and life goes on

So I got this fortune cookie last week whose fortune read, “Traveling to the South will bring you much happiness.” Come again? Anyone with half a brain should know that the words “Stacy” and “humidity” don’t go together. I mean, have you been outside lately? Who are these people and what are they thinking? I am certainly hoping that this “happiness” will come in an air-conditioned environment…

Maybe I am the crazy one - destined to have pointless fortunes in my fortune cookies. I fondly remember the “It is nice.” fortune cookie from years ago.

Last week went by casually enough - the usual things done; the usual errands run. However, this last week things did not go quite as smoothly as usual:

We have baby gates up now - just so that we (primarily, I) can get used to them before we actually need them. My mind knows they are there, but my legs don’t seem to notice. My shins now look like a painting by O’Keeffe… in brilliant, vibrant, living color.

Ammon is desperately trying to cut both of his top teeth; however, these teeth aren’t as willing as the other two were. He seems to be suffering quite a bit more than with his first round of teething.

My luck has been off the last several weeks when it comes to Wal-Mart. Why is it that I can never find what I need? Why is it that I always pick the wrong line to check-out in? I went to Northside Wal-Mart last week - I hate this place and normally avoid it like the plague; however, I was on that side of town and, ignorantly, waltzed right in. You know what they had? Nothing. I was only able to get about half of what was on my list and everything was more expensive. I will be going to our Wal-Mart from now on and avoid the headache…

Apart from these (and more) inconveniences, last week did have its perks. I was able to put some new plants out on our back porch, get some things done around our home, have some fun family time. We celebrated my mom’s 49th birthday on Friday - she, our friend, Hila, and I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s and then went to see Mamma Mia!… such a fun movie. We had such a fun time giggling and trying to drown out poor Pierce’s singing… good, good times. After the movie, we had to run to Wal-Mart (again Northside) - and, true to form, this visit lived up to my other Wal-Mart ventures of late. It was close to midnight and we were all just a tad punchy. I’ll let you all guess the rest…

Saturday marked our Girlie Luau Night in honor of Hila. My friend Kira had me, my mom, Hila, and our friend, Becky, over for a little get-together. We munched on Hawaiian haystacks, veggies, watermelon, Hawaiian dip, Oreo truffles, frozen grasshoppers (chocolate mint cookies… no, we were not eating bugs), spinach dip and Hawaiian bread. I had done all the decorations and made a little keepsake for Hila. We talked the night away - and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye to our dear friend. Hila is moving to Washington to be closer to her family - we wish her luck in her new home, and know that she will be richly blessed there. We love you, Hila.

My grandmother underwent a hip replacement on Tuesday - and, as a result, this week has been quite chaotic. My aunt and cousin came up and were a great help. Ammon and I stayed in Enterprise from Sunday afternoon until yesterday afternoon; however, we weren’t there very much:

Sunday afternoon Brian, Ammon and I loaded up the car and went up to my grandmother’s. I unpacked everything and got settled while Ammon soaked up the loving attention of his beloved Aunt Kaye and cousin, Amy. Later that evening we had leftover Hawaiian haystacks for dinner. Brian and I got Ammon ready for bed, and then he enjoyed some more play time. Brian went home at about 9:00, and I stayed up for a bit visiting and catching up on some Jon & Kate Plus Eight. I've found that I am not alone in my love for this show...

My mom had to work Monday morning, so everyone else at home was a bit lazy. Ammon continued to revel in the extra attention he was getting. He thought that my Aunt Kaye was his grandma, as she and my mom look just alike. He really got confused when both of them were in the same room! My aunt and grandmother ran some errands, while Amy and I stayed home with the bug. Once my mom got home, we all loaded up and went down to Dothan to do a little shopping. We went to our house for a bit so that Brian could give Grandma a blessing before her surgery. We then went out to eat at Logan’s for my mom’s birthday and a last hurrah for Grandma Lois. Brian had taken Tuesday off to take his MAT for graduate school, so he, Ammon and my Uncle Gary went back to Enterprise, leaving the girls to have a fun night on the town. We ran in to Target for a minute and then all went to see Mamma Mia! again. We had such a good time together - laughing so hard we cried. We really came full circle that night. Our fun theatre nights at Bob Carr in Orlando all started with Mamma Mia! year before last, and here we were, all sitting together watching the movie. Such fun… such fun girls to share that memory with. We got home pretty late, but there were still things to do to prepare for the long day ahead. I know that I for one didn’t get to bed until after 2:00am.

