Greetings from San Diego

Well, here we are in week two of our vacation. I've touched base with mom almost every night since we have left and I am just now starting to feel the fatigue of the last couple of months lifting. Just in time to get on a red eye on Wednesday and fly into Detroit at 5:00 am. Wheee - at least I can sleep in almost any moving vehicle. Poor Geoff will have been awake for nearly 24 hours when we do get home.

Don't get me wrong - hotels are great and I am enjoying being on vacation. I have managed to reduce my compulsive e-mail checking to an average of once a day and I haven't spent more than an hour answering messages since we arrived in LV last week. Mom has been doing her best to sound upbeat and comfortable, but I will be happy to get back and help share the responsibility of spending time with her. My brother has been shouldering all of that for the past week and a half and I really admire the way he has stepped up.

Mom is still in the hospital, but she thinks that her care team is really working to have her go home soon. Her hemoglobin has increased, which means that her bone marrow is returning to normal and she doesn't sound like she's nearly in as much pain as she was in right after her third surgery. The poor dear has been in the hospital since February 25. She's had a triple bypass, an abraidment of her chest wound, and a muscle flap to fill in the gap between her sternum from where the bone infection wore away her bone. It's been a long 6 weeks and I can't imagine what it's been like for her.

Geoff and I did discuss not going, or delaying our trip, or even just having him go for his conference here in San Diego. Mom wouldn't hear of it. I am glad she insisted we go, I was starting to feel the stress and I knew it would only get more intense as time went on. Geoff's sister is staying at our house during the vacation to watch after the pets. I wasn't able to get the house as cleaned up as I would like, but when the time came to leave, there wasn't anything I could do but apologize and get on the plane.

When all is said and done, I can't help but be grateful for so many things - the love and support of family, the ability to wash my own hair and take a shower, the finanacial ability to take a two week vacation (partially sponsored by work). I know that when I get back there will still be mountains of paperwork to sort through and tons of chores to get done, but I think I will be better centered for this time off.

^_^