Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!

Just in case you were wondering...optimism is exhausting.

And keeping that in mind, you'll have to forgive the sometimes lengthy breaks between my blogs. Unless of course you would like to hear what I have to say on a bad day...which, believe me, you do not. I mean, I couldn't very well follow an entry inspired by flatulence with some prolonged discourse on brain injury or the defects of our current healthcare system, blah blah blah.

So I waited until today when I could think of something good to write about. Which is that my dad always used to make fun of me for never remembering (or learning, for that matter) my left from my right, and did so again yesterday. Okay, so we'll start with the elephant in the room; no, I don't know my left from my right. I absolutely cannot tell you why. Maybe I was dropped on my head as a baby or just missed that day in preschool, but to this day no matter how I try to remember, it just doesn't stick. My dad always thought this was hilarious (so much for confidence building, eh?). I mean it's actually really hard! Everyone just assumes that everyone else knows left and right automatically. It's not fair! Take it from me, you look a lot dumber holding up your thumb and forefinger trying to figure it out...but I digress. So while we were doing a little stretching yesterday, I got, uhh, mixed up a few times. "Okay Dad, try really hard to bend this left leg...I mean right...oh no, yeah left. Okay, [expletive], whichever one I'm bending right now, bend it farther." He laughed every time I messed up! Even when I wasn't laughing...(more like rolling my eyes). ;)

So the latest development in his progress would be laughing, I guess. The last entry I wrote was the first time it happened, but it's happened quite a bit since. This past weekend my dad's brother George was in town (go Buckeyes!) and he saw it too. Sometimes Mom and I wonder if we imagine certain reactions and facial expressions, but there was no mistaking this, it was a big goofy smile and laugh. So the next question would be to ask how appropriate the laughing was. Sometimes it's spot on. One of us tells a joke or something funny comes up in conversation and he's laughing right along with us; other times, it's out of nowhere. Doctors warned us that as the brain heals, sometimes inappropriate or exaggerated emotions can surface, to which I say this: Either way, super. If it's inappropriate, great! His brain is healing. If it's appropriate, also great! He's still making fun of his daughter the same way he did before.

Oh and I have to leave you with this. Yesterday for the first time in well over 4 months...he sneezed. It was, in a word, profound.

I would also like to say CONGRATS! to Dad's Amgen Tri-teammates on their win in the corporate challenge this weekend in Malibu :) And thank you for dedicating your race to him, he was really looking forward to it this year and I'm sure would be very happy for your success!

Cheers!

Umm, excuse YOU!

Oh hello there...

Yes, it's been a while, but to tell you the truth I just didn't know what to write. Not to mention I've had a little "put on a happy face" burn-out happening lately. But as usual, just when I'm starting to get bummed, Dad has a way of pulling through and helping me see the bright side again. So here's what happened:

This afternoon, after I put him back in bed, I was taking his shoes off...and low and behold, he farted. Like, loud. Now, if you had asked me when I was 13, whether I thought there would ever come a time in life when farting was not funny, I would have undoubtedly responded, "Are you crazy? Farting will ALWAYS be funny." Like a universal truth, a law of nature. And yet, here I was, continuing on, removing his shoes and braces like nothing had happened. Amazingly, not funny. And then he started breathing all weird. So of course I immediately looked up to see if something was wrong. His mouth was all contorted, like was trying to hold something in, and breathing hard, like panting. At first I thought he was trying to cough, or maybe was having trouble breathing...and then I realized...he was laughing. It sounds really stupid, but it totally took me by surprise! In the past 4 months, I swear to you I have not heard anything like this from him. Smiles here and there, yes; but this time he was totally laughing. And then, he farted again and we both started cracking up. Absolutely the highlight of my week.

And so, here I am sharing this totally inappropriate story of his appropriate laughter with his esteemed colleagues (past and present), family, friends, friends of friends, and probably more, and more than likely if he were, shall we say, more conscious and reading this he would be absolutely livid with me. But there you have it, I thought it was relevant :)

In other news, Mom and I have gotten into a nice routine of caring for him, which will be promptly destroyed when Mom returns to work full time in 2 days...but we're ready for another adjustment period. One of the more frequently muttered phrases of late: "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Oh and we can't forget: "Woah, that's expensive. Eh it's ok, I'll just sell a kidney." But we're hanging in there and Dad is doing great at home, so it's all worth it. Will update again soon!

Side note for those of you who may be concerned; there was a Peace Corps Volunteer shot and killed in Lesotho during a mugging in the capitol this weekend. We spoke with Grant this morning and although he is obviously very shaken and saddened (the volunteers are a very tight knit community), he is safe and is doing alright. Our thoughts are with the volunteer's family and friends, as well as the entire PC Lesotho community.