Sorry I haven't written you in awhile. There has been soooooo much going on. Too much. Let me start with the good news though...
THE BOOT GETS THE BOOT
I am out of the walking boot! I'd been wearing it on my left foot/leg for achilles tendonitis for two weeks, which is what the physical therapist suggested. It came off Saturday, and I immediately went for a walk. That's probably not what I was supposed to do. I also didn't ice it or elevate it enough, or stay off it as much as I should have. At any rate, it feels much better.
I am in no hurry to start back running just yet. There are too many other things at the moment, and I'd like to strengthen it a bit first. There is no timetable, but I'd guess another few weeks or months anyway.
KICKING THE BUCKET (NOT)
My dad has been in the hospital since Wednesday with COVID-19. First he was in ICU, now he is just laying in a bed getting as much morphine as is allowed. He is waiting to die. Or, maybe I should say, the rest of us are waiting for him to die.
I don't mean to sound morbid or uncaring, but he's 88 years old, suffers from dementia, is confined to a wheelchair, has lived in a nursing home for almost a year, and his organs are to the point they will not recover. What no one can figure out is why he hasn't died yet. He hasn't eaten for a week! He has always been a stubborn son-of-a-bitch.
So, we've been hanging out at my mom's, killing time... and waiting. I think every day since Wednesday night they've thought he could go "at any moment." Fortunately our nephew is his doctor, and he is doing a splendid job keeping us updated and assuring us he is resting comfortably. It's probably the most peaceful the old man has ever been in his life. That's likely why he's hanging on.
TRIP HOME
As I said, the two of us headed to Buda Thursday late-morning. We didn't want my mom to be alone when she received the news, or while she waited. I don't think any of us expected it to last this long. We were kind of hoping my sister could come down from Minnesota, since she has no real reason not to, but she has issues of her own.
I went ahead and came back to the Fort yesterday so I could work. Jane can work remotely to do 'necessary' things, and she also gets paid time off. I do not have either of those options. Plus... I was starting to feel things close in a bit. I'm just not comfortable in a house full of people, and I can't take the near-constant phone ringing and people-stopping-by stuff. My mom gets more phone calls, messages, and visitors in a day than I get in an entire year! So... Jane stayed with my mom, Carrie was there a couple days, Isaac is to arrive tonight, and... who knows, my sister may yet show up someday. I imagine I will be heading back that way in a day or so for the funeral. But I thought that five days ago...
ENFORCING THE MASK MANDATE
Perhaps the worst part of all is... today we started enforcing a strict mask mandate at work. As the front desk person it is my job to make sure everyone entering the building - for my workplace as well as the other two business in our building - has a mask or face covering. I am not to allow them in if they don't.
Ugh. I so hate confrontation. I fear I will either cower under and just not be able to do it, or I'll completely go off on somebody. Fortunately it was slow today and I only had to say something to a few people. Only two were jerks - one more so than the other - AND NEITHER OF THEM WERE EVEN MEMBERS OF THE Y! Go figure.
I don't like this. Oh, I know why it needs to be done. I think it should have been done from the start. But no one will just say so, or offer any direction whatsoever - other than to say, "Now, you need to be nice..." Fuck that! I don't do "nice" very well when I'm in situations like this. And when there's no way to stop people from coming in anyway... I don't know what recourse I even have. Of course my boss was there today. He hid in his office and would wait until any situations were over before he would come out. Whatever.
Anyway....... so that's some of what's been going on. My routine is in a rut, traveling, death, trying to social distance among people who don't want to, and... I'm freaking out a little. On the other hand, I am soooooo thankful for my lovely wife. She is a champ. She's always there; always knows what to do; and I don't know what I would do without her.
***
Philippians 1:3-6
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
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