The last two days equalled more brilliant winter weather, more calm good times... A great way to start the newest year. But we couldn't just end it on that bright note, now, could we?
So I ended our trip with a horrendous, terrifying ear infection, compounded by severe angina and other problems, all of which started the night before we left, and which made the trip home so devastatingly painful that I really didn't know if I was going to make it. Actually, I'm not certain that I would have, had my dad's quick thinking not brought me to the able hands that hover over Mark Smith's Shiatsu table the next morning. Even with this help, though, the pain was unbearable. Having (at last! at last!) got home and got the luggage and the boys upstairs, I raced (read: moved as quickly as I could) down the street to the doctor, who was absolutely appalled at what he saw. While Jean-Philippe went to fill the prescriptions, I settled uneasily into bed, and didn't really wake up again for 72 hours, except to (very painfully) swallow medications and change positions. Didn't eat for four days, actually, aside from a tiny bun that I forced down for a half an hour one night, in order to be sure that my meds would stay down. Even now, the thought of all of that makes me shudder... Oh! And we almost got kicked off the plane, because I realised at the last second that my insulin case had fallen out of my bag as we were driving to Chicago. At the very last second, I found a bottle of Humulin that I thought I'd put in the baggage we'd checked in. Who knows if we'd've made it, had they kicked us off the plane? What a thought. Enough of that, though.
Most importantly: Many many many thanks and best wishes to all of our friends and family whose company we were able to enjoy over those couple of weeks. The truth is, that the lack of digital images of y'all attests very simply to the fact that we were so intent upon and happy being with you. It may sound corny, but I'm very serious. And the wonderful times we had were worth the lack of images, to be sure. Such beauty, such joy...
And special thanks to Mark Smith, and to my parents, without whom...
And to all of you, near and far: We wish you a very VERY wonderful newest of years, filled with family and friends, good times and great cheer.
And should hard times befall you, remember, and sing along with Tomi and Vic and me: "You are... never alone...!"
