Back from neverland

On Friday, Ernesto ended up knocking out our electricity several times in the morning and finally for good until around 8 PM. Do you know how hellish it is to entertain a preschooler with no electricity and no ability to go outside or do anything cool?

We colored. We read books. We wrestled. We made up songs. I ran out of ideas and felt like beating my head against the wall.

Luckily for me, I had a hair appointment that afternoon so we loaded up in the car and went to Joey's office, where Monkey Man had fun playing with the computer and some of Joey's business partner's toy trucks that he keeps in his office. And dammit, no power by dinnertime so we just had to go out for dinner. Life's a bitch, ain't it?

We headed down to my parents' house Saturday morning at the buttcrack of dawn. Joey dropped us off and proceeded to the first football game of the season and I heisted Mom's minivan and took Monkey Man to see my dad. I wish I had a picture of how Dad's face lit up when he saw MM run into the room, it was awesome.

We just got back home about an hour ago. I am ready to be home for a few days, ready to resume some kind of routine and sleep in my own bed and fix my own dinner. I have barely gotten any exercise in the past two-plus weeks and can really feel it even though I've lost about 6 pounds. I also feel like I've aged about 10 years in the past two weeks.

My dad is doing great. All of the IV's are gone, the chest tube is out, the only things left are his Foley catheter and a little oxygen tube they put in his nose (cannula? not sure of the name). He seemed a little down in the dumps yesterday after discussing his next move with the doctor - which will be to a rehabilitation center. He wants to come home so badly, but he knows that the rehab is necessary to make sure he is strong enough to walk, bathe himself, and all that other good stuff. He's been doing really well in physical therapy and I am just so damn proud of him that I can barely stand it. My sister and I both gave him a little pep talk and today he seemed a lot more optimistic about the rehab thing. But we'll see.

One thing that has come of all this is that I've realized that even though there's about a 20-year age difference between my sister and myself, we're way more alike than I knew. And we both have the same feelings about caring for my parents. We've cheered each other on for the last two weeks, alternately playing Good Cop/Bad Cop when necessary, and giving each other a shoulder or ear when needed.

The other thing I've realized - or maybe not realized, but just had reinforced - is how little my brothers really want to deal with my parents. Maybe it's a guy thing, or maybe it's just because they know my sister and I will take care of things, but it's pretty hurtful to find out that they have viewed a lot of this as an inconvenience to themselves. Excuse me, but I have effectively used up all of my sick and vacation time and have taken the last week and any future trips down there as unpaid leave, but have never breathed a word of it to anyone. To me, nothing else matters.

Before I left today, my dad thanked me for coming to take care of him. "Daddy, there is nowhere else on this earth that I'd rather be than helping you get better." And I meant every word of it.

I want my sense of humor back. I want to be able to write about things other than death, blood thinner, and family dynamics. Do they have a rehab center for that?