Life is just a chair of bowlies

I'm a big Mary Engelbreit fan. The title comes from her.

My life has been a whirlwind lately with both parents having medical crisis's. That's why I haven't been around. My dad is still in rehab. Today was the big staff meeting to discuss and evaluate his progress. We don't know the outcome. He wants out. I think another week would do it, but I definitely wouldn't want to be there. Not even for one day. My dad's sedentary at home, and they have help, so I think he'll be able to manage. I hope so. He's walking with a walker, but for short distances. He could do more, but they don't have the staff or the time and for safety reasons, they won't let him walk alone. I'm hoping they can start him on a cane. This is deja vous all over again for us. He fell 5 years ago and suffered a subdural hematoma. He had brain surgery for that, and spent many, many weeks in rehab. A real rehab hospital with hours of therapy a day. He progressed from not walking, to walking with a walker, to a cane, then on his own. So, I'm hopeful he can walk and be at home, with help. He wants out of that place bad. My mom started feeling sick on Monday. Nauseous, weak, lack of appetite and tired. It wasn't the first time she's had those symptoms. She's always gone to the doctor's and they've never found the cause. This time it was bad because she was alone. I made an appointment for her to see her doctor at Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday. Their determination? She probably ate something bad on Sunday. Yesterday, she fell. I rushed to her house and after talking to Kaiser, called 911. It was fortuitous. I like that word. If she hadn't gone to the hospital we wouldn't have found out that she had a gallstone lodged in the common bile duct. The GI doctor pressed on her tummy and guessed right away that it was her gallbladder. I'm not so happy with Kaiser. She had a procedure today that successfully removed it. The surgeon told us after the procedure that he was expecting to see a tumor because of the size of it. That was his read on the CAT scan. I'm so glad he didn't tell us that yesterday. So, she's in a very good hospital and should be there at least for another day. She still has a big stone in her gallbladder, but that's to be dealt with another time. Wah. Anyway, it's hard to juggle which parent to visit. I was at the hospital twice yesterday. I was at the rehab and then the hospital today. Tomorrow I'll go to the hospital after Borders, and my sister will go to rehab. My brother is making the rounds too. Rob has been with me to both places. He's so good with my parents and so kind and so nice to me. He's been a trooper. I'm lucky to have him. Come Monday, I'll start calling assisted living places. It's only a matter of time.

I called work after the surgery to see about coming in and having some of my canceled clients put back on my book. My boss wouldn't hear of it. Thanks Pam! She told me to go home and work in my garden. It's been a picture-perfect day. I mowed the lawn. I planted many annuals. I talked to a neighbor. I refilled my hummingbird feeders and was pleased to see a new Robin's nest in my pear tree. I ate dinner on the deck. I played games on my iPhone on the hammock. Now I'm sitting on my porch. The weather is delightful, as my mother would say. The only thing that could make this moment any more perfect would be to see a hummingbird at my feeder. The simple pleasures in life are the best ones.