Tell Me More!

I suppose it comes as no surprise that my living across the country has changed the way I communicate with my parents and sister.  And, as has been so clearly demonstrated time and again over the past year or more, clearly living across the country has for SURE changed the way my parents and sister communicate with me.

Before I moved to the East Coast, I had never lived any further than 10 miles from my parents.  There were weeks that would go by where we wouldn't see each other, but I seemed to have a need or reason to at least call fairly often.  My sister, on the other hand, went more than 4 years without speaking to my father (hot Irish tempers make for long grudges) and she's lived in at least 2 other states.  Now, I'm not sure about the quality of information she received when she was "far flung" (I should ask, honestly ... that would probably help things) but getting family news from either parent - or my sister, for that matter - since my East Coast relocation is like pulling teeth.

I do my best to not give my family nothing but health news updates.  For starters, there's not a lot to say.  I still have Parkinson's.  I still have tremors.  I'm still on my original medication.  Nothing seems to be getting better and, thankfully, nothing seems to be getting worse.  I still get migraines, too (as witnessed by a real killer this past weekend) but, thanks to The Awesome Fiance, I will be cared for when they occur.  Beyond that, news from me will likely be related to employment, a general "funny story", weather ... typical "so how are things there" kind of conversations.

When I get reports from the family, I get partial news like this - "EJ's daughter is in the hospital undergoing emergency brain surgery" which is followed a week later by "All of EJ's children held a surprise party for him".  (How is that possible, I ask, when his youngest is in the hospital?  "Oh - she's been home for nearly 5 days now.  They're gonna control everything with medicines.")  Or I get updates from things I never knew about in the first place - "Good news - Dad's pickup truck just needed to have the spark plugs replaced.  Guess that'll teach him to start pricing whole new engines."  And sometimes (and most frustrating of all) I get just the middle of a story - "The dentist said that the wisdom tooth extraction went deeper than he thought it would but things will probably go alright."

Now I fully realize that I don't update my loved ones on every belch, hiccup and pimple I experience.  AND I also fully recognize that there's little reason for me to be kept "in the loop" about every detail from my extended loved ones lives because, after all, what can I *DO* about such things from where I live.

That being said, I'd like to believe that I am not thought of as being so fragile that news is being edited to protect me from reality or general daily life.  I think there are some things that I have a right to know about, and health matters come right at the top of that list.  When we have a family friend whose daughter's health is significantly compromised and you've shared the first part of the story, make sure you tell me how things resolve themselves.  If someone is undergoing dental surgery, let me know please because that CAN be serious.  I also would like to be informed about animal health because ... well, because I've met said animals and I care about their well-being.

Anyway, for all I'm told about, I still feel as tho' there is much to be shared.  I admit to not being known as "the open book" to my family but I believe I am getting better at that.  Hopefully the communication lines will not just continue to flow but to become more complete.