J I T

I come in contact with approximately 300-400 people a day. It's part of my job. I get to interact in their experiences and lives for "smatterings" of moments. Then there are probably another 100-200 people I know. These people are in my life for various reasons and I see them occasionally for diverse reasons. My close circle of people include about 25-30 people that I see or hear from on a daily or weekly basis. We either work together or are related. Then there are those very special friends that I hold dear to my heart. They are there when I need them. Time is not a constraint. Calling them at 3 in the morning is more than okay with them. And I know that even if they get upset with me, they still love me. Ruth is one of those people.

We first met when I started teaching kindergarten in a private school on the other side of our state. (That was in my other life) Her older daughter was in my first class. We were instant friends and have been for some 30 years. Even when I just see her name pop up in my personal e-mail box, it makes me smile.

Ruth is unique. She is intelligent, level headed, creative and so talented that she could have easily been a professional musician. I consider myself so blessed to call her my friend. We have been through a lot during these years - My divorce and remarriage to the same man; my parents illnesses and subsequent deaths; my first husband dying; her parents dying; me changing jobs several times; me moving to O-town; the marriage of both her daughters; her becoming a grandparent; my recent remarriage; and at the top of the list, her survival from breast cancer.

We have a survey that we do in my department. It's called "J I T" or Just In Time. It is a survey to capture something that our guests have just experienced and to get their reaction immediately after the event. Ruth is one of my "J I T" friends. She always calls or writes or visits Just In Time. She sent an email today to see if we can do dinner this Wed. We'll meet half way between our two places of living and get to spend some time yaking and catching up. But best of all, she will listen to all my "woes" and make me feel better while she listens. That is just what she does, and she does it well.

NEEDS V. WANTS

When does a "Want" become a "Need" or visa versa? Bob thinks I am high maintenance. When it boils right down to it, I'm actually not. I can't think of one thing that I actually need that I don't have. Wants? That's a different issue all together.

Probably at the top of my list of wants is my car detailed. It is such a nice car, but so filthy dirty right now. Of course, here in FL it is the rainy season and it doesn't make much sense to have detailing done this time of year, but when is a good time?

Another want is more energy. My "daughter" says that she has the remedy for all that ails me. I personally feel 2 weeks at the beach would cure anything.

Want No. 3 would be some new knee-high hose. I am down to my last pair and they look like cats have been fighting over them with all the snags and stretched areas.

World Peace and the end to World hunger fit somewhere in between on my list of wants. The list is usually short, depending on the time I have to think about it and when I actually verbalize it internally. My attention span varies depending on what type of meeting I am attending at the time.

So you see, I really don't NEED a lot of anything else, except, if someone were to donate a new dark blue Mustang convertible with a parchment colored top, I wouldn't turn it down. Oh and yes, make the interior leather, please.

HI HO; HI HO

It had to happen sooner or later - Bob went back to work today. This is the first day after his surgery. His doctor gave him two thumbs up for all his bloodwork. "Cancer Free" is a good thing to hear. Thanks to all who have offered prayers for us during this time. The hardest thing today was - Wiener was so confused. She IS almost over her PMSing, but was terribly disappointed that Bob was not here to play with her today. Even though I feed her, walk her, take her to the Vet, he is her favorite. Oh well. As you can see, she was so upset she had to go back to sleep. She has such a rough life.

A very close relative of mine (remember-no names) spent several hours with me Sat at the emergency room as I had another round with this stomach problem. I am so tired of this. I had to leave work, but all the tests were negative. The Dr said there was probably residuals from the "flu" that I had earlier in the week. (I'll spare you the gory details.) She gave me 2 shots to ease the pain and I finally woke up today and was able to function again. I don't remember what it was, but man it certainly worked. And, if you have to visit a hospital, my advice is Sand Lake Hospital on Turkey Lake Rd in Orlando, and Dr O'Brien is totally awesome. If she was in practice somewhere, I would DEFINITELY recommend her.

