Ethan’s Journey

​I had to get the heck out of Dodge today. This week has been a lot! I left for camp about 5:15 am. The dogs were pumped. Moe was my co-pilot and made sure everyone was safe the entire ride. Anyone we passed walking on a side walk or crossing the street, he gave them his best hairy eyeball stare! Dario is doing great! However, he is navigating the world of what is considered a fatty food! He is gambling with his diet and will learn quickly what will cause catastrophic diarrhea (seat gripping diarrhea) and what doesn’t. He is on a low fat/ high fiber diet. Fruits and veggies as well as lean meats. I did a grocery order for them and Paul picked it up this morning. Ethan asked Paul for direction on how he can help prepare the barn for a concrete floor. Paul gave him direction and is delighted for Ethan’s help.  Paul also had a rough week. He was present to help his dad and step mom through this medical ordeal. He realizes they need help but they aren’t ready to accept that yet. I arri...

​wow! I woke up extra dumb today. It’s a “lack of sleep” hangover. I made it through yesterday but today….I needed coffee stat and hoped like hell I could become somewhat functional. I followed Ethan to work to park his car there. The plan was to condense vehicles and pay hospital parking for one vehicle.  On our way to drop off Ethan’s car, Ethan tried to straddle a dead, gross and bloated raccoon with his car. There was a car in the other lane so he couldn’t swerve. His tailpipe hit the raccoon and sent it swirling and twirling behind him. I think I barfed in my mouth. Ugh! Gross! Luckily it didn’t explode. 🤮 As I was following him, some guy waiting to pull out, honked at Ethan and gave him a thumbs up for his super Supra. He said he gets a lot of people appreciating his vintage ride. We got to the hospital on time. Parking at Strong Hospital is a bit of a disaster. We got the farthest away parking spot ever. I told Ethan walking to the hospital counted as his exercise today. We...

​my father in law was finally seen by a doctor. He was in pain for hours. The doctor came in after midnight. It turns out he has gall stones and needs to have surgery to remove his gall bladder. They started him on antibiotics. It then was after 1:00 am and they weren’t sure if he would have a room by morning. I took Joanne back to her house around 2 am. I told her that if she wanted to have a sleep over, there was a better way to go about it than this. It made her laugh. She is very anxious and I tried to lighten the mood. I explained that in the grand scheme of things, a gall bladder removal is a pretty good ailment to have. It can be treated. Once treated, he will never get another gallstone. It wasn’t cancer. It wasn’t a bowel blockage that would require risky bowel surgery. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, this one is best case scenario! I got a quick 2-3 hours of rest before getting up and heading back to the hospital. I dropped Joanne off with instructions to grab b...

​Ethan took a beating with the heat today. I had the house nice and cool for him when he got home. He was pretty bummed about having to pay the $12,000 back. He is quite stressed about it. I tried calling to set up a payment plan for him. Even though I am listed as an advocate, they still need to talk to him directly! Annoying! He is also upset about the Medicaid and how he is supposed to pay for his medications as well as testing. He will now cut corners. I know it! My father-in-law wasn’t feeling well. I drove to their house and gave him options of what he could do. He had already gone to the ER earlier that day but left after a 3 hour wait. We went to a different emergency room. We have been here since 8:30 pm. I am the driver. It is 11:30 now and he has been taken back, gotten his blood drawn and an xray. He still has not been seen by a doctor. I have a tooth that needs a filling removed and replaced at 8 am. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with back to back meetings with a numb...

​Today was the start of our multiple transitions at work. I spent very little time on my own new stuff and more time helping my team mate that is taking over a couple of my territories. The next few weeks will be full of over helping and training. There is just so much to share. I can’t imagine walking into this job right now. I feel sorry for her and want her to not get overwhelmed. I like her.  By 7:30 Moe was begging to outside AGAIN! He wants to lay in the sun. He was driving me a little nuts with his requests to go out so frequently.  Avery called me this morning.  “Mom, is now a good time to talk?” She said  “Yes it’s a great time!” I answered.  She shared she was feeling an overwhelming amount of anxiety at her new position. She feels like she doesn’t belong. She feels like everyone else seems to effortlessly do their work. She second guessed herself even though she knows the work she is doing is solid. Her advisor has praised and encouraged her from the ...

​Sunday is departing day. I decided to enjoy the day and stay longer.  The lake is warm. I don’t say things like this. But it is true! We went out on the boat. Sarah and I also took the paddle boards out. The lake was smooth! Sarah found a duck that I hid in her camper last year. He he! Speaking of ducks, my nephew is moving out of his apartment and found a duck I hid there almost 2 years ago. He texted me about it today and it made me laugh! We swam around in the lake for a while. I like to get a tube and just kick around. It’s great non-weight bearing exercise. Craig took the boys out fishing. John didn’t catch anything yesterday. Today he caught a small fish. Sarah felt sorry for him and used AI to make his fish much bigger. What a good wife. I finally left a little after 3. It is a little over 3 hour drive. Apparently, spending the day in the sun makes me tired. When I got home, I unpacked. I headed to bed around 8:00. 

​Another beautiful day on the lake. Sarah arrived. We sat in the double tube and chatted for part of the afternoon. We went on a couple walks. For dinner we had wings done to perfection on the grill, pizza, garlic knots, grilled veggies and salad. Yum! After dinner, we took a jet ski ride around Fox island. We parked at a cute little cove and had a beverage. We got the fire started and watched another beautiful sunset. There are so many monarch butterflies around. I might have to look for the caterpillars and try to bring one to Ethan. He has always enjoyed watching them go through the process and change into a butterfly. There is a killdeer nest on the road. Killdeer are cool birds. They are kind of dumb in that they build their nests in gravel where people and vehicles could accidentally smash them.  But so smart that when you go near their nest, they run away and fake a broken wing, to lure you away from the nest. Earlier in the day, Paul took a beer out of the fridge and set it...