I'm Off!

     I told Micro huddle I'm off next week - we are heading to Round Rock to meet our new nephew Braxton who was a couple of months premature. We are staying at that awesome resort we stayed at last year - Kalahari - and I got a two bedroom suite bc Jack and Noah are joining us. Jack decided and asked his friend last minute. There is an amazing 24 hour gym, I said. That sold them, but when I told Noah one night last week it had tons of restaurants and a spa and the largest indoor water park in the world and an outdoor water park he was hook, line and sinker.

    You are always off, said Amy director of micro, and yeah, I get a lot of vacation I know that but with all the call I do and the intense work I am so over feeling guilty about it. I worked my ass off to get here so might as well enjoy the perks. Please sign off on the new Trichomonas validation before you leave she texted Friday and I told her I had two hard cases to finish on Monday and we weren’t leaving until Wednesday so no rush.

    My dad told me something I will never forget when I had Jack, who was also a preemie by six weeks (you could never tell that now LOL). A lot of parents get really nervous taking care of preemies. But they shouldn't. These early kiddos are warriors - they don't have the creature comfort of the full term babies they have already fought hard and won. So when you bring them home don't stress too bad - think of all the kids with way worse means than you are here to provide that make it, even thrive, in this world. Some of the best advice I ever had, and I pass it on - to Mandy, to Sandy, to Natalya - whoever needs it.

    One of my friends from high school's dad passed a couple of weeks ago - I went to the Memorial today. Lorri. We get together with Marcie and Conley every year or so but I missed the last one bc of GI issues. It was good to see them and Amy and Michelle and Robyn and reconnect. Need to plan a high school reunion since we are turning 50, they all said, except you miss 16 year old grad. LOL. I'm 49 this summer, right behind you. 

    The service was lovely - he served in the Marines I think so they played taps and did some fancy thing with the flag (the younger serviceman kind of screwed up the folding and I was thinking they need to bring the women in on this - we can fold the hell out of anything even a fitted sheet except me lol, but he got it right eventually. When the older serviceman placed the properly folded flag on the widow's lap and spoke kind private words to her I teared up).

    Shaver told me this week he got his fourth shot and I said I am just short of 50 I'm nervous. They don't care, he told me, just go. So I went to Employee Health and got it. Told Melody and she did the same. Just in time for the new variants this Fall. We are also entertaining some major shifts involving digital pathology so we met Thursday afternoon with some people. After watching my dad's group unhappily sell out to a national company I'm nervous as hell, and the primary bellwether of the situation. But we've got time, I decided, I need to breathe and not indulge all my chest pain around our tentative future, which mirrors the