Today I had to have another set of bloodwork done - 3 in 2 weeks. My question - Where does all this blood go and why do they like mine better than any other person I know. It must be valuable! I think I'll start selling it. That would be a better way to make vacation money. On the other hand...

PMS

Any woman of age knows the symptoms of PMS-the pain; the aching; the "blahs." One thing you might never have been privileged to is observing a female dog "PMSing." I have never had a female dog before so this is all new to me, but I have learned a thing or two this week. A moaning, sighing, frantic dachshund is NOT PRETTY!!! If she were not in pain, it could also be considered comical.

She is laying on the top of our couch, upside down, with her head propped up on one of the cushions beside her. She also lays on her back with her head "dangling" over the back of the couch with her feet straight up in the air. She sighs. She moans. She snorts. She looks at me and rolls her eyes. In my "imaginative" mind, I can hear her saying - "Oh dear God. I am sooooo miserable. If I could only find the heating pad and my aspirin. But, I don't have thumbs so how would I get the lid off? Oh dear God. I'm in pain." And, then she sighs again!!!

I guess I need to get my old charts and graphs out and "teach her" all the facts she needs to know. Ah! The joys of being a woman.

Looking back

If Tom had lived until tomorrow, we would have celebrated our 41st anniversary. In some ways, it has been a very long time and in others, it has gone as quickly as the mist of a spray.

It was raining that night. Tom forgot to go by the florist and pick up my bouquet, so he had to call all over the area to find a florist still open and got me an orchid. It died within 3 days, before we came back from our honeymoon. We had gotten blue and white polka dotted sheets as one of our wedding presents and my mother had put them on our bed when she had left our apartment earlier in the day of our return. Tom went back to school and I went back to work.

We moved into an extremely large trailer park close to his school and I was working for a publishing company in downtown Nashville, TN. We worked; he went to school; we got to know each other better and it was great; for a while. It was his senior year and he wanted to leave Nashville to live in the mtns. I had lived in the mtns all my life. I loved Nashville. I had a great job. I didn't want to leave, but he applied for jobs all over NC, GA and FL and he was hired to teach band and chorus in a small-town high school in Jasper, GA. Some time during all of this "decision" making, I found out I was pregnant.

Life happened and then he died. And, now I'm remarried and live in "O-town" and work in a very magical place. I'm retired from teaching and my recent husband just went through cancer surgery.

There you have it. Except in 1972 while living in GA, at the height of some of the "most hostile days of my first marriage" I found out I was pregnant with our second son. I was remembering that today when we had lunch together. He is such a joy. He is his father's child with "smatterings" of me in him. I like to think he has the best traits from both of us. And, if the truth were told, I am probably closer to him than any other person on this earth. He knows me! And, he still loves me. That was soooo his father. How he turned out so well is only by the Grace of God. And I am so proud of him.

One day he will have to make decisions for my care. One day he may have to sign DNR papers for me. Or, one day, he may have to take care of the "arrangements" for this earthly body I have. I know I am in good hands with him.

God has been so good to me to allow me to have such wonderful men in my life. I am extremely blessed.

SOME PERKS; SOME SADNESS

One of the many perks of where I spend at least 4 out of 7 days, is that we are allowed to go "backstage" where many guests cannot go. One such trip was last Saturday. For our team builder, we toured one of the "fireworks" exhibitions backstage. Ordinarily, we are not allowed to take pictures backstage. But, our guide actually encouraged us to do so. Here is one taken on the top (mountain) of the exhibition. This was taken with my camera phone. (Aren't they great)

This week has been, on an emotional chart, an example of a grid that has spiked and sank all week long. We had a wonderful team builder at work. I had some very dear and close friends come to visit this area. Unfortunately, I was working and didn't get to spend much time with them, but they used to live here and can get around quite well by themselves. (Lucky for them) It is always great to see them and there is NEVER enough time to spend with them.

Another set of friends, not so close, lost their 5 year old daughter when she was backed over with their car by the older son. We just received an email from another sweet, loving family that is really dear to us and the husband is losing the functioning of parts of his heart. He had been on an experimental medication but had to quit taking it because it was making him nauseated. He is only in his 30s with a young 3-year old daughter who might never realize how much her earthly father loves her.

