Happy Sunday!
It is cloudy and cold. There is snow on the ground. We are expected to get more snow tonight and tomorrow. Inside however, the tree is trimmed. Christmas songs are playing. A load of laundry is in the washing machine. Holly has a batch of sugar cookies in the oven. Jim is icing his knee and snuggled under a blanket. Tallulah is taking one of her many naps curled on her bed. In other words, all is right with our little world.
Jim made it through his surgery with flying colors and is actually walking with a barely perceptible limp today. His pain has been minimal, and his only issue with his knee has been stiffness. However, it seems he is struggling with some aftereffects of the anesthesia affecting his memory which, for someone hyper-concerned about Alzheimer’s disease and his family’s genetic propensity for it, is causing a whole other slew of concerns. His post-op appointment with his doctor is this week, and I know it will be the first thing he mentions.
The job search is still slow. We knew when he lost his job that December was going to be a lost month because no one is hiring at this time of the year. However, every recruiter with whom he has talked is confident that come the first of the year, when companies are flush with new budgets and new plans for the fiscal year, the hiring will commence in full force. There is no doubt he will find a job in the new year. The question remains whether anything in the one-hour by car vicinity will open up for him or if we will be forced to move.
Connor is studying for his first week of finals. I would say that his first semester has gone about how we expected. He had a lot of fun and found his people. He struggled in Calculus II and will have to take it again next semester. He made some very freshman, very 17yo mistakes about class attendance in his Spanish 303 class. It was not the successful semester we hoped it would be but more of what we expected. He is still so young and has always learned best from the school of hard knocks. In that regard, these past few months, and especially these past few weeks, have been a great learning experience for him.
I AM THANKFUL FOR: the resistance for staying strong and giving me hope. The news might infuriate me, but I see how active my friends are. I read how others are resisting. I see the news on approval ratings, on support for certain legislation. I hear how more and more celebrities are being accused of sexual assault and companies taking immediate action upon those accusations becoming public. I read articles on subpoenas and cooperation by non-White House people. I see all of these things and feel a small niggle of hope for the first time in a year. People are more aware of the injustice that occurs to women on a daily basis. There are real steps being taken to uncover the truth behind the 2016 election. Constituents are letting their voices be heard like never before. While Congress has not caught onto this fact quite yet, by this time next year, I believe they will face the harsh reality that their actions have wrought on this country. I welcome that day, but in the meantime, I am so thankful for all of those who continue to fight the good fight and speak out for those who can’t and speak up for those who refuse to hear.
I AM GRATEFUL THAT: my father was able to come up on Wednesday to take Jim to the hospital, wait there for him, and take him home. I don’t have much vacation time left, and I need every minute of that time for Holly’s dance competitions next year. My job is flexible enough that I was able to leave early to meet them at home, but the fact that I didn’t have to take any time was a tremendous help. Plus, having gone through the very same surgery several times himself, I know he was a comfort to Jim and was able to give him a better understanding of what to expect and how best to recover than I ever could.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO: 12:30 PM next Saturday, which is when we will all be seeing the new Star Wars movie! Holly will even be missing half of a dance rehearsal because I bought these tickets a month ago, and the rehearsal was just added to the schedule last week. It is in a theater with recliners for seats and a full service to your seat restaurant. Star Wars, recliners, and food. Yep. Heaven.
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Here are past posts from the few last weeks in case you missed them the first time:
- It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 4 December 2017
- I wish all books were as good as The Empress
- Boring Birdcage Walk
- This Mortal Coil – Holy Hell!
- Fabulous Friday – 8 December 2017
- What’s For Dinner? – Week Starting 2 December 2017
I am glad your Hub is doing okay but the memory thing is a little concerning. I hope it’s just residual meds in his system causing that.
My director was put on probation last week. This is not good. You recall that I didn’t apply for that position because of how difficult the work environment is, well I don’t know what to do now. I got an email from the Assoc. VP for a meeting next week to discuss my “projects” but I am out next week and he is not here today so it will have to wait. Ugh. I hate these conversations. I am tenured but they can move you wherever they want or have you do whatever they want so I’ve been through the war many times during my 24 years here.
