raybear | r-o-l-a-i-d-s

After lunch with Sparky, I called the hospital on my cell phone while walking back to the office. My dad answered, and I even got to talk to my mom so, but she was so drugged and quiet and her throat was sore after having the equipment shoved down, so it didn't last too long -- and I couldn't really understand her that well anyway. But it was good to hear her voice, and my father sounded relieved and even extra-appreciative of me calling. Almost surprised. I said I'd call tomorrow when they get home (she's expected to leave the hospital in the morning), and I'm going to do it. I haven't talked to them on the phone since May, and that was the first time in almost a year, yet now I'll have chatted with them three times in three days. Maybe this will finally break the ice and change some of the patterns.

I was pretty numb all last night and this morning, curious as to why I wasn't feeling anything. But after I hung up the phone I felt extremely relieved, so I guess that indicates that something else WAS going on inside my head.

Now I have an excuse if I want to call every week and just ramble on. They have to listen, I guess. Maybe they'll even be glad to hear it. It feels to cliche that it took a health problem and possibility of serious surgery or illness to have someone wakeup, but I'll take what I can get. But who knows really -- my aunt was involved in a serious car accident my junior year of college and spoke to me on the phone all about how she'd no longer take life for granted and would keep in better touch with all the family members and call all the time and make the effort because it's important to her, but I haven't received anything but an e-mail forward from her in the past 5 years.

But, it's my mom. And she's okay. So that's really all that matters at this point, I guess.