Sometimes I say to God, "Father. I really don't understand Your thinking. I can't even imagine why these horrible things are happening to such wonderful people, but I have to believe You are in control and I bend to Your understanding. That sounds like a "Cop Out." It's not. I have learned the hard way, sad to say, after struggling with many decisions and life experiences.

One of my "lean on" scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11-13 - "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper and for good. If you will seek me with your whole heart." That is where I am right now.

What do you say?

On Friday, we received word that the youngest daughter of a friend of ours was killed when her older brother backed out of their driveway. How do we comprehend this? We can't! Even with all the death that has transpired within my life in the last 8 years, I haven't any words to relate to how they must feel. This is when I say, "God. I just don't understand this."

They live in Nashville and we are not able to reach them at this time, but we can pray. Pray that God holds them tightly in His arms. Pray that God helps them to hold on. Pray that God reminds them that He is still in control. And, pray that He helps them to "do the next thing." That was what He told me when my husband died. "Don't try to look ahead to what you are to do, or try to figure out your life, or make any major decisions. Just do "The next thing." Some times that is just to breathe.

Old or Former Friends?

Every single day I interact with approximately 300 people. I love that aspect of my job. Occasionally, I even see people I know or have known some time during my life. This week was one of those times.

I was going to survey a couple standing in the shade. It's very warm here already, but I thought they looked familiar. The man was wearing a WV hat and shirt. I asked him if he was from Morgantown-home of West Virginia University. He said no he lived in a little town near Charleston. "Really" I said. "So what's the name of this little town." "You wouldn't know it." "Okay, but try me." It's called Belle, West Virginia." "No Way!" was my answer. He looked at me confused. I used to live in Belle ( I don't tell everyone that info) and went to DuPont High School. So I started to ask him another question, and his wife called me by my "maiden" name. And, her voice and demeanor allowed her maiden name just "JUMP" into my mouth. "Name Right?" (Remember I'm not using personal names any more) She shook her head yes. Wow! It really "IS" a small world.

This person is ABSOLUTELY the very last person I would have expected to see at our type of park. She was never one for "having fun" and apparently she still isn't. She said probably 3 words to me the 20 or so minutes I was standing there. Her husband, on the other hand, was very polite and started through the list of people that we both had once known. Most of them are either dead or in an assisted living place or maybe close to both at the same time. I'm not one to "reminisce" about old times that were not particularly that eventful or worth remembering, so I'm not really listening to all he is saying, but the look on her face was the very same one I remember as a child. "Condescending, snobby, almost even "bored out of her gourd" look.

Is this look supposed to convey something or she is just constipated, who knows, but it was so her. It could also be the fact that we constantly made fun of her as a child, or she never was very intelligent and I just can't handle stupid, I don't know. I just thought it was very "interesting" to see these people again, and they really hadn't changed much. Too bad. Life is too short to not enjoy your life.

Macho or Wimp?

There are only 2 types of men in this world-"Mr Macho" or "Mr. Wimpy", and some times they are both at the same time especially if they are sick.

As most everyone knows, Bob has just had major surgery. That in itself has proven to be a real challenge. I had to go back to work, or kill him. I thought it might be better on me to go back to work. I'm not sure yet if I chose wisely. I may still have to kill him. Why you ask?

He has had blood in his urine and one of his incisions is also seeping blood. Normally, this would be cause for concern, right? Not necessarily for Bob. In fact, he was a little upset with me for calling his Dr. After returning my call, the Dr said he needed to see Bob. I left work, raced home to take him and he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. After some "persuading" we went to the Dr and Bob has a urinary infection and needed some special care of his incision.

"So, in other words" I said to the Dr, "It was a good idea for us to come see you?" "Absolutely" was his answer. I turned and looked at Bob with that "See. I told you so" look that he really didn't want to see. Bottom line-He needs to take it easy.

