"Mike, Get In Your Canoe" and other Notable Happenings...

There has been a lot of stuff going on around here, probably enough for about 4 separate blog posts, but in the interest of multi-tasking, I'm going to condense a bit.

A Doctor In the Family!

This past weekend, my sister Kellie FINALLY graduated from PA school. Meaning, she is now an official Physician's Assistant, which is practically a doctor!! We celebrated by attending her graduation and throwing a huge party with lots of friends and family. The party went off without a hitch despite some kinks in the plan (see next section of the blog!) and continued long into the night at the pond with Kellie's BFF classmates Morgan and Amanda, their siblings, Gabe, Shawn, me, and a few other random people. The graduation itself was also very nice, or so I hear. I missed 100% of the actual ceremony because my little monster was pretty much unwilling to even BE in the auditorium, much less sit still and be quiet. In hindsight, I don't know why we didn't just leave him with someone for the 2 hours we were there, but at least we had the good company of about 24 other toddlers and parents inhabiting the lobby as well. In any event, Kellie graduated, many pictures were taken, we celebrated hard and then the next day she had her very first duty as a PA...

Mike, Get In Your Canoe! The cumulation of events goes like this: Dad has back problems for years. Back problems become more severe the week before graduation, prompting him to schedule surgery (laminectomy and spinal fusion), cancel a vacation, and carry a walker around (but not actually use it.) Meanwhile, Mom is working everyday and mad things need to be done to prepare for the party. Despite instructions (and common sense) that say NOT TO DO physical work, we keep finding Dad doing things like leaf-blowing, mowing the lawn, and trying to carry groceries. With the help of a lot of good friends and family (most notably the ever-helpful Bickharts and my good friend Nancy) everything gets done. During graduation, Dad acts normal. The day after graduation, his pain suddenly takes a leap.

After much deliberation, Mom and Kellie (and his surgeon) opt to have him admitted to the hospital and bump his surgery up. He is in so much pain he cannot walk, and is pretty much trapped up in the bedroom of my parents 1840's farmhouse. There is no way for Mom and Kellie to get him down, so an ambulance is called. He spends the next 2 days in the hospital, on morphine, getting MRIs and CAT scans. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday (yesterday) at 2p.m. We all arrive to hang out with him for an hour or so before surgery (which turns into about 3 hours.) In typical Flock family fashion, there is much laughter, much whining, and much weirdness (picture: Mom lying in bed with Dad, us daughters accidently getting flashed when they put on his surgery stockings, and Mom saying weird things like "Mike, get in your canoe!" which is apparently some reference for him to go to his happy place.)

Long (yes, I know its long but really, it is condensed!!) story: surgery lasted till about 11pm, all went well, and now begins the long road of recovery to becoming semi-mobile again...

Dad, high on morphine

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

The week prior to the graduation was a really fun one for me. First, my oldest friend Jeanette came home from Alaska for her yearly trek east. Her second pit-stop was at our house, and the Adams' joined us for a night of food, fun, wine, campfire, texting (don't ask) and just a general feel-good feeling of being with old friends, people who know you, and know your stories, and still never run out of things to laugh about. The next week, Jeanette, Nancy and I planned a Girls Night Out in Lewisburg, and once again had a great time: we ate at Marco's Tapas (where BYOB means BYO Box of Wine according to us), had some drinks at the Bull Run Inn, were joined by an old high school friend and Nancy's brother, played a game called "Things" that was a lot more exciting than it sounds, and pretty much rendered ourselves as non-functioning for the next 24 hours or so--but it was worth it. I definitely fell asleep with a smile that night (and I guess J and N have pictures to prove it!)

Things That Make a Really Fun Night: Jeanette, her cell phone, Nancy, boxed wine and vodka. Gabe and Raymie too.

Also worth mentioning was that in between those two nights I had ANOTHER Girl's Night Out (I know, really big week for me!) with my "mommy" friends Jen and Salena. A dinner out, a few drinks, a lot of conversation and laughter with people who know you, but DONT know all your stories, and of course never run out of things to laugh about.

I need to remind myself more often how very lucky I am to have so many wonderful friends. Not to mention a great family, a lot of wonderful family-friends, and a pretty awesome husband and kid. But having great girlfriends is like a tonic for the soul. And its something I can never have too much of.