Whistling in the dark...

Hey Jakey,

It's your last day as a singleton. I kinda thought that we would spend more time together today, snuggling, playing on the couch, going for a walk, snacking... just normal stuff, but together. But as soon as I got up this morning, kissed you on the forehead and jumped in the shower, we kind of went our separate ways.

I had to drive to the Lake this morning to see Dr. K, because she cancelled yesterday's appointment with me. Well, with everybody, in fact.

Her daughter's face got bitten off by a dog yesterday. I think she's going to be all right -- the poor girl actually went to school today -- but she was in surgery all day yesterday, and there may eventually be plastic surgery involved. Wow.

Just the sort of distraction you want distracting the doctor who's going to be performing major surgery on you in a few hours.

But Dr. K is a tough nut. I guess when stuff like this happens to you and yours, it really does help if you are chief of staff at your own hospital, and an all-around Master of the Universe. After this episode, she's already put in motion procedures to change pediatric emergent care at the hospital, and local veterinary protocol when it comes to vaccinations and reporting of rabies cases in this county.

When her child gets bit, she gets on the horn with the CDC in Atlanta and the county health department. I can only imagine that I would melt into a puddle and maybe call my mom.

After that appointment, I came home and your Nana and Papa were getting you ready for your own trip to the Lake. The three of you are staying in a hotel up there tonight, so that daddy and I won't have to deal with getting you ready tomorrow at 4 in the morning, and they don't have to deal with trying to find their way up the mountain and to the hospital for the first time in the dark. They're anal that way.

So as soon as you left with them, I took off for my hair appointment downtown.

I've never been to this salon before, but heard good things from your SLP, who has ADORABLE hair. I felt like I was cheating on my regular hair gal, who's an hour and a half away, but I was running out of time and options. I AIN'T birthin' no babies with that travesty of hair that was on my head.

This salon is pretty chi-chi and expensive, and they serve you herbal tea and baklava while you wait. I got worried, though, when I spied more than one woman leaving the salon with freshly permed poodle hair. But that's a distinctly rural Nevada thing, and you're gonna run into it wherever you go 'round these parts. Again, kinda worried when the "hair designer" that did manage to fit me in today had the least likeable hair of all the designers in the salon, but she wound up doing a great job, and was chatty and personable.

Not a very fun last day for just the two of us, eh?

I'm going to try and come up with a Thursday Thirteen of random things, starting with... good omens related to your sister's birth that I have encountered within the past couple of days:

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1. Drove through a rainbow today on the way up to the Lake. It was sunny and raining at the same time. According to Akira Kurosawa's movie "Dreams," that's when foxes have their weddings -- when it's both sunny and raining.

2. The nurse that I loved so much from Dr. K's office that left a couple years ago to work elsewhere: I ran into her yesterday when I was doing my pre-op lab work. When I handed her my paperwork at the lab, she looked at me, and I looked at her and we both exclaimed, "I KNOW YOU!!!" and she gave me a big hug. She works down here in G'ville now, and she took my blood. Did a much better job of it, too, than she did when I was pregnant with you. And get this -- she's 11 weeks pregnant. Neat.

3. I'm such a dork, but -- Cracker was on the radio in the salon when I was waiting for my appointment. "Get Off This." Cracker will always count as a good omen.

4. Speaking of the salon, I have to count today's hard-won appointment. I had scheduled with Katy last weekend, but had to cancel because it was snowing. Made an appointment for today (I'm *sure* of it... TODAY) at this new place down the road, got there at two and they said my appt wasn't until tomorrow at two. I pouted and told them my plight, and they fit me into a 3 o'clock. That also counts as a good omen.

Okay, on to some not-so-good omens:

5. My doctor's daughter got her face torn off by a frickin' DOG, ferchrissakes.

6. Nana and Papa's dog Maggie, who has been suffering from organ failure since before they left, had to be put down today. They are both being troopers about it, for my sake and yours, but they are devastated, and I know this is really hard on them.

7. I bought two Thanksgiving pies at Safeway today with my $15 gift certificate from the office: GOOD. The bag boy put them in the cart sideways and demolished them and I didn't realize it until I got home: BAD.

Things that I thought of in the car today that scared the be-jeezus out of me for a goodly portion of my childhood, that I will try and shield both of you from in the future:

8. That African monster doll from the made-for-tv movie "Trilogy of Terror," starring '70s scream queen Karen Black. I was scared of the space under my bed for YEARS following this movie.

9. The book of Roman history that your Nana stored in the end table with all the other Rome memorabilia. It showed graphic, color illustrations of Christians being fed to lions.

10. Since we didn't regularly go to church, I talked myself into believing that if I didn't read a portion of the Bible every Sunday, I would go to hell. (This one didn't last *too* long, but long enough that I got through most of the Old Testament.)

Finally, here are three middle names that I wanted for your sister, but which got shot down by your daddy:

11. Gemma

12. Lourdes

13. Eliot (Actually, this one was your daddy's, but got shot down by *his* family. I kinda liked it.)

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Does this rambling post sound like so much whistling in the dark to you? If I quit typing, it means that I have to get on with the business of preparing myself for tomorrow's "blessed" events. Of trying not to be terrified.

Ah well. Here I go. Love you with all my heart, and miss you like crazy. Tomorrow, everything changes forever for the both of us, and I promise to do all I possibly can to make it easy and fun for you.