The Tuesday Update ...

in no particular order ...

This is my first holiday season not spent in the shade of the family tree. I thought this would be ... more emotional? ... but am happy to report that overall it's been alright.

Speaking of family, the news on my cousin Lisa (who was fighting things at the same time as her mom was, and as I was) is ... mixed. She's spent the last month and a half in ICU, having contacted pneumonia while her immune system was compromised. She's finally been moved from ICU into a private room but is still unable to breathe unassisted and is being kept in a pretty heavy drug-induced state. The wound from her procedure has finally showed signs of closing (ten months later) and the doctors believe she'll be in the hospital for a few more months in various stages of care. They won't discuss any real plans until she can breathe on her own. I feel ... guilt? I had it so easy and yet I still found reason to complain.

I spent close to two hours locked inside my own bathroom yesterday morning. I was all prepared to write about THAT today but the mood just doesn't seem right. It's a funny story that I'll share at some point and, while I come off looking like a complete and total moron in it, it's pretty typical for how I envision myself at times - filled with the best intentions and getting in my own way of success.

I won't admit this out loud (so don't ask) but the shakes I've been experiencing in my right arm are worrying me more than I show. And I know I should get a doctor's opinion but ... well ... actually, that should read "I know I should get a doctor's opinion" and then end with just ".". So I'll do that instead.

The reason that this isn't a "I spent 2 hours locked in my own bathroom and lived to write about it" post is from being so happy at The Awesome Boyfriend's news yesterday. Everything that seemed wrong or unfair or just plain sucky just ... went away.

I managed to make three sweet potato pies yesterday, for the first time in my life. I was overall pretty happy with the results. (I've also never microwaved a potato (sweet or otherwise). I SHOULD have been doing lots of other things besides baking (Christmas Cards come immediately to mind) but ... making pies worked. And hey - it heated up the house a little, too.

A public note to the woman talking WAYYYY too loud in the coffee shop earlier today: Thank you for feeling so open to sharing your sexual history to the entire population enjoying their morning java. You're right ... there IS a difference between him wanting you and needing you and you shouldn't just be a default choice for him between sleeping alone and sleeping with someone. One minor little comment though, if I may ... perhaps this would have been a better discussion to have with your friend over coffee in a private location. Or, here's a wild thought ... maybe you should be talking to the guy in question. In either event, I'm pretty sure the man who left with his grandson as you were getting more and more graphic now gets to answer questions that he may not be fully prepared to respond to.

And, finally, let me just add this



29 years and this loss is still felt globally.