Visits

I have a large amount of things to be thankful for - incredible friends and family, pets, my great health (minus one or two bleeps on the radar), Brian's job, and much more. Over my birthday weekend, we had many of my college friends come up for our annual reunion of types, and I often times kicked back for a moment and just watched everyone around me and considered how lucky I am to have such a great group to surround me. As I was laughing hysterically at whatever crazy topic we were discussing at the moment (farm names and logos!), I realized how much I needed their support -and yes, the casseroles have been great, but really it's just the simple act of conversing and laughing that I needed so much more.

I think of being a kid in grade school and the whole class was paired up with people in the nursing home. We would write letters and occasionally go visit. It was pretty scary as a kid going into the smelly nursing home and meeting strangers and try to come up with conversation, but it taught some valuable lessons. I learned uncomfortable conversation really wasn't as bad as I feared (I still have to relearn that lesson regularly when the phone rings!), and a whole host of lessons around respecting and learning from elders and compassion for others.

As I continue to heal but still am restricted hugely in my daily activity, I realize the value of these childhood lessons even more. A phone call, an email, and even better...a visit...mean so much. Getting to sit down and talk with my loved ones one-on-one is one of the small joys that I enjoy most in my day to day activities. Getting to see the people who have made a huge impression on my life and hear about their lives takes me away from the constant nagging worry of my health. It helps me to escape my own selfish mantra and to remember the lives that everyone else is living around me. I enjoy being a part of those lives and finding the humor in our everyday challenges. A conversation and laughter is the best gift you can give to me at the moment.

Others have asked about our needs and how they can help. At the top of my list, as I've just mentioned, are visits. Come see me! I may tire easily and have to take a break, but I love to visit with each of you. Food is another great way to help. I am unable to lift anything over a couple of pounds, so Brian is left to do most of our housecleaning, chores, and make meals, beyond his normal work schedule. For some people, that is a normal way of life, but for us it's a bit of a challenge. Having some food options in the freezer is helpful to take one thing off his plate (and to ensure that I'm eating healthy meals, not the Mac N' Cheese from the Kraft box.) Also, I appreciate all the emails and letters - it's great to hear from each of you about the normal going ons in your life.

Looking at the calendar, I have about six weeks left of healing before I am able to return to work and to most of my normal activities. I have started to research some family history and am trying to trace our roots back to Ireland wherever possible. While I was in the hospital, I fanagled a promise from Brian that we would vacation to Ireland within the next couple of years. (Note to self - hospital stays are a great time to get promises for things not easily procured in other circumstances) I would love to visit areas where my family once lived (County Cork and County Clare, as well as Dublin.) I really hope to be able to trace the family history to family still living in Ireland, but that will be difficult. Ancestry.com has been a great help in figuring out some of the pieces though. It's also been amazing to discover how many stories my family has typed up and left behind - I have a journal of one woman, Mary Matilda Surfus Park, who took the Oregon trail from Kansas and settled about 100 acres in the Willamette Valley in the mid 1800's. How cool is that?

As far as health, I have no real updates now. Last week we took out the last of the staples around the belly button. That part of the wound is not looking very pretty, so we'll have the doctors take a look at it tomorrow. I've been on antibiotics for weeks now, so no real infection should be a problem...we hope. Right now we're working on getting my Coumadin levels just right - apparently kale and spinach and green tea have a big effect on your Vitamin K levels, which screws with the Coumadin. Kale has something like over one thousand kg of Vit K per serving, where as most other vegetables have under a hundred. I have kale growing in my garden, so the nurse has promised to work with me to be able to implement small doses of vitamin K here and there.