Reality bites . . . .

OK, so, it's no big secret that I have been slacking on the ol' blogger postings as of late. Lots of reasons for that, none of them good, but because I intended for this blog to be a historical record, I will put fingers to keys and document the latest . . .

Faithful readers may remember all of the craziness from last December involving my dad, a car wreck, heart surgery, blood clots, and a host of other complications that plagued him. As of today, he is in a nursing home, receiving therapy and determined to come home as soon as possible. My mother has stayed by his bedside throughout the entire drama, wearing herself to an absolute frazzle. I have begged her to stop holding a bedside vigil and get some rest, but she is resolute. The social worker at the facility is organizing a family meeting for tomorrow; seems that she has noticed some "deficits" in my mother's cognition (read: she thinks my mother is a nut), and is concerned that neither of them is capable of independent living at this point. That's news to them, though; they both think that he can come on home to her new apartment, even though he is bedridden, incontinent, and can't do a thing but feed himself. He ran through all of the benefits he had with his HMO, and now he is on Medicaid, which is a godsend, since his care would be about $4K a month otherwise.

Lessee . . . what else? Started a new job a couple of months ago. Easiest just to break it down into Perceived Good and Reality:

Perceived Good: Flexible hours and ability to work from my home office.
Reality: Frantic calls come in constantly with emergencies that cause me to run around like a cat on fire, followed by deadly silences. Oh, and the hiring manager doesn't like to pay for the deadly silences.

Perceived Good: Solid contract with a reputable contracting firm; great benefits.
Reality: It was only AFTER I had accepted the position that the reputable firm recanted the offer of benefits since the flexible position would dip below 40 hours a week.

Perceived Good: The position was created for a self-motivated, self-managed person.
Reality: The hiring manager expects me to be The Amazing Kreskin.

Perceived Good: Money is coming in, and I no longer have to hide my Honda in my garage to dodge the repo man.
Reality: Yeah, that really is a good thing.

Now don't feel slighted when I tell you this one: I have been blogging, just not here. I found a new site to help me in my constant quest to tame my battles with the scale and food: MyFoodDiary.com I have been busy logging my meals, snacks, exercise and measurements. It all seems very vain and self-centered, but then again, putting myself last has kind of gotten me where I am today, so I am thankful to have found it.

Going to see a cardiologist in the next couple of weeks. Have to have lots of dental work done, and since I contracted a heart infection when I had my wisdom teeth out a couple of years ago, I need a clearance letter before my very nice, new dentist will begin the work that I desperately need (2 root canals, 3 crowns, gum treatments).

Yeah, so, I have been all Lords of Discipline lately. Not much fun, but then again, after seeing what my dad ended up with after ignoring and abusing his body for 4 or 5 decades, I have decided that perhaps a little discipline is in order.

At least Weenie the Wonder Dog and the kids are enjoying our evening walks. They aren't too crazy about all the new vegetables, though.