She's down, but not out

Mom and I have a had a really good time the last 3 days, though time has flown by. She is definitely a tough woman and hasn't let a single thing get in her way. Mom was especially excited about the possibility of the scooter when we went grocery shopping.
I could not stop from laughing most of the trip, especially when she almost took out a display of wine bottles. Nothing like quality time with Mom...
Drive safely!

Ah, Airports

Yes, they are as much fun as you remember from your childhood... Apparently, no one has had their coffee by 5 a.m. Our flight crew got in late last night so my 6 a.m. flight is now scheduled to depart at 7:20. The poor guys that are in charge of check-in looked so lost, I wondered if it wouldn't be more efficient to figure out how to check myself in (the kiosks didn't work :-)). It looks like I will spend a total of 2 hours only 20 minutes away from my warm, comfy bed, wishing I had stayed so curled up in the covers just a little longer. In the mean time, I'll enjoy people-watching although most are trying to sleep. It could still prove interesting as they try to navigate the oh-so-comfy chairs available.

Yeah, Friday

I am so glad today is Friday, I could sing it from the rooftops. This week has been good and challenging and busy. I had a moment of pouting yesterday (internally, of course) when my ego was bruised, but I've moved on and gotten over myself. Today, I rebounded with lots of productivity; I finished writing a new computer program for our research team, tested a few people for one of our newer studies (yeah for "normals"), and got everything together for me to be gone. I've decided that I am tired of waiting for feedback that will never come and am going to submit my first article and begin my second one.
Tomorrow I head out to Hky to "take care" of Mom. Turns out she has some plans for me that include keeping her cigar business in order (Matt has already given me orders of what to bring home for him), having a pizza party with her buddy, Joan, and taking her to the doctor. I plan on having a little talk with her doc about prescribing ototoxic meds for her, which, even in small doses, caused some tinnitus. Wanna be how long it takes me to ask him to request an audiogram?
I also started an online course on PHP and SQL on Wednesday, which I am excited to use to turn my Master's project into a more functional, user-friendly version for our patients. I'm in a class full of programmers, tech support people, and web designers. Yeah, I'm the outsider, but I'm excited to have such a large resource from which to draw. It's a wonderful day and I can't complain; I won't complain.
I hope your day is just as good!
Happy Weekend!

Poor Momma

Well, I know which segment of my DNA contained my graceful tendencies (or lack thereof). My sweet, sweet mother came home Friday from another "hard" day at the golf course and took the puppies outside. Good ole' NC finally started getting some much-needed rain and when Momma came back inside with the dogs, she slipped in her flip-flops. Turns out she is an all-or-nothing girl, just like me. She broke and dislocated her ankle, as well as tearing tendons. All this I found out at 10 p.m. Friday night when my sister called to fill me in. Yesterday morning, I got to call and talk to her (in the hospital), only to find out that she was scheduled for surgery at 12:30 and, oh yeah, my step-father is scheduled to fly to Munich in a week for his j-o-b, which will leave my partially-incapacitated mother at home. 2Bit is one week into her new job in DC, Gma-hoof can't get there and while, yes, mom has a lot of friends in the area, I would rather be there to take care of her.
But I did enjoy my mom's story on how *she* told the EMS workers what to do after she pulled herself to the kitchen, called 911, Stepdaddy, and her golf-buddy Andrea to tell her she wouldn't be able to go to Myrtle Beach for the tournament. (She has her priorities in order, for sure) Once EMS arrived, they brought the stretcher to her family room where she told them to stop there and she would come to them (she didn't want her floor or walls scratched). With her injured leg in the air--elementary school crabwalk-style, she pulled herself across the floor to the stretcher. One of the EMS guys told her he was going to pick her up and put her on the stretcher, "Oh, no," she said, "Let me do it." So she lifted herself up and onto the stretcher. Then they brought out an air-cast.
Mom: Don't put that thing on me! --so they didn't.
EMS: But ma'am, we have to stabilize you before we go
Mom: Got a sheet?
EMS: Yeah
Mom: Take the sheet and tie it to the top of the bus and use it as a sling
EMS: But ma'am, we should really...
Mom: No. Just use it as a sling. I'm not bringing my leg any lower.
EMS: Would you like something to take the edge off?
Mom: That would be great--so they gave her some Delaudid
Mom: Okay, guys. You're going to have to hurry up with that sheet, 'cause it's getting harder to hold my leg up.--thus ended the conversation in which my mom, once again, ran the show. The rest of the ride to the hospital consisted of them commending Momma for not crying or screaming or any of that. She simply told them that if she cried, she wouldn't be able to breathe as well, which would make it hurt more. She is one tough lady; that's for sure.

So, for the last several hours, I've been working on figuring out exactly when Stepdaddy leaves for Germany, checking my vacation/sick time at work to make sure I have enough and evaluating the the patient schedule to see if I can get everyone covered. The next step is to buy a plane ticket or just get the car ready for the 11-hour drive home. Honestly, I'd rather drive. I'm just very grateful I have so many great people in my department. Now to get it past Dr G and, if it works out, put all the plans I've made into action.

Be safe walking in flip-flops in the rain! :-)

We're not in Kansas anymore

Dateline Wednesday: And so we began on our family vacation. I was not exactly what one would call excited, having vivid memories of our last Family Vacay on 2bit's 21st birthday. That trip caught almost every possible element of Murphy's law one could encounter. I'll post that story later.
This trip included Matt, Dad, Step-mom, 2bit, SS hubby, Marshall bro, Preggers wifey (27 weeks along) and myself. Matt and I flew into Denver which went well, no problems, then on to Cody. The flight was interesting. We had a Cody "native" behind us on the plane talking with his neighbor about hunting. Turns out he had a great mullet to match his stories, no surprise. Our favorite was one about buffalo within Yellowstone national park that went like this:

You know, this time of year you have to be careful because the bison are "rutting" right now. (they're in heat). Two men were that driving through Yellowstone, they came up on a traffic jam created by Buffalo in the road. They were real close to the road, so close that the guy in the passenger seat stuck his arm out the window and patted one on the neck. It reared back and rammed the truck, knocked it off the road, broke the axle and knocked off the tire. I tell you, man, you gotta be careful around them.

Then once the plane landed and we were allowed to use our cell phones, he called his girlfriend and proceeded to ask "What are you wearing?" Seriously, he asked this loudly while the plane is still taxiing down to the gate. Once we got off the plane, into one of the smallest airports I've ever seen, I saw some of the most "interesting" people grouped together in one place. There was a whole herd of mullets and femullets, a woman with a purse made out of a skunk, men with mustaches and beards that emulated Buffalo Bill (or beards circa late 1970s or 1870s), and one guy whose mustache was so long it reached his clavicle--Braided!! Thus was my introduction to Cody, WY. Wowza!!!

Happy Trails to you...