The Week Ahead

I'm sitting at the desk in my office, all 3 animals within 5 feet of my person, enjoying fresh air and a quiet house while Claire is babysitting and James is at the grocery store with Landon and Cora. I'm supposed to be clearing out my work inbox - and I have made great progress on that front, taking 562 emails down to 87, but I'm also thinking of the week ahead.

Tomorrow I'm having surgery. A uterine ablation and tubal ligation, hoping to fix years of issues that all stem from the same biological system that I am done using. It's outpatient, but a couple hours long, and I'll have stitches I won't be able to bandage because my skin is allergic to absolutely everything, as well as instructions to rest. I was supposed to fly to New York on Tuesday for work but my doctor looked at me like I'd lost my mind so I canceled that trip. I'm very bad about minimizing medical procedures. I am going to New York the week after but I didn't tell her that. I fear the potential disapproval of an authority figure more than any actual problems she might be able to identify by knowing about my travel. This is being an oldest girl child people pleaser at 40. I'm unlikely to change now.

Anyway, I'll be home sometime tomorrow afternoon and confined to the couch with the cats and Netflix and my emotional support work laptop nearby for comfort.

My doctor told me I can't exercise for two weeks, which is a bummer because I have gone SIXTY STRAIGHT DAYS of working out every single day and this will decidedly break that streak. But she said I can walk, so I will for sure be doing that as soon as possible. I know from my c-sections and other surgeries over the years that careful movement is so important for healing and luckily, it's no longer hotter than Hades outside and I have a beautiful lake to walk along nearby.

On Wednesday we are driving to San Antonio for my grandfather's funeral. I did tell my doctor about that and she said it was "probably fine" as long as I'm not the one driving. Luckily I have never, ever driven a single mile on a family road trip, so that won't be a problem. I'm giving the eulogy at his memorial service on Thursday and that is going to be very hard. I am so honored to do it, and genuinely very happy to, but writing it was hard. Speaking it is harder. I've practiced and practiced so that I can hopefully get through it all without breaking down, but we'll see. I'm getting closer.

We drive back home after his military buriel service Thursday evening because the kids have to get back in school and Claire has a medical specialist appointment we booked two months ago and can't move. On Saturday, Cora has a soccer game and Landon and James have a swim meet. On Sunday, Cora turns TEN (how? no. what? NO.) and goes to the same swim meet as the boys and then we're hosting her party at the house at 3.

And the next week I go to NYC and Houston. The week after that, it's back to NYC but this time it's a family trip to spend Thanksgiving break in the city and I cannot WAIT. Landon and Cora have never been to New York (Claire went two summers ago with her theater class) and James hasn't been since we went together in 2004 after I got into NYU and Columbia law schools and we thought we'd move there. (Then he got transferred to Chicago for the job he already had and I got my acceptance letter to the University of Chicago, and I was like, oh your company will pay for our move? sure I'll go to this school I've never seen in a city I've never been to, and it worked out great!).

Side note, we went out last night to belatedly celebrate James's birthday and made the wonderful and expensive discovery that the big kids love sushi.

Also Maggie went to two medical specialists last week: an allergist on Monday and a dentist on Wednesday and she now has biweekly allergy shots because she's allergic to all life on earth (up to and including cats) AND had 11 teeth pulled because her mouth was full of inflamed broken teeth from her beginnings at the puppy mill, something that makes my heart hurt, and we spent more money in three days on our dog than an entire year of my in-state college tuition. But she's worth it. And I get to give her the allergy shots and briefly pretend to be the veterinarian my 3rd grade self imagined I'd be.

Bonus, she's already feeling so good and her mouth no longer smells like dead fish.

Anyway, it's a lot. If anyone has any fun TV series recommendations let me know. I finished our family photo books last month (did I already mention that? Because it was a great personal victory for me), so I can just watch ridiculous TV while on my pain meds tomorrow. I already accidentally watched all of Selling Sunset Season 7 (and Love is Blind Season whatever this one was that wasn't any good), but recommendations along those lines-- the kind of show that James would normally never watch but he can't complain about because SURGERY, would be great.