Not-So- Black Friday

I overslept on Black Friday!!

I had every intention of being out the door at 5:30am (actually late for me) to be at the one and only store I planned on hitting on Black Friday. I spent the better part of the after-dinner-evening on Thanksgiving going through all the ads with the other crazy women in my family. I spent an unspeakable amount of time on Wednesday looking at online ads. I had my plan and I was only going to one store. I even amazed myself.

Too bad I was on call Thanksgiving night and got called in twice. I got home at 5:00am and decided I would lay my head down on the couch for 30 minutes to get a second wind. An energizing nap if you will. Brian woke me up at 8:00am.

Ahhh!! The store opened at 6:00am!! Brushed my teeth, made some coffee, kissed Caleb and got to the store at 9:00.

Distaster.

Almost everything I wanted was gone and the store looked worse than a Kansas trailer park after a tornado. I did get a few things but it was not nearly as productive as it should have been. I didn't even shop the rest of the mall, I just went home.

I also had every intention of cleaning the house so I could Christma-fy it. I almost always put up the tree and redecorate for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. Done with turkey? Game on Santa. But after cleaning and lack of sleep I was so exhausted that I didn't decorate at all. This Thursday... I promise.

A Day of Togetherness?

Holidays at the hospital make me sad. Hospitals don't close and someone will be here on those days. Nurses, techs, secretaries, doctors and therapists will be here taking care of sick people instead of sharing the day and making memories with their families. I'm sad for them.

On the other hand, we all (ok most of us) got into the medical field because we want to help, we want to serve, and we want to know that we made a difference for someone. That doesn't change because it happens to be Christmas.

And it's really important that those people are working because the ER tends to be very full on holidays. Mostly elderly people. Two reasons why the elderly come to the hospital on a holiday: 1 They are especially lonely without their spouse on a day of togetherness. 2 Their family doesn't want to deal with them. And this what makes holidays at the hospital the saddest.

People who don't want to keep an eye on Grandma Betty with dementia during dinner or listen to Grandpa Joe tell the same story 6 times bring them to the ER. Trust me, we'll find something wrong with your 88 year old Great Aunt Ethel and admit her. You're off the hook.

They get left here and we get to take care of them while you enjoy your festivities. Don't worry, our cafeteria serves turkey and all the fixin's on Thanksgiving so Grandma won't be missing anything. And if you're the type of person who dumps their elderly family off at the hospital on a holiday I guarantee we'll take better care of her.

So whether they get left here or come in because they're lonely we're here, 24 hours a day seven days a week including holidays. We'll take care of them, keep them company, listen to their stories, give them a hot turkey dinner, decorate their room with ornaments, and sing carols. We'll make sure they know that someone cares about them when they're loved ones aren't around. Sometimes they tear up and squeeze your hand while they say "God bless you, thank you." And that makes me happy.

I'm Blessed To Have Known Her

It's never easy when a loved one passes away. I never realized how hard it would be when someone else's loved one passed, though.

My best friend's mother passed away over the weekend. She was diagnosed with an inoperable form of cancer in September and was placed in Hospice care a little over a week ago. I'm not sure anyone was prepared for how quickly she declined. After of a few days at home she decided she didn't want to take her medications anymore or be on oxygen. Saturday afternoon at 3:38pm EST Robinn took her last breath and left this painful world.

I wasn't exceptionally close to her, but as the mother of my best friend of the last 17 years Robinn has been a very present light in my life. She was there when I graduated high school. She saw me get married, she held my son before my own mother did when he was just days old.

My heart aches for my friend as she goes through such a difficult time. It's killing me to not be back in Michigan with her. She's my best friend, I should be there crying with her. Although we both live in California we are two hours apart and now she is across the country with her family. I haven't even hugged her and I can't be there for her right now. All I can do is tell her I love her and it seems so small. The more I think about it, though, she's probably hugged out and cried out and I think I'm the one that needs the hug from her.

The funeral is Wednesday, followed by a series of holidays that will be drastically different forever without Robinn's smile. I pray for peace for her family and strength to make it one day at a time.

Do They Make Jet Propelled Rocket Shoes Yet?

This week is going to go by incredibly fast. Tomorrow is the ball, plus dropping off the dog, picking up the babysitter and driving 3 hours to get there. Then we're there over night.

