stuff

So I figured I should give an update on Mom's condition, for those of you kind enough to read this blog and care about such things. :-)

She's doing better, much to my shock. I truly thought, as did most of my family, that she would never recover. I'm not saying I believe she will fully ... not by a long shot ... but she's definitely showing a determination to hang on. After much debate over pain maintenance, she was put on Oxycontin, and it's working wonders. She's been sitting up in the chair for extended periods, participating in physical therapy to get her legs back in functional order, and has even started making bathroom trips herself, using a walker for assistance. Big steps, most assuredly. I spoke with her yesterday, and she sounded more like herself than she has in a month. She has a tenacity by which I am both inspired and baffled. I honestly don't know where it comes from ...
There have been rumbles of a release within a week or so, but that brings more concern because I just can't see Dad handling her needs on his own. My sister Nancy is there for a while, but she'll have to go home at some point. It's the long-term considerations I keep mulling over. The cart before the horse, I suppose.

Work continues to be a challenge, as well. I was asked to stay ... and because nothing else was presenting itself, I accepted. There are days when I genuinely enjoy what I'm doing, and then there are days when I'd rather be anywhere else on the planet. I'm sure that's not an emotion exclusive to me ... but I'm having more of the "anywhere else on the planet" days than the other kind lately. The stress of my insane job on top of the stress with Mom is weighing heavily on me. Thank God, again, for Xanax.

As I always do when faced with "life," I've turned to music a lot lately to help ease the stress. I've turned to alcohol, too, but that's another entry. Hehe. I've found particular strength and joy in the music of Patty Griffin. If you haven't heard it already, do yourself a favor and get her Impossible Dream CD. I love the song "Top of the World" so much I can't even tell you. And "Cold As it Gets" is sheer brilliance. She should be a huge star.

In anticipation of the big-screen adaptation, I recently re-read Tom Perrotta's Little Children. I love that book. It's not exceptional literature or anything, and I'm sure my fascination with it stems mostly from what I was dealing with in my own relationship the first time I read it, but I devoured it on the second read. I feel like I know every single one of the characters in my everday life. I could have done without all the football stuff, but the rest of it just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. The film has an excellent cast (Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, Patrick Wilson) and it's definitely one I'm very much looking forward to seeing.