One benefit (and probably the only one) of being so busy at work the past few months is that I still have time off I need to use before the end of the year. I decided that yesterday would be one of those days, and I looked forward to a much-needed quiet day to myself. I considered making an appointment to get my nails done, something just for me, and I daydreamed of lounging on the couch, tucked under a blanket, reading a book, beckoning the servants to bring me another fruity drink…okay, I got carried away. But I was really looking forward to a day off and a day all to myself.
I got up early with my husband, then headed to the gym while he went to work. I managed to run a little over two miles on the treadmill and was really proud of myself for getting back at it. Bonus points for not dying.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, my husband kept me updated on my younger stepson, the one who recently had knee surgery. Any information we receive about the kids is sketchy at best, percolated through multiple layers of bullshit, details skimmed off, facts stretched and manipulated and occasionally completely fabricated. As the day progressed, it became apparent that what had been presented as a simple doctor visit and procedure was actually quite a bit more serious.
We headed to the hospital, found the surgery waiting room, and took a seat, not realizing it would be home-sweet-home for the next five freakin’ hours. I realize patients are observed after surgery, but not for five hours, for Pete’s sake. My husband offered his keys so I could just drive home, then come back for him later, but I decided to stay with him.
While everyone else in the waiting room made out with their cell phones and drooled onto their precious screens, my husband and I found the crossword puzzle from a newspaper sitting nearby and filled that out. He loves crossword puzzles and knows the most obscure words. One clue was something about the Egyptian word for something or other, and my husband nodded his head like it was the most elementary thing ever and scribbled the word into the appropriate little squares. How the heck does someone even know that?
I read about 10,000 magazines, took a walk around the hospital, almost took a nap against my husband’s arm, and still we sat. Then sat some more. Finally, we were told that my stepson had a hospital room, and we rushed there to wait some more, but by then, all of us were pros at sitting, waiting, and restraining ourselves from leaping up and bellowing “For the love of God and all that is holy, what the flying hell is taking so long?”
He waved at us as his bed was rolled up the hallway and into the room. I thought he would be groggy and sleepy, but he seemed pretty alert, talking to us, making jokes. It was a relief to see him and know for sure that he was okay, although I didn’t like the idea of him sleeping alone in a hospital room. Knowing hospitals’ reputations for waking someone up on an hourly basis all night, though, I knew he would be checked on very frequently! So my husband and I hugged him good-bye and left to let him rest as best he could.
So my day off wasn’t exactly what I had planned. That’s okay. It was important to be there for my stepson and to wait with my husband, who would still be sitting there this morning if he had to, just to make sure my stepson was okay.
Back to the grind today. I completely forgot about a meeting this morning, or our Christmas party at work this afternoon, so it’s been hectic since I walked in the door. Is it time for my next day off yet?
Sweat & Sparkle 