Sometimes he doesn't think I know what I'm talking about. Little does he know - I'm the PRINCESS OF SURGERY. I only have necessary parts left and I should know all about taking care of yourself afterward. And now, do you think he will listen to what I have to say? Yeah. Sure. And if you believe that, I have some swamp land in South Florida for sale.

TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT-That is usually the question

There is this "old-fashioned" drive-in that Bob and I have talked about trying for some time. This week seemed like the right time. It was one of our favorite places when we were younger, we both agreed. And, we hadn't been able to understand why it wasn't crowded like we remembered. We found out.

I have reverted to my old adage - "It seemed like a good idea at the time." If there is one thing that really upsets me it is poor service. It is like being rude; there is no excuse for it. Our "waitress" was obviously either on drugs; needed drugs; or, just didn't care about how her attitude came across to us (the customer).

I ordered 2 #5s with 2 diet cokes (foot long hot dogs with chili, cheese, and onions, with fries). Seems pretty straightforward, right? Wrong!!! We got 3 hot dogs-not foot long; no fries and 2 drinks. I told her, "I only ordered 2 foot long hot dogs." "Oh." And she left. She came back with 2 foot longs; no fries, I reminded her that we also got fries with our order. "Oh." She left again. She came back with the fries and I thought everything was okay until Bob discovered that the drinks were root beers. (I ABSOLUTELY HATE ROOT BEER!!!) By this time, I was really upset but remained calm, and called her again. "We ordered diet cokes, and we got root beer. Could we have this changed?" Once again, "Oh." The hot dogs were mediocre, fries were cold, but the drinks had ice, when we finally got them.

Yesterday was better, but still not on target. At least the waiter was better. He just picked up the wrong order and delivered it to us. Not too bad, considering. And today, we actually got the food we ordered AND the person taking our order was pleasant. (We walked up to the counter and ordered) So, maybe by tomorrow we can go back to a restaurant, sit down and actually get what we ordered from a person with a half-way decent attitude. I really don't think that is too much to ask, do you?

WAHOO

We have just left the Dr's office-All clamps, tubes and other such apparatus have been removed and Bob is Cancer free, according to the biopsy. We are thanking God for this. He has to have a few more tests, but the Dr is very pleased with his progress and so are we. He's mobile and feels so much better.

Wiener, on the other hand, has missed quite a few naps since we have been home. She is getting "tiny, itty, bitty, little, bags" under her eyes and yawns constantly. I don't know. She can't function very well with only 18 hrs of sleep a day. She has to have her 23/7 or she just falls apart.

I am still not able to "multi-task" again yet. I'm trying to focus on just one thing at a time and that is all I can do right now, but it will get better, I'm sure. I am not back to work yet. I am thinking of staying off until next week, but then again, since Bob is getting crabby and that means he's getting better, I may have to go back to work just to keep from killing him or at the very least maiming him severely. (I think I need to take Wiener for a walk.)

DREAM JOB

Tasting all kinds of wondrous creations, experiencing familiar or new Epicurean delights is something I live to do. There is nothing like biting into a something new and savoring that first-time experience. I don't know-it just seems like something I'd like to do and get paid for doing.

Just like this morning, Bob "thought" breakfast would be a good idea. We went to a local restaurant; anticipating; mouth-watering; his first real "outing" since coming home from the hospital. And, what did we get?

The waitress was attentive. The menu was varied. The atmosphere was pleasant. We talked. We ordered. We waited. Coffee came and so did the "orange juice." Coffee was okay. The orange juice, on the other hand, was watery, tasteless, and not cold. It WAS orange colored, but that was as close as it got to being orange juice. Being a Floridian for almost 40 years, gives me the right to be selective in my "orange" flavored juice.

Two things in this area should ALWAYS be fresh-seafood and orange juice. There is no excuse for anything else, in my "humble" opinion. IF I HAD BEEN A FOOD CRITIC, I certainly would have not written a complimentary review of this establishment. Everything else, was fair to mediocre. I don't know whether the orange juice spoiled everything else, or I'm just being picky. Either way, I'm saving all my reviews for when I DO get that perfect job. You know - Food Critic for the Sentinel. I'm half way there. I'm already critical.

