RradRegor's Journal: Family Matters

My grandmother, age 93, fell down and broke her hip on Saturday night. She had been living on her own and in pretty good health overall. I flew up there with two other family members on Monday morning to be with her for her surgery. They did not need to replace the hip, just pinned it back together. She came through fine, and will be starting physical therapy very soon.

Grandma, or "Nana" as we all call her, was pretty disoriented after the operation because of the anesthesia. She recognized me right away, and wanted to know what I was doing there, even though I'd seen her for several hours before the surgery. We had to explain to her where she was and what had happened all over again. Then when we went to leave for the night, she wanted to know why she couldn't go home too! "You just had surgery, Nana. You're on oxygen and you have an IV in your arm." It sounded like she was senile, but she's not; it was just the drugs. The next day, she was fully aware of the situation again.

I also saw my cousin, who's turned out to be a very pretty woman. She's having trouble with her husband of 6 years and they may separate. It seems like everyone's marriage sucks who's willing to talk about it. At least I'm not the only one. My wife is out of town on a "retreat" right now. On one of the busiest weeks of the year. She's piled our schedule high with crap, then she takes off.... jeez. The kids and I blew off several scheduled activities today. They did't want to go and I didn't want to take them. So there! We had a good time. If wifey wants to rule our world, she has to be around to do it. I know she means well. She's signed the kids up for so much stuff because it makes her feel like a good mother somehow. I hope she learns other ways to make herself feel better ... soon.