So I didn't send out the Christmas Cards...

...I basically breathed myself through the holidays and the weeks that came after. I think it has been so horrid of late because Texas is a bit more cold and miserable than it normally is at this time of year. I don't do well with clouds and doom.
My dad's been here for 3 weeks. We send him off back to Michigan tomorrow but I'm going to make like Katie Scarlett and think about that tomorrow.

The People That You Forget (or didn't think you had) to Buy For.

This is already happening to me and it is not even *close* (hey, a week is like a month for someone like me who procrastinates) yet. I thought I was done shopping on Friday. Twice today I have had to add on to the list that I had already folded up and put into a drawer (as a reminder who to buy for next year). Thank heavens for little birdies letting me know about things. Why, oh why do we let ourselves get all twisted up over this?

I am attempting, for the first time since, to send out Christmas cards. It horrifies me to think that there are people I consider friends that probably don't realize I moved a year ago.

yes...

It has been a year. Sometimes that seems so short. Sometimes so long. It hasn't been as perfect as I dreamed on those nights that I dreamed of running away, but it has been the right thing. For us.

My father was readmitted to the hospital last night. He felt another reaction coming on so he hopped in the car, drove to the hospital and (this is the part that makes me smile) used his EpiPen in the lot. Why? Because he was afraid of having a reaction to the EpiPen. For some reason this makes me smile. He will be okay. Because he has to be.

What Laura did Next

I always wanted to use that title (from one of my favorite ever books as a kid: "What Katy Did" and What Katy Did Next"). This is what I've been didding...er...doing... Well, I did it once and I kind of like it.

Find it here

It's C-c-c-o-l-d in Texas

And I'm not talking about the "oh, your blood has just thinned out so much that a 60 degree day is cold to you" kind of cold. I'm talking about a "dang, its 38 degrees out and I haven't turned on the furnace and perhaps I should" kind of cold. Or a "OMG, it's forecasted to snow in Houston tomorrow" kind of cold. Take your pick. And I hate this kind of cold. I feel like I'm being duped. Yes, luckily, it is temporary. I hope.

My dad is doing okay. He's leaving on Saturday but we're not going to think about that right now. James buggered me into putting up the tree so we'll think about that right now. We'll think about that and how one of the kittens is being a very good girl about the whole thing and one of the kittens (we won't name names but it's Bella, the calico) cannot seem to help herself and sneaks over to first, sit under the tree, then, brush whiskers against the tree. This is soon followed by hesitant little bats at the ornamaments...finishing with wholesale, candy cane ripping, glass shattering cat attack. No, she hasn't climbed it-yet-but let's just say that I fully expect to wake up to that one of these mornings.

Let's Try Thanksgiving again.

I finally made a turkey this year. And we finally sat down with my dad, James and I, and had dinner. To say that it was a bit exhausting after the driving, and the worrying, and the...well, the mess of it all would be to put it out of perspective. It just was. That's okay. I am thankful that my dad is well (?) and here. The question mark is because he had an incident where his lip swelled up again halfway through the drive back down. We drove straight through and it is a bit disconcerting to have that happen, especially when the person experiencing it had been on a ventilator only days beforehand. I mentally kicked myself for the rest of the drive. I should not have agreed to let him come back down with us. And yet I am glad he is here with us.

So all is ending well. Which is something to be thankful (again and again) for. I cannot and will not imagine what my life would be like without my dad.

James went back to school today without even an argument, not even an "I'm tired, because you kept me up to late, fed me the wrong dinner, hate me and want to see me miserable..." argument. Another thing to be thankful for.

Thoughts turn to putting up the tree and putting something underneath it. Also, how to keep kittens from wanting to perch among the branches. I can just tell that these two kittens of mine will be fascinated by it all. I am hoping to jinx myself into something different by posting that here.

Going Home

That could mean so many things, but I am not sure if Michigan is my home, Texas...or no place at all.

Poppy is better. They are pretty sure it was a reaction to his hbp meds. He's coughing a bit, and swelled up from steroids, but otherwise fine. He is going to drive home with us for a week and then fly back. I'm happy about that, but also sad because it means he won't be down for Christmas.

It's amazing how many people we were able to see these past few days here, after Poppy got out of the hospital. My mother was mad because I would not leave to spend Thanksgiving with her and my aunt and uncle, 2 hours away, but I wasn't here for anything other than to make sure my dad was okay. I did manage to see her tonight. So, my name isn't total Mudd.

I am sleepy, disjointed and I am sure this isn't making much sense. I'll log in after I get home and have a straighter head. Thanks everyone, for thinking of us.

Helpless

It is always scary to get that 4 AM phone call, more so when you are 1400 miles away and can't do anything immediate.

"Is this Laura Harper?" "Are you related to James XXXXX in any way?" (not my son, my dad).

My father is sick. They think it was an allergic reaction to a medication he is on. Please keep him in your thoughts. He is stable and on a ventilator and all I want to do is be able to is be there right now. I'm trying to coordinate so that I can drive up.