Hits and Misses (September 14-20)

Another week has come and gone. Here's a look back at the week that was...

HITS

• DAD FINALLY CAME HOME!!! It's been a long summer and ended with a long hospital stay. On Wednesday, I'll share this summer's timeline that led to our recent hospital stay. We're just happy to have Dad home again where we can take care of his needs, ensure he gets the rest he needs, and enjoy time with him in the comfort of our home.
• I love the Fall for many reasons, one of which is all of the new books that are released. I post release dates on my calendar to make sure I get the latest works by my favorite authors as soon as they are available. This week I picked up Ken Follett's novel, Edge of Eternity. This is the final installment in his Century Trilogy that I have thoroughly enjoyed so far. I'm hoping to finish my current book early this week so I can dive into Follett's depiction of the 1960s and 1970s.
• On Friday, the first recital of the semester was a success. I assisted Dr. Stanley Warren, vocal professor at Union University, in a community recital featuring American songs. It was a fun program to play, a pleasure to prepare with Stan, and the subsequent luncheon was wonderful! It was definitely the way I like to get things started. Now I shift my focus to the three recitals scheduled for October.

MISSES

• This week saw three sessions of unsuccessful auditions for a high school cabaret that I have volunteered to do music for. We saw a grand total of four students. It's discouraging to have such a poor turn out. It's also poor timing since my mind is elsewhere with Dad's care right now. I'm following through because I made a verbal commitment, not because I'm actually interested in the production. Oh well....such is the life of the musician at times.
• With all of the busyness of the past few weeks, I am finding that I have very little time to read at the moment. That really is a tragedy for me. I sense my stress level rising because I'm not devoting time to my favorite method of escapism. I'm hoping that things will turn around this week in this area, but I also know that I have to devote time to other things that have been neglected in recent weeks. We'll just have to watch and see how soon my reading life returns to a normal routine.
• Prepping for Dad's return home was a challenge. There was so much uncertainty about when he would be coming home and what would be needed that it was impossible to do much advance preparation. I'm all about advance preparation; I don't handle flying by the seat of my pants very well. Now that he's home, the continued prep is even slower because his care is my primary concern and responsibility.
• On Saturday, I got sent out to do the grocery shopping while Mom stayed home to rest. (As a side note, the geriatric patient went on a FIELD TRIP for ice cream with the grands while I was at the grocery. Yeah, I'm not gonna let that one go for a while....) I love to cook when I have a recipe to follow. I HATE shopping for fresh produce though. I don't feel as though I know what I'm looking for. With Dad's new diet restrictions, I was quickly frustrated as I compared labels without another set of eyes along to help think through the information with me. Not being able to find things in the grocery didn't help my mood very much either. Thankfully, a wonderful friend saw my frustration and came to my aid (even though we STILL haven't found purple hull peas in the supermarket!). 

There you have it! We're definitely expecting a good week here in the Geriatric Ward and wish you a blessed week as well.