February 19, 2008 · 4:25 am

Family Day

Well, I don’t know as this has been a restful holiday – Family Day.

Family Day sometimes means the family can do what they want but I have work to do. It meant that this weekend.

However, I have gotten a lot of work done on two writing assignments. I have done a rather longish essay. Have to see if I can trim it a bit over the next week. I am verbose, I guess. But my in house writing critic says it is good – well balanced and he said it was interesting to read and that he learned some things.

(Sometimes I criticize him for being a bit arrogant, what with his amazing memory and ability to write quite well himself besides having a gift for teaching. Just the other day he came out with one of his old lines about the “spiritual” ones who attend his class – as opposed to us who like to spend time visiting following the service – and it made me fairly mad!)

I will grant him the pleasure of my forgiveness for his smug words since he is fairly lovable anyway and since he was such a big help today. And since it is Family Day I guess we can be benevolent towards the guy who is a big part of this family.

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February 18, 2008 · 4:59 am

Interruptions

This afternoon, I was at my office where I have a spot in the basement – my private office – sort of. It is really our lab but we don’t do a lot of actual lab work. I have a desk in there; there are no windows and no one in the office to distract me from my writing. I was getting deep into the writing of my paper: Mystical and Ecstatic Experiences in Christian Spirituality when I heard my dentist partner coming in the back door. Maybe he wondered who was in the office since I had driven my daughter’s car there instead of my own.

Nope – He was responding to the call of one of our patients whose foster daughter had had a skating accident a few minutes before.

Amazingly, Roger just returned from a course on endodontic emergencies. He began telling me about a new technique that could be used with teeth broken just at the root level in young people so that the root would remain in place preserving the bone for future restoration.

Wouldn’t you know it, this amazingly calm, sweet and cooperative child had broken her tooth off just where the enamel of the crown joined the root. He got to try out the new technique and I, since I was there at the office anyway, was able to assist him. Next week we will take the broken crown of that tooth and I will attach it to an orthodontic wire so that she will no longer be toothless.

One of those interruptions in my day that make life as a dentist so rewarding. And I am just about finished my paper too. Tomorrow should finish it – unless I have a new interruption to distract me.

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February 16, 2008 · 3:04 am

Trying to sum up the week

A week ago Leo had his surgery. Since then he has made another trip up to Thompson to speak – on addictions, I think. he is back home now and his diet has gone from clear fluids to food that one could drink through a straw. Such a variety of foods – soup, tomato juice, yogurt with no lumps, milk.

He was eating his soup watching me eat a pork chop and vegetables with envy tonight. A few more weeks and he will be back on solids – just small, wee, tiny portions! A whole life style change and for the better.

And as usual, because of his speaking engagement, we were apart for the umpteenth year in a row for Valentines Day.

It has been a topsy turvy week – from the warm weather of Mexico back to the icy north. From a hotel room back to the comfortable familiarity of home. From time off back to a busy week of work. Friends going through surgery too and now entering the recovery stage. From office routines to the school dental program and six spacers on their way to the lab.

I was telling my spiritual director that in many ways this month for me has been about hope – hopes realized, some hopes yet to be fulfilled but now possibilities. I think this week was a little bit like a condensed version of the hopes of this month – pretty intense but good.

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February 13, 2008 · 2:19 am

Hope

Picture us – a middle aged man, too heavy by far and a middle aged wife( who would not look so dumpy if she was skinnier and trim) sitting together in the confined space of an airplane seat. After three hours it gets old. But there is absolutely no where to move. One wiggles their toes but that is about all the space allows. I was in the middle seat, wedged between Leo and some strange man. It was not the most fun trip in the world traveling back from San Diego to Minneapolis.

But you know what? The next time Leo and I travel together will be better. He will never again be as heavy as he is now. Even when he flies to Winnipeg tomorrow, he will be a bit smaller than he was yesterday.

For Leo and I that is good news. We look forward to some good years enjoying life together. The surgery that Leo had has brought a lot of hope to both of us. We spent some of our traveling time anticipating places we would like to go together in the next few years.

Hope is a good thing. Love is a good thing. The two seem to mix well.

