My dad has had 3 radiation treatments for Stage 1B Lung Cancer, and will have his next two today and Friday. Then they take 8 weeks off and observe the results. (EIGHT WEEKS????) He is “doing fine.” Except one ear is plugged. I forgot to ask whether it was his good ear. I used to think his bad ear was the one on the side where he fell out of the suicide door of the car, but it’s actually where the doctor pierced the ear drum because he’d had a horrible ear infection for a couple of weeks. My dad’s most commonly used word has always been, “What?”
May is one of the more difficult months to be in PADS — it’s the first month of the year when the families are mixed with the general population.
This means that last night as I lay on my pad reading an e-book, kids ran around me, jumping on and off my pad, kicking and otherwise touching me inappropriately, as I growled under my breath. I forgot how much that sucked, being in a site where kids are allowed to break the rules indiscriminately.
It’s also the first month where there are two sites available for all users most nights (vehicles and non-vehicle), rather than three. And, it’s the month when several nights, there are extremely limited pads available — All Saints in Carol Stream is open every Wednesday, even Christmas Eve, but not on the last Wednesday of May (when they start to prepare their church rumble sale.) The winter site in Itasca (where I didn’t have to drive this year!!) is replaced with a site in Downers Grove, which was open 2 weeks, then closed 2 weeks in May last year — and they weren’t certain this year whether they’d be open or closed (open for the first of the two weeks, thank goodness!)
This morning two wonderful volunteers stood guard to allow me to use the men’s room to pee. There are only 2 stalls in the women’s room (same with our Saturday night site), and, including kids, probably about 20 people to use the bathroom. Now, I can go into a bathroom stall and completely change clothes plus pee in less than 5 minutes. There are women who cannot accomplish that feat of magic in less than 15 minutes.
I know, I’ve stood outside the stall door waiting for them. And then there’s always someone else, who came in after me, bitching about how long it’s taking… like I’m doing here. And it does as much good to speed things up as my bitching about it here.
I want to get my hair cut. My bangs are driving me nuts. I’m trying to decide whether I’m going to get it cut tonight, or just try to cut my bangs on my own (especially if I end up staying in a motel tonight.)
Decisions, decisions…
I hope you’re having a great day!