Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Cabin fever
- One baby, less than four weeks old
- One set of parents, sleep deprived
- Rain and lots of it -- downpours, even
- A death in the family
- A dog with a persistently crappy-looking left eye
- More rain
- Less sleep
- Out-of-town visitors (a saint of a grandmother and a challenging 15-year-old) trapped inside by said rain
Mix all ingredients in a relatively small house (one that's getting smaller by the minute). Simmer until the windows steam up and sweat on the inside and until the anxiety quotient reaches a palpable level.
This is the lovely dish we're cooking here right now. Nicola's step-mom Phoenix is here, along with her step-sister Murphy (the 15-year-old). We love having Phoenix -- Grandma Bobo, as Ella labeled her -- here, because she just pitches in with Lindsay and she cooks and takes care of things (including us). But the walls are closing in as the rain just will not freakin' let up. And today I worked from home, because Lindsay had her kidney ultrasound (everything looks good, thankfully!), so it was another body in the house. And Bailey's eye looks worse, which precipitated the 4th visit to the vet in the last 2.5 weeks. Oh, and Nicola's Grandpa Campbell -- god rest his soul -- died on Saturday after a long and vital life that had been dimmed recently by Alzheimer's. So we're considering driving 450 miles down to the San Diego area next week for the service.
Everyone I know is busy, so I don't claim to have a corner on the stress market. But tensions are running high here -- let us pray for good weather over the next few days, because the house ain't getting any less crowded. Nicola's dad Tom arrives tomorrow night, and then we have Ella from Thurs to Sat night (another crappy split weekend). Me, I'm heading back to the office tomorrow just to get away for a while!
Keeping it short tonight...for all my complaining, Phoenix is going to watch Lindsay tonight for a few hours and Nicola and I are heading to bed...at 9:15!! Yes!
P.S. Many thanks to Claudia, who checked in to help out with the Italian translations from a few posts ago. I'll put them in here later. My friendship with Claudia -- conducted almost solely by e-mail these days -- has been a nice surprise. She writes incredibly entertaining e-mails, including referring to her rambunctious 16-month-old today as a "meatloaf." So while some friendships have drifted away, others have been rejuvenated. Nice how things work out like that.