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February 11, 2008 · 2:50 pm

Goodbye Tijuana

Sunrise over Tijuana

We leave this morning to catch our flight from San Diego. Miguel will, hopefully get us back over the border in plenty of time but we are going prepared for a longish wait with water bottles and apple juice for Leo. (He already hates apple juice – this post-surgical care will put it on his do not drink list for a long time)

Then off we fly up to the frozen North. It may be a fatal shock to our systems. I am beginning to feel more sympathetic towards those snowbirds who go south every year.

The beauty of a clear day in the south

The water in the pool looks deceptively inviting.  It was cold enough that not a single person attempted it while we were there.   But the sun was warm and good.

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February 10, 2008 · 3:27 am

Oh – Bargaining!

This afternoon I tagged along with another family from PA to go shopping. They have been down here before and this time dared to rent a car.

Down to Revolution Boulevard.

During the day it is lined with shops – the little shops common to third world tourist shopping. At the entrance to each is a salesman/con man offering you the most special price of the day – 80% off just for us since we are from Canada and so friendly. And no tax. Boy they know their lines! Each shop sells pretty much the same thing, same quality. Shopping becomes a whole new source of entertainment and we are the sideshow.

I got the required gifts for children and grandchildren and a good long walk in for exercise.

At night this same street becomes a place to buy other wares. Women are lined up along the buildings in the thousands I am told. I don’t think I care to see that. I personally find that kind of spectacle too hard to stomach.

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February 9, 2008 · 1:03 am

He’s awake

I’ve spent all afternoon over at the hospital.  Leo came back to his room at about 12 noon local time.  They moved him into his bed and he and I spoke a bit, I hooked him up to his CPAP machine and let him go to sleep again.  He has just spent a lovely sunny afternoon, temperatures in the 20″s, sun shining brightly, just about the most perfect weather a Saskatchewanian could wish for – sleeping.  Ah – drugs!

Me, who am not on drugs has managed to finish a book and take several catnaps in the warm sun coming in through the hospital window.  I decided finally that Leo’s company was just too stimulating!  So, I hopped in a taxi and came back to the hotel for a bit.  I’ll probably grab some supper before going back.  I think Leo will be allowed to drink some clear fluids tonight.

Anyway, he seems to be doing fine.  The surgery apparently went “perfectly” if one can believe this as literal truth from a wonderful but quite passionate Latino physician.  He is sweet and his patients love him.  And I trust that he is right in Leo’s case.  The rest of the work of losing weight will be largely up to Leo and he is as determined about this as I’ve ever seen him determined about anything.

Thanks to those of you who have prayed for us during this time.

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February 8, 2008 · 12:03 am

Its 16 C and Sunny

And sitting in the sun at the airport in San Diego waiting for our ride it felt very hot.   And it was.

Driving down here over the border to Mexico was absolutely  no problem.  There were no passport checks, barely a slowing to a stop by our driver.

On the other side of the border, the line up of cars to get into the states went on and on for miles and miles.  On Monday I guess we leave very early and will wait our turn in that long line-up.

So, does that mean that Mexico is a friendlier place to be – more welcoming?  Or is everyone here trying to go north?  Seems to me that the weather here is just fine.

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February 7, 2008 · 5:27 am

And off we go

Down to Saskatoon – leaving in a few minutes.

Tomorrow am early flying to SanDiego via Minneapolis. Retrace our steps on Monday.

An adventure of sorts, if you can think of surgery in those terms!

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February 5, 2008 · 3:00 pm

The luxury of extra time

By yesterday afternoon I knew that I had a big cancellation this morning.  My staff tried their darndest but – well, it remained an empty slot in the schedule.  So instead of stressing about sitting in the office with no patient, I decided to use this time to start packing for our trip to Mexico on Thursday.

So, I am still at home at the late hour of 9 am!  And I am mostly packed except that somehow I have misplaced my bathing suit.  It was used last at the cabin over the  Christmas break to go hot tubbing – and not by me – so it is around somewhere.

The weather in Tijuana is supposed to be warm – about 20C and for us northerners that is warm enough to sit by the pool.

Leo has been anticipating this trip for over 6 months.  Lap band surgery will be done and he will spend time with the doctor there picking up some skills on filling these bands for others from these parts that have had this procedure in the past – and future.

I will lug along my laptop and books and get work done on the essay that is due shortly for my course.  To me that will also be relaxing – a bit at least.  Reading  is one of my favorite ways to relax.  Writing essays ranks a bit lower on the pleasure scale.

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