Harry, thyroids, lobsters and more

Hi all. Thanks, Matt, for getting us back on track here! I've been checking the blog regularly, but just assumed that everyone was having a similarly busy-with-nothing life. Thank you, Karen, for those wonderful words, "I'm just drifting along, not really working toward any immediate goal. Dull stuff really to write about. But I'm having a pleasant enough time in this sheltered expanse of "motherhood."

That just about says it for me, too. It's all good, but I'm in a bit of a loop at the moment.

A few details, though . . . I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series since mid-August, and finally finished it today. When I bought and read book seven in July, there were so many things I couldn't remember from earlier books I thought I was missing out, so I just started over. I just finished all 4,100 pages of all seven books, and several months of complete Harry-ness. It was great. It's not that it's great literature, but it's really fun. I think I'll move on to something heavier, and I'm considering re-reading Pride and Prejudice, as it's been about ten years since I read it.

Next, up . . . thyroids. My mom had hers out earlier this week. For several years she's been "watching" a few cycts grow and multiply in her thyroid, and finally decided to just have the whole thing out and be done with it. Good news is that there was no cancer in or around her thyroid, and she's well into a good recovery.

Now, lobsters. Just before my mom had the surgery, the nurse came out to let me and dad to in and say good luck. "You're lucky," she told me, "Usually we only let one person in, but since your mom is allergic to shellfish she's in quarantine, and I can let you and your dad back."

Huh? I was half-expecting a sign mid-way through the ward saying, "No Lobsters Beyond This Point," and perhaps a disgruntled group of lobsters reading it and complaining about taking the long-way around the hospital.

What she meant is that since my mom is allergic to shellfish, she has a good chance of also being allergic to latex (which she is not, but they didn't care). Because of the shellfish allergy, she had to remain in a latex free (and I'm assuming lobster-free) area of each ward. Since that area was in the back, away from the others, they allowed two people to visit.

The entire day I kept laughing about lobsters, which is not always appropriate when your mom is having surgery. To make it funnier, her nurse back in her room actually ran around all day with a spool of scotch tape around her stethescope, which she used to tape little signs that said "Latex Allergy" all over the room and outside the door. No matter how many signs she posted, she seemed to keep finding a place for more. I think she was a bit OCD, but it made for a funny afternoon. I kept imagining the signs in different languages (maybe even lobster?), different fonts, just in case she missed anyone.

Hmmmm . . . more. Noah has learned the sign for "more" and uses it often. He just wants more of everything, it seems. We do pretty well. He's really good at telling me what he wants without actually telling me. As I said before, I'm in a bit of a rut.

Here's a question for all you mommies and daddies: Anyone have a good way to keep a partially used banana? There is no way Noah can eat one in one sitting, and I don't like them much. They get all yucky no matter what I've tried. Thoughts?

OK, the wrap-up . . . John is doing well. As I mentioned before, he'll need to monitor his esophagus every six months or so forever, but for the moment he's ok. We've been told raising the head of our bed 45 degrees might help, but 45 degrees? All I can think of is Wallace and Grommit, and Wallace tips through the floor to the breakfast table each morning. (In our case, it'd be the floor.)