round two

Yesterday was a long, difficult day. I drove to Jasper (Brooks had a fit to go, so he tagged along) to meet my dad. I left Brooks at his house, and we drove to Winfield to pick out a "monument" (it's a tombstone, okay) for Mom's grave. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it bothered me all day. And I was in the car a looong time, so I had a lot of time to think. (I have been thinking about pre-planning my own funeral. Morbid? Yes. More on that later.) After we took care of that, we came back to Jasper to run a few errands. I cleaned Dad's house for him and helped him sort mail. I swapped my camera with my mom's camera. I was also supposed to bring an exercise bike home, but I forgot. I guess we see where my priorities are? Or aren't? On my way out of Walker County, I dropped off our taxes and ran by Chris's grandparents. I met Kristie in Hoover. She made us dinner. I am so glad that our church has been bringing dinner. At first, I thought, "I stay at home, I don't need people to bring us dinner!" but it has been such a relief. It is harder than I thought it would be to get up and try to act normal. Today I woke up, feeling sorry for myself. Such a bad attitude. I think I have made it through all of the stages of grief, and it has started over except that I am experiencing everything AT THE SAME TIME! That is what it seems like, anyway. Luckily, I have lunch plans with Amy and Tyler. Days are better when I get up and get ready and get out of the house.

On the way to Winfield, I went by Cowboy Way to see if they could fix Chris's Justin boot. The stitch is coming out of it, and he got them in October. They took the old ones and ordered him new ones. I was very pleased with their customer service, but Chris is going to be a little bumfuzzled without his beloved boots for a few days. And he'll have to break the new boots in when they arrive. To add to the bumfuzzle-ment, the kind of coffee Chris drinks is no longer being sold. He drinks Member's Mark Colombian from Sam's. It really is good coffee. I need to check online to make sure, but we can't find it in stores. This morning we couldn't find his hat. And he had heartburn last night so he didn't sleep. Did I mention that it is test week and Chris always freaks out, and all of the other stuff just adds to the madness? (I think the freaking out is why he makes A's on tests.) Thursday or Friday Chris is supposed to plan stuff for third year, and last night he was talking about residency and fellowships and interviews and moving to Texas (even though Texas is a little better than Minnesota) and a lot of other things that I didn't want to talk about after my insane day. I guess we will talk today. I just hate thinking about all of that stuff. It is overwhelming. Tomorrow is Chris's LAST OSCE (the practice h&p) so we will practice tonight. That is usually not fun, because I will get a lecture about my right eye and how it shouldn't hurt when he palpates my liver. (Has anyone ever palpated Chris's liver? I didn't think so. IT HURTS!)