Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Wandering Mom...

Hello from Austin, TX, one of my favorite cities in the US.  I'm fond of it, mostly, because my daughter and son live here, so I have ample opportunities to visit.  Austin has a great deal to offer the eclectic, artistic, musical person, but us regular folk can enjoy it, too.

My son had spine surgery on Dec. 8 to remove a Schwannoma, a Schwann cell tumor.  The tumor was approximately the size of a fist, and, according to his doctor, was the largest one he had seen in 17 years of surgery.  The operation took about six hours; Dan was in recovery for about two hours; he was in the hospital for about a week. 

I made a trip to Austin for his surgery, then went back home for five days, then drove back to Austin, where I've been since December 18.  My daughter went to Ireland for Christmas to visit her boyfriend's relatives, so Dan needed someone here to cook, clean, nag, and otherwise transport him around.  That job fell to me, of course, since I'm his mother.

We've had a pleasant time, really.  I've cooked and baked, washed clothes, etc., but we did go to see "Avatar."  While I loved the special effects, I thought the message was less-than-subtle, which distracted me somewhat.  But seeing it in IMAX is awesome--and made me extremely dizzy in spots!

I've baked two batches of cowboy cookies, two loaves of French bread, cooked pots of soup and spaghetti.  Right now, I'm waiting for the last dozen peanut butter cookies to bake.  I'm surprised I haven't gained 50 pounds with all the cooking I've done.

We took a trip to Book People, a nice multi-story bookstore here in Austin.  And we've made a few trips to the grocery and dollar stores.  But, mostly, we've hung out at home, watched movies, and read...we've barreled through quite a few books this Christmas.

I hope your New Year is excellent for you!  See you soon, I hope!