Sunday

Sunday once again. Bob and Wiener have slept most of the day, and, today, so have I. I DID cook dinner. Bob again wanted oats and toast for breakfast; soup/grilled cheese for lunch; and pork chops, etc. for dinner. That's about all I've done today. I guess everyone has to take a day off once in a while and today was my day. Bob has a Dr's appt on Wed, so I will take another day off then, but I'm expecting to get back to work on Thursday.

Bob's really doing well getting around. He hasn't been out yet, but we expect to do that tomorrow. We wanted to get out today, but I don't think either of us had enough energy to do that. I have seen more TV in the last few days than I have in the last 3 months. I usually don't have much time for anything extra. It's nice to know that some things stay the same-I haven't seen anything interesting on TV yet. I have been able to read some, which I love to do.

Wiener likes all the attention she is getting from both of us the last few days. She is truly an "Only Dog." I don't know where she was before, but I don't think she got much attention, or maybe not much "Positive" attention. She is terrified of the newspaper and when I reach down to pet her she flinches like she thinks I'm going to hit her. I don't even want to think about how she was treated, but she is definitely being spoiled now.

Tomorrow I must get on line and "go to ticket school." I paid my ticket, but you can now do the class on line and for me, that is the easiest way to do things right now. Bob likes to call me his "convicted felon wife." He rubs it in every chance he gets. I, on the other hand, think it's no big deal. Of course, if I don't take this class, it can become a big deal very quickly. To keep me out of the slammer, it's probably a good idea to complete it.

Life is interesting, to say the least. Bob says he wasn't sick until he met and married me. That isn't exactly true though-He just didn't go to the Dr before he met me. And, now he has me to take care of him. He's called some of his "working" guys to see how things are going. Same old; same old. He expects to be out about 4-6 wks. (He will be more than ready to go back.)

I have to make sure Wiener goes out one more time before she goes to bed. It's a rough life for her. For me too, I guess. So many naps; so little time.

Normal?

Normal is on a setting on your dryer, as far as I am concerned. Sommetimes I have trouble deciding what is normal and what is not. My "NORMAL" changes from time to time and right now CHAOS would be a step toward normal for me.

Things have quieted today, somewhat. I actually have time to blog without being in a hospital or waiting room. I took a long shower and haven't had a schedule all morning. Wahoo!

I DID go to the store. Antoinette had cleaned out the refrigerator. Little did I know, most of the stuff in there was waaaaaaaay beyond the recommended expiration date, so I had to procure more stuff to let rot. And, I actually cooked breakfast today. It was for me, but I cooked. Bob just wanted some instant oats and toast, I didn't get to cook for him, and Wiener eats mostly dry food.

Wiener and Bob have had their 30 minutes nap and both are getting restless. Someone needs to go out. Which one is it? I forget.

Time

The procedure went well; he's resting; Bob is home; Wiener is a happy camper now. But obviously, I have had waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on my hands because I have creatively come up with another list of things. This time, it is a list of things you probably DON'T want to hear come out of your Dr's mouth just before surgery:

10. Has anyone seen the scalpel?
9. What do you call that?
8. What procedure are we doing today?
7. Can I sit down and do this?
6. This doesn't look familiar.
5. Which way to the operating room?
4. Hurry. My tee time is in 20 minutes.
3. Let's see if I remember how to do this.
2. What's your name again?

and, last, but not least and my favorite,

1. Oops.

Yeah. It's time for me to go back to work.

Hospital

Another day; another hospital. One of my favorite people, is finally having his surgery today. It is 4:34 am. I feel like I've been hit by a MACK truck, and as I wait for my hot, green tea to brew, I'm drawn back to the day of his birth. (Shhhh! I'm not supposed to mention anyone in my blog any more.)