I am glad you didn’t have to take time off to tend to Jim. I am in pickle this Friday because things got double booked and my daughter signed me up for things without me knowing it so I have three places to be at one time on Friday evening and none of them can be cancelled. Fun?? You bet!
My BIL and SIL are really messed up. He is going into hospice at home on Friday and she just got out of the hospital and between the two of them they plan to be drunk as soon as they get home. They will most likely not be of this world come Christmas if that is indeed the plan.
I saw your comment on your Sunday post about your BIL. I am so sorry. How is your SIL handling it?
How did Friday go? Did you work through your triple booking?
I remember your comment that you thought anyone who was put into the director role was in essence doomed to fail, so I am not surprised about the probation. That sucks that you have to wait two weeks before you can talk to the VP about whatever he wanted to discuss. The wait and my propensity to envision the worst when it comes to work things would make these two weeks torturous for me. I hope you can enjoy your time off!
We have an appointment on Thursday to see his regular doctor about the memory issues and anxiety. I think his anxiety is blowing the memory thing out of proportion. So far, when he talks to me about what he is not remembering, it is not big things. There is no doubt his short-term memory has been affected by something, but the anxiety is making it worse IMO. I want to get his anxiety under control and then look at how things fare. It was a long weekend and will most likely be another long week.
Would you believe I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie? I know, I’m terrible. It isn’t that I don’t want to. Okay, I never wanted to before, but in the past few years I’m more curious about them. I just don’t watch movies as much as I used to.
It sounds like you had a good weekend. I hope Jim’s recovery continues on the up and the memory issues right themselves soon.
The resistance gives me hope, too. Some days I’m so appalled and angry by what I read. But I see good happening, and I truly hope it turns things around.
Have a great week, Michelle!
Shame on you! The Star Wars series is AWESOME (well, except for those three they made with Natalie Portman – those are horrible)!
It’s just after 1:30 PM on Monday, and I am already ready for the weekend. I think it is because I am worried about Jim. He’s so freaked out about the memory issues, and rightly so. My presence is calming. Being by himself only sets him back. He goes to the doctor on Thursday, but it will be a long wait until then.
First semester, lots of adjusting. Hopefully he’ll learn and continue better next time, right? So many people stumble that first little while.
Glad the surgery was so successful!
Right. I can’t name many people who have an excellent first semester of college. I know I certainly didn’t and I was more prepared than he was! He learned some valuable lessons though. The one good thing is that he never really repeats his mistakes, which means we know he will attend class next semester no matter how easy the class is.
It was a success; now we just need to have the side effects of the anesthesia wear off and he can get back to himself again!
I’m glad Jim is healing quickly, and I hope the memory issues don’t linger much longer. I know how scary and frustrating that must be. And it sounds like your son is doing well, even if it wasn’t the stellar senior year everyone had hoped for. (Hey, I never even took calculus. :-))
I share your feelings of being grateful for the resistance–it’s the main thing that gives me hope these days. And I am grateful for like-minded friends who are as scared and angry as I am. My family doesn’t enjoy my rants :-), and having some people (mostly women) to talk to, and share our hopes and fears, has been a lifeline. Especially since, as I mentioned in my review of Get Out, the crazy is ramping up in this community. 🙁
Thanks, Steph! He is supposed to be calling the doctor today to let him know about these side effects and see if he can get some anti-anxiety medication out of it. Seeing him have panic attacks is almost worse than seeing your babies sick.
Actually, Connor is a freshman in college. He’s a young freshman, which does not help his situation. There is a lack of maturity which we knew he would have to overcome.
We watched the tail-end of Get Out the other day. What a crazy movie but I still somehow scarily applicable. I hear you on your family not enjoying your rants. I’m not allowed to talk about the news or politics at home anymore because everyone is tired of hearing me rage. Taking it to Twitter has been a great outlet if only because it shows me I am not the only one. Without that, I would never know that there are people who care about what is happening to this country.