This has been a busy period for us. We had Ruth's grandparents visit, and had a wonderful time with them. Then after they left much of my family was in the area for my aunt and uncle's 60th anniversary, and of course we had a great time visiting with them (even though one or two of them got rather demanding, insisting that we take them on a tour of the most beautiful areas of Montana, but I suppose going on a drive through Glacier Park is just the burden we have to bear for family; such a sacrifice). Meanwhile Ruth had been preparing for a dollhouse convention--the largest she's done so far. Amongst all of these various demands upon our time, I have had little opportunity to continue the ongoing process of cleaning out the decades of detritus that has accumulated inside my house. With Ruth being gone for eight days, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to get some things accomplished. Besides, when Ruth and Sophia are gone I like to keep busy with some project or other, not only do I get brownie points, but it also keeps me from getting too lonely. It isn't that I mind the solitude, but the house (and bed) feel awfully empty after a few days.
So, it was with relative gusto (as much as I can muster anyhow) that after seeing Ruth and Sophia off, I started the arduous process of sorting and organizing all the crap in the basement. It went slowly, but well, for the first day. Then my dad through an unbelievable act of selfishness, decided to get sick. Not just a little under the weather, but actual hospitalization--life-threatening--abdomen might explode covering the surroundings with poo, sort of sick. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little, but he did have a perforated colon from diverticulitis. The treatment has gone surprisingly well, but it would have only taken a day or two to become life threatening. Overall he only had to spend four days in the hospital (which was two fewer than what the doctor had said would be the absolute best case scenario), and the at home treatment will be ongoing for the next ten days. Joking aside, I'm very glad it has turned out so well, it could have been much worse in a number of ways.
The upshot of this being that I have gotten very little done around the house. For some reason I can procrastinate doing something for a more or less indefinite period, yet when matters outside of my control force me to delay something I find it vexing. I really don't mind helping my dad out, he does deserve it (much of the time at least), and I'm rather grateful that Ruth and Sophia didn't have to sit around at Benefis in Great Falls waiting for them to get their act together, which is basically akin to waiting till you sprout a third arm with which to wave at the pigs flying overhead. I won't go off on them too much here (heaven knows I could), but as a few examples; it took over three hours between the time my dad got a room assignment and the orderly who was responsible for moving him found out about it, the room was ready and waiting, its just that no one had bothered to put it in the computer in the right queue. In the ER they apparently lost him, he was brought from the Great Falls Clinic by ambulance strait to the ER, but somehow the staff thought he was in the waiting room and came out looking for him. Once he was located it took around four hours to check him in, fortunately the doctor and one of the nurses knew what was going on and saw to him, but when the doctor asked why "he" wasn't admitted yet (after four hours) one of the office workers looked up from her terminal and said "oh, I haven't gotten to her yet." Two of the nurses told me that I should complain about the admit process because they can't do anything about it; and I would, except that I think about as many Benefis administrators read this blog as read the complaints sent to them, exactly none.
Anyhow. It has been a long week for me, and doubly so for may dad. But everything is going well now, and fortunately I actually do have a couple of days left to get some work done. Ruth seems to be having fun at her show, and it sounds like she should make enough in sales to at least break even on expenses, which with the current high transportation and associated costs, is a feat in and of itself.
I should get back to work. The whip of my conscience is cracking over my head telling me I've wasted too much useful time blogging already, which is after all a useless activity.