And The Beat Goes On...

Life is now returning back to normal and I am feeling much, much better. In fact, Dad was discharged on Tuesday, and now he's home at my house, just hangin' out like a cool cucumber and healing. Well, he's a cool cucumber unless his alma mater football team loses. And lucky for him, the University of Oregon creamed the USC Trojans over the weekend. Normally, I don't pay super close attention to college sports, but I'm a good daughter, which means that I was, I think, born a default Oregon Ducks fan. And that means I probably live on the wrong coast, as I'm more excited about Pac-10 (or I guess now it's Pac-12) action than most people who live on the East Coast.

So after I updated here on what was the 2nd of 2 very difficult post-op days, he became more and more himself again as the drugs wore off and the pain lessened and they took out all of those bulky monitors. Even if temporary and to be "expected" after that kind of surgery, it was one of the most stressful experiences I've ever had. But now Dad is already talking about going back into the classroom to teach his two classes next semester, and he can hardly wait for January to roll around. I'm sure he'll be itching to get back behind the wheel in no time, so I hope the surgeon lifts that restriction by early December.I just hope he's compliant with all of his post-op care instructions.

Wish me luck--after my sister leaves this weekend, my parents will stay on for a couple more weeks at my house, taking us up to Thanksgiving. I'd never even question doing it, of course--caregiving for your parents goes without saying. But boy, it's sure an interesting dynamic to spend this type of time with your parents as an adult. But I do savor this time together though, especially because I have to assume now that unless UVA's financial/budget situation undergoes a miraculous improvement, there will not be any permanent openings beyond my post-doc.....and I will likely have to look beyond Charlottesville for a permanent (or at least my next) job.

My caregiving goes beyond seeing to it that my dad recovers. My mom has to take care of herself, too, and although I probably haven't said it here, I worry a lot that she's tired and stressed, but always puts herself last and gives so much of herself to everyone else. Is that a "mom thing"? Does that come with the territory of being female? being a mother? being a wife? Is it a personality thing that some people are so selfless that they put everyone else first and neglect themselves? I think that on some level it's a combination of all of those things.

Life is fine, the beat goes on, I'm trying to recover and take care of myself, too. I'm sure there are other updates but work beckons for now. What I will leave you with is this: after searching high and low, I have FINALLY found the perfect pair of tall sexy black boots. Not an easy task when you do not have a lanky Northern European build, but are instead of my ethnic heritage, which means petite or compact. It's an even harder task when you are also unhappy with your body shape and a higher number on the scale than you're used to.

The bottom line is I love these boots, and felt so great in them when I wore them to give a guest lecture at the university last night!