I was more than ready to have this little person out. According to the schedule, we arrived at the hospital, was admitted, got a room, I threw up, all normal procedures, right? I'm preped and as we are going toward the elevator, his dad says, "What if it's not a girl?" This pregnancy was so different, I was convinced that I was having a girl. We had no boy name in mind.

"What about AB? (His uncle's name) No name; just initials. "No. I don't want just initials!" "What about Abraham Benjamin?" "No. I don't like Abraham as a name!" Me this time - "What about _______ Benjamin?" I had had an previous boyfriend by that name. "Who are you naming him after?" Tom was concerned. "After my brother." "Oh. In that case, okay." And that was how I first knew his name.

He's a lot like my brother-very intelligent; his own person; and I love him with all my heart. I have stood beside his little bed when he had childhood illnesses. I have stood beside his bed when he had his tonsils out. And, once again I will be standing by his hospital bed and that scares me a little. He is one of the most important people to me and I can't even imagine my life without him. I pray I won't have to.

Crazy or Not Crazy?.

Devising a test for determining whether you are crazy or not is one of the things you can do at 3 am and you're just laying around with nothing else to do but listen to machines make weird noises. With all my inert creativity, I think I have come up with a few ways of making the determination:

1. If you come to a hospital expecting to get some sleep, you might consider therapy for a few months.
2. If you think everything is going well just because the nurse hasn't been in for 6 minutes, it might be time to press the medication button.
3. If you think the north wind blowing on your head is actually coming from outside, you might need a reality check.
4. If you think a helicopter landing on the roof is routine, you might rethink your vacation spot for next year.
5. If you think the SMELL of rubbing alcohol is intoxicating, you need some fresh air from outside.
6. If someone in a white lab jacket smiles at you and you think they're being friendly, you might want to check to see if they have a needle in their hand.
7. If you can't remember if you drove today or took a bus, you might want to give the orange ticket you have in your hand to the nice man downstairs and he will find your car for you.
8. If there is a growling noise somewhere in the room and you can't seem to find the origin, you might want to visit the vending machines down the hall.
9. If you feel like you were born in the clothes you are wearing, you might want to go home and shower and burn that clothing.

and last but not least,

10. If you want to stay for another few days "just to deepen your tan", you might want to consider yourself certifiably crazy,

or you might just be in the hospital watching someone you love trying to get over surgery.

Exhaling

It's 9 PM and as I sit here beside my husband, who is hooked up to countless wires and tubes, I am once again reminded how fragile this thing we call "LIFE" can really be. We are at M D Anderson Hospital in Orlando and Bob's surgery is now over, we are finally in a room, and the nurse is checking his vitals.

The Dr WAS able to do laparoscopic surgery, which is a good thing. It's less invasive, less recovery time, less pain and bleeding, and just easier on the patient. There is only one machine in this area, or so the Dr made it sound, and so it had to be scheduled. Our time was 1:00. He went in at 1:08 and came out around 5:30. Like the "SS Minnow" it was supposed to have lasted 3 hrs, but it took a little longer.

I talked with the dr for about 20-30 minutes and he assured me that it was a "textbook" operation. Everything went "perfectly", there was minimal blood loss and the cancer was contained. He did send some nodes to the lab for biopsies, just to be safe, but he said it was only standard procedure and anticipated nothing cancerous. What a relief.

THIS IS THE WAITING ROOM, WHERE I SPENT MOST OF THE DAY.

And to all my friends and prayer partners, I say thanks. Bob has never had nor does he know what to think at times with all the support I have in my life. Vicki and Liz (the other 2 stooges) came over and spent the day with me. Vicki's father just had emergency open heart surgery at ORMC, where we had Bob's surgery, and "Billy" is on the 7th floor, so it was a two-fold visit, but they spent most of the day with me in the 4th floor waiting room. (That is another blog experience) Since Bob's surgery involved cancer, they moved him into the next building (M D Anderson section) which is the hospital that works with cancer patients. We are in a "Hospital Suite" which to me is an oxymoron but it is more spacious than a regular room, it is private, and I get to stay with him tonight. They even have a Murphy bed for me to use.