I hadn’t originally planned to do so, but since Brian was going to stay at my grandmother’s Monday night and be there with me on Tuesday morning, I made the decision to go with everyone else to the hospital with my grandmother that morning. I felt strongly that I needed to be there, and I am glad that I was. We got there a little before 6:00am - and then waited. My grandmother was taken back to surgery and the procedure was started a while later. Brian and Ammon arrived at about 10:00.

After lunchtime, my grandmother’s surgery and recovery time was done and we were able to see her. Of course, she was in a great deal of pain and was a little groggy - but the surgery went well, and she looked well. The remainder of the afternoon was a blur - but I can say that it was long and aggravating. She had some pretty horrendous care for a bit - I won’t even begin to tell you what all was going on… you wouldn’t believe it, anyway - with some raunchy nurses that got some well-deserved words from all of us. Brian had left at about 2:00 to take his MAT, but he came back when he was done to see Grandma. That evening, Brian’s brother, Craig, came up with his children, Caulin and Lainee - he and Brian gave Grandma another blessing.

Brian and I left with Ammon at about 7:30 that night, with my mom and cousin following soon afterwards. My aunt stayed the night with my grandma - even though we were asked to have someone stay the night anyway, we really did not feel comfortable leaving Grandma alone after the afternoon she had had. But, before long, Grandma got a new nurse, and we were more at ease with the care she was receiving. My aunt did say that her new nurse was wonderful and that it made the greatest difference.

Tuesday night, was not good on Ammon. He had been a trooper all day - it’s a lot to ask of such a small guy to be cooped up in a hospital room for almost 10 hours with little to no naps - and he had been good for as long as he could be. He had a rough time going down for bed and was up most of the night.

Wednesday morning, my cousin went down to relieve my aunt so that she could go back to Enterprise and get some rest. My mom worked for the morning and then she, Ammon and I went down to the hospital. Grandma had gotten up to walk twice, hadn’t really taken anything for her pain - and, most importantly, looked very well. She did, however, have to have a cancerous spot on her arm removed that morning… so there were pieces of her all over! Ammon brightened up her room like he did the day before, and we stayed for a while to visit.

To our dismay, we found out that Grandma would have the same raunchy nurse that she had had Tuesday. There was no way that we were going to stand idly by and not do something. My mom and cousin spoke to a very kind woman who changed the orientation of the floor so that my grandmother would have a different nurse. To make a long story short, we settled her hash and had her thrown out. My cousin stayed the night, just to ensure that everything went well and to help my grandmother.

My mom, Ammon and I left a little earlier that night, so that Ammon could have a somewhat normal bedtime routine. Brian had met us at the hospital after he got off work, and he went up to Enterprise for a while and had dinner with us before heading back home. I tried to relax a little, but wasn’t able to. I watched some more Jon & Kate Plus Eight, and then read a bit before going to bed. Of course, it was another long night for Ammon - his teeth were really bothering him and he tossed and turned most of the night, but seemed to sleep better than the night before.

Thursday morning, my aunt left to pick up my cousin so that they could drive back to Orlando. Ammon had a slight meltdown when she left, but we will luckily be seeing her again soon. Ammon and I were by ourselves for a bit before my mom came back from work. I had everything packed up and ready to go home. We all loaded up and stopped by our house, picked up Brian, and went to the hospital. We had a short visit and then headed home, but not to short of a visit so that we could avoid getting stuck in the rain. In the quick amount of time that it takes to run from my car to our front door, you could have rung my clothes out and made soup. Absolutely nasty weather, but good for my new plants…

Ammon had a normal night last night - glad to be at his home, though I can tell he misses the added commotion. I started on the eight loads of laundry that needed to be done, along with all the unpacking, sorting and putting away.

My grandmother was moved from the hospital to the rehabilitation center this morning. We don’t expect her to be there the “normal” 20 days - she is a tough, strong lady - we know that she will do well, and can’t wait to have her home!

I seem to be doing fairly well, considering I haven’t slept in over a week. I am very disoriented and have no idea what day it is. It has been a long couple of days for the whole family - but we were all willing to sacrifice our own comfort for Grandma. We just want her to be comfortable and well. And, even though it was difficult, I am glad that Ammon and I stayed in Enterprise - his sweet spirit seemed to lift everyone’s spirits, especially Grandma’s. He was the star of the hospital also - so while it was frustrating at times, it was time well spent. Even though I wasn’t able to do very much to help the situation, at least I could do that one small thing - share my sweet boy.

And while we are on the subject of family injuries: We send our love to Uncle Dana and Kim and Gracey… we hope you all get well and whole soon!