While I was sleeping

In a humbling reminder that I am NOT the center of the universe, life went on around me while I recovered from surgery. Several of my siblings experienced some pretty major changes. I was doped up on lortab but I managed to absorb some of the news. Please let me know if I missed anything.

Twoofadozen will be primarily producing instead of reporting (boo) but she did manage to score an exciting move from AM to FM audiences with the little bit of reporting she still does (yea!). I'm excited for her. I think the experience in FM radio will be a huge asset to her resume. Who knows, maybe she'll make the switch to radio DJ or traffic helicopter next?

Threeofadozen and Fiveofadozen moved 8 hours southwest of me, which is a big improvement over where they used to be (18 hours due west). Three has a promising new job at a resort and Five was able to transfer into the same position and pay at the same company. On the downside, they are now 22 hours southeast of Two and family. On the upside, they are now 22 hours away from Religion Central, smack-dab in the middle of Cowpie Central. Yee-ha!

Fourofadozen's wife went into labor 8 weeks early and delivered a baby boy a few days ago. I hear he's off the respirator and out of the incubator but they still expect to keep him in the hospital for a while. I'm glad he's doing so well and I'm really glad Four has a stable job with benefits. I've seen how high my hospital bills would be without insurance - and all of my visits have been outpatient. I can't imagine how high the bills would be for a baby in NICU.

Nineofadozen was very helpful while I recovered from surgery. She watered the grass every day, mowed the lawn, took out the trash, washed the dishes, drove me around and did all the heavy lifting. I had to take her home last night because she's helping out with church camp next week. I kind of miss her, although it is nice to walk around in my underpants again. Nine might fly out to help Four and family while the baby is in the hospital. I'm not so sure that's a good idea but no one asked for my opinion.

My surgery went pretty well. Three asked how many stitches I have. I estimate around 150 per side. They're all internal stitches that are supposed to dissolve by themselves so it's difficult to count. I'm really sore and things are bruised and ugly at the moment. It's hard to say if I'm glad I did it but I think once the pain and swelling go down I'll be happy with it.

I had a little drama during surgery. I was supposed to go home afterward but I didn't come out of anesthesia very quickly. Instead they checked me into the hospital overnight for observation. I was worried about Nine driving too and from the hospital in a strange city but she did quite well on her own. If she got lost/went for a joyride in Gardner/picked up a few boys and brought them back to my place I never heard a word about it and I guess I don't need to know.

I took myself off the drugs on Thursday, which was fortunate because I'm not allowed to drive while medicated and I didn't know Nine had to go home so soon. I'll see the surgeon for a post-op checkup on Monday. I should be back to work part-time on Tuesday. I'm really glad I get another two weeks part-time because I don't think I can cope without napping every day!