I HAVE decided one thing-It's much easier being the patient than being the "Waitee." Next time, I'm having the surgery, not matter what!

INEVITABLE

There are times that you just wish you could crawl in a nice dry cave somewhere and just hide out. Lately I have been feeling that way lately.

With Bob's surgery pending in just 2 days, He very graciously took Sun, Mon, Tues as vacation days so we could spend some quality time together. I woke up yesterday feeling nauseated and dizzy. It progressed to "full-blown" upset stomach and continued through today. I was supposed to go to an "Avalon" concert with "a close relative" last night and I even had to cancel that. I'm trying to stay away from Bob, as far as possible, so I can't "give him anything" if it is contagious, and so it goes. Poor "Wiener". I keep waking her and she isn't getting her 23 hrs a day sleep that she desperately needs. Right now she is "sacked" out on the couch "trying" to catch a few winks. It's hard being her.

So far today, I haven't tolerated ginger ale, but dry toast and hot tea have managed to ... So, we'll see what happens.

I had an appointment to have my car serviced early today so I had to go out for that. Good news. It's only going to cost about $1800 to replace the window in my convertible top. Obviously, that isn't going to happen any time soon, but in actuality, the car dealership just called and the service has been done and my car is ready to go. So, I'll have to make another trip out.

Where is a good cave when you need one?

Paperwork Again?

For anyone who has had surgery recently, if the surgery doesn't kill you, the paperwork or pre-operation activities will. We have visited so many doctors, filed so many papers, and jumped through so many hoops, it makes me tired to think about it much less have done it.

This week alone, we have visited two doctors, 3 medical centers, and filled out so much paper we must have killed at least 50 trees. We found out on Monday that Bob had to "bank" 1 pint of blood for his surgery. This had to be done at least 1 week before surgery, so it had to be done by Wednesday, which meant Tuesday because we both work on Wednesday. The scheduler was out of the office until Thursday, so we had to go get the paperwork, go to the blood bank and wait until they could take us. Bob had to be fasting; it didn't open until 9 and we didn't get through until after 12; he had not eaten, and I had a Dr's appt around 1. So, it was probably close to 3 by the time we finished everything and went to eat. Bob was nauseated and very light headed. The paper work they gave us with all the information was old and none of the numbers were in working order. It turned out, after going through several agencies and 411, we found out the local office of the blood bank was about 2 miles from our apartment, not downtown like the paperwork indicated.

Just to get off today for his pre-op procedures, I can't even begin to remember what all we have done. He DID get to eat before hand this time, so it wasn't so hard on him physically, but we spent all morning at the office and filled out even more paperwork. Bob said they tested so many parts of his body-some he didn't even know he had.

Try to coordinate time off between two different places of work, not to mention getting all the paper work in for the surgery. What a nightmare. Our company works with 3 different scheduling programs that do not talk to each other and Bob's primary work company uses 1 program and deals with 2 or 3 different departments. We also have had to apply to 2 different Federal Programs and 2 insurance companies. If the aliens who bombed the twin towers had to have dealt with all the people and paperwork we have, they would have given up before they could have gotten any where.

We finally got home some time after 2 and we both collapsed from exhaustion. I slept for several hours and finally got up to do some laundry. KFC seemed like a good idea. "Someone" came over and had dinner with us. It was good to see him. He's been on a cruise and brought back presents. (Always nice) He probably knows what I like better than anyone else and I always love his presents. I got a silver Mayan cartouche with my name on it; Bob got a cruise-line t-shirt.

Wed is the "big" day. I plan to spend the night with Bob after the surgery. One of the problems that we had not thought of was "What to do with Wiener." I finally figured out that the lady who cleans our apartment and keeps my life on an even keel can come and clean that afternoon and give the dog "potty" breaks, and a friend is going to stay all night here. I should be home some time on Thursday, if all goes well. We have a lot of people around the country praying for us at this time. It's great to have friends who are close enough to be concerned with all that happens in my life. I don't know what I'd do without them.