Sunday we drive three hours home, drop off the babysitter, pick up the dog, then dinner and the day is over.

Monday I'm working. Tuesday I'm working. Wednesday I'm working.

Thursday is Thanksgiving. I love spending the whole day at my dads house with my whole crazy family but nothing productive will get done.

Friday I plan on doing some Black Friday shopping, putting up my tree, and making my whole house look like Santa threw up. I love Christmas.

Saturday I'm working, which is really like my Monday since that is the start of my 5 day work week. Throw in a birthday party that week too (note that the above plans do not include purchasing a gift, when do I do that?)

Then it's November 29 (so it might as well be December) and I still haven't gotten a hair cut, gone grocery shopping, used my groupon for a mani/pedi that expires on Nov 23 or even thought about my Christmas cards or online gift shopping for out of state family.

Is it New Year's yet? I'm exhausted.

Smell The Color Nine

It's been a rough week. For a lot of reasons. My brain is just all over the place and I can't concentrate.

I'm not kidding. It took me 15 minutes to write those three sentences and one of them is a fragment. So let me just bullet point some good things that I can focus on:

I discovered Trader Joe's soy chocolate ice cream sandwiches. It's taking everything I have not to eat the whole box.

Christmas is EVERYWHERE! I love it

Starbucks has BOGO holiday drinks right now

My niece is on her high school swim team and got sixth in the state for her division! Go Sam!

The Marine Corps Ball is this weekend. I get to wear a fancy dress and take 2 days off work

I finally got my eyebrows done. I feel like a new woman.

Thanksgiving is close and I'm ready for family time.

There's so much more to write about but it needs to wait until I can gather my thoughts. Thanks for your patience.

Who Get's An MRI Of Their Thumb?

I just got an email from my mom that she had surgery. A month ago. Huh? It wasn't major, she tore a ligament in her thumb and had out patient surgery to reattach it.

Still. My mom had surgery and she didn't tell me. No one told me.

I know I'm "all the way on the West coast" but I have a phone. And e-mail and facebook and texting and skype. Seriously. It's 2012. The only reason it should have taken a month for me to know that my mother injured herself and needed surgery is if the information was written with a quill pen and sent by covered wagon.

At the same time... it was her thumb. It's not like she had her spleen removed. She's in good spirits, even made sure her nail polish coordinated with her cast color. Her second cast was green. I always thought green nail polish looked like a bad fungus. But if anyone can pull it off, it's my mom.

Universe 1, Kelly 0

I woke up on the couch because Caleb wouldn't go back to bed last night. The night before was the same only I waited out his tantrum for an hour. Last night I just didn't have it in me and we ended up on the couch.

I woke up while Brian was flying around the house trying to get ready. I needed up anyway to shower and get the dog to the groomer. In the middle of my shower Caleb yells "potty!" so out I come, dripping wet running down the hallway trying to hold up a towel so I can get him to the potty. We made it.

Breakfast was a fight. Brushing teeth was a fight. Getting dressed was a fight. Finally Caleb and I are both ready. The plan: Drop the dog off at the groomer and hit Costco while we wait. I've got the list, extra clothes for Caleb, I covered my car seat with sheet to minimize dog hair, travel mug of coffee in hand. Locked the house up and buckled Caleb in his seat only to realize I forgot the dog.

We made it to Costco and wandered around killing time. I only needed chicken but I wanted to get it last to minimize the time it wasn't refrigerated. I got 17 other things I didn't need and the groomer called. We got all checked out and to the car, putting everything in the trunk when I realized I forgot the chicken. Back inside we went.

Caleb fell asleep before we got back to the groomer. 10 minutes. He woke up when we got there. That will be his nap for the day.

A portion of a major road on my commute back home was closed so we followed a very.slow. line of cars through a winding side street detour. There were police directing traffic but 'Im not sure how much they were helping. It reminded me of trying to get home after the fireworks in Michigan. It took me 30 minutes to go 2 miles.

Caleb spilled his fruit pouch all over his last clean pair of pants and had to sit in it until we got home. I forgot to put dinner in the crockpot before we left. A political activist knocked on my door. Oh, and Brian shaved Caleb's head last night while I was shopping. I quit.