Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Saturday, January 25, 2014

worn out

Dad had some major surgery this week. He needed to have a parathyroid gland removed. This would normally have been outpatient surgery, easy peasy, but dad's parathyroid had detached from the thyroid and had migrated to the middle of his chest. They had to saw through his sternum and open up 4 ribs to get at it. Surgery went very well. Normally split-pea sized, his was closer to kidney bean size, and the benign adenoma was confirmed, and his calcium levels seem to have normalized post-surgery. The bad part is that dad's reward for making it through surgery is to get to go back to chemo. But he made it through surgery. We're all relieved about that.

It was a long few days at the hospital. I was extremely anxious and emotional on Tuesday before the surgery. And spending three more days with him was exhausting, especially since I am super OCD about germs when it comes to my dad and was constantly cleaning every surface with wipes and making dad wash his hands at every opportunity. Because with his already compromised immune system due to so many rounds of chemo, the flu or pneumonia is especially scary. And hospitals are great places to pick up a bad cold or worse.

His 70th bday is coming up in a couple of months. Have to think of something really fun to do to celebrate.

Monday, June 17, 2013

18 days, 15 states, 3700 miles

The main reason that 2013 was dubbed "The Year of Stupid" was my decision to sign up for a 70.3 before I'd done a single triathlon. Stupid. Not only did I sign up for this massive race, I did so in a state very far away, requiring a lengthy drive (or plane ticket and the cost to ship my bike). As long as I was driving to NC, why not visit my friends and family up the east coast too? Stupid. So began the road trip to end all road trips.

Here was my route:


Stops included:
  1. Champaign, IL
  2. Columbus, OH
  3. Durham, NC
  4. Washington DC
  5. Shrewsbury, MA
  6. Tenafly & Leonia NJ
  7. Toledo, OH

I hardly took any pictures on my trip. I decided I'd rather be in the moment than behind a lens. And it was incredible.

I had a rough year at work, and I needed to "run away" for a while. This trip ended up being exactly what I needed - not so stupid after all.

Hoping the rest of summer can continue to help me recover from the year and get if not excited, at least ready, for next year.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

retirement

Usually, thinking about retirement means for major stress. As in, I'm never going to be able to afford to do it. Probably the stress will kill me before I hit retirement age anyway.

But tomorrow, it's not about me and my retirement. I'm headed to my folks tonight so I can sit in on my dad's LAST class tomorrow morning. After 37+ years working at the same college, he's teaching his last course. Well, it isn't really his last course because he's pretty sure he'll want to teach again in some capacity somewhere. But the point is, he doesn't have to.

Congrats on an amazing career, influencing the lives of countless college students.

Happy retirement Dad!
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