HITS
- The week started off with a bang. I had the pleasure of attending worship with my mom since Dad was sick and unable to drive. With all the changes that have occurred in the past year, the thing that I miss most is being in church with my family. When it happens, I treasure it.
- Summer school got under way this week. I've been teaching every semester for the past 6 years at MSCC and have been wanting to take a break. I never felt secure in my position to take a summer term off though. This summer, due to low enrollment, music appreciation was cancelled! It's a wonderful feeling to know that I don't have to get moving every morning and prepare to lecture uninterested students.
- Mom and I have had lots of success this week with new chicken recipes. Rather than giving you a blow-by-blow account, I'll just link the recipes we enjoyed and let you check them out for yourself. We really liked the white chicken enchiladas, cheesy ranch chicken, chicken Alfredo ravioli bake, loaded baked potato and chicken casserole, and baked Parmesan garlic chicken.
- To end the week, the geriatric patients and I went to Germantown and met my sister for dinner at J. Alexander's! Eating here is always a treat, but not one we get to enjoy too often. As usual, I ordered the French Dip and loved every morsel. I inherited a glass of lemonade from Mom that was amazing. When creme brûlée was mentioned as a dessert option, I couldn't resist. (Thanks, Valdez!) More than the food, the company was very needed. I got to talk to someone under the age of 70 and let her take charge of the parental units for a little while. Phew!
MISSES
- It has been a week of sickness in the geriatric ward! Dad started having issues last week with lots of coughing and congestion. When he went to the doctor on Monday, there was no evidence of infection in his lungs (PTL), but the cough was worrisome. He's on a mega round of antibiotics and cough syrup, so he's been in bed much of the week.
- On Sunday evening, I started to develop a sore throat with cough as well. I knew it was going to be a busy week, so I headed straight to the doctor. I'm feeling much better, but still on a round of antibiotics to make sure we get all of the infection before it blows up to the level of Dad's illness.
- Even though I'm excited that my class was cancelled, it also came with the realization that there will be a major hit to my finances this summer. I'm teaching one unit of summer work and I don't have anything else lined up. I'm doing a little online work and checking for other openings, but there doesn't seem to be many openings for the summer. I'm trying to keep my head up, but it's tough when you don't see money coming in. So....if you know of a summer opening that allows me to teach my class on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning at 5:30, I'm all ears!
- I have discovered this week that I HATE baked cod. Perhaps it was the seasoning. All I know is that I tasted fish for days after eating about 2 ounces of the stuff...and that was a struggle. I'll continue to take my fish oil supplements and hope that I'll reap some of the benefits of eating fish until I find something I can stand.
- Dad has an appointment with an ENT on Tuesday. I had to complete the paperwork this week and it nearly killed me. It's so stressful trying to get information from my parents sometimes. The questions stress them out and they get snippy. That stresses me out when they place the burden on me. Let's just suffice it to say that Saturday morning was not a pleasant beginning to my weekend.
- There was an unexpected development in my job search this week. It's not that the result was unexpected, just the timing. Now I have some difficult decisions to make. In theory, it seems that the answer would be obvious; when I begin to consider all the implications to my finances and life, there are more questions than answers. Not a fun place to be in for the guy that really likes to have a clear cut path.
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