe I could unplug that lady's oxygen over there....

Mrs Incredible

You know that Pixar movie, The Incredibles?

Today I feel like Helen, also known as Elastigirl. The Chief is still in the hospital, I'm heading over there after work. My mom's chemo is Friday, and of course I'm not going to make her go alone (no matter how mean she gets) Isaiah called from day camp asking me to pick him up early because he has an earache.

Feels like I'm being pulled in too many directions.

The Chief

This is The Chief, otherwise known as my grandfather. He was in the Navy during WWII and the Korean war, hence the nickname. He has 4 biological children, but raised and loves my grandmother's other son just like the rest of his children. He worked in sheet metal and HVAC when he retired from the military.
Today, he was rushed to the hospital via ambulance. His blood pressure suddenly plummeted. He's feeling fine now. But he looks so small in that hospital bed. They're running tests, and so far, everything is fine.

I've written about The Chief before, because he's one of my favorite people. He's truly and kind and gentle soul. He loves his family, he loves his country, and he loves his cat. He makes (bad) jokes, and he laughs a lot. In fact, he was making (bad) jokes at the hospital, too :)

Each time I visit my grandparents, I say I'm going to sit with him and review his extensive picture collection, put names to the faces, and scan them all. As I rushed over to the hospital I thought, "I should have spent more time with him when I had the chance!"

Now's the chance. And I'm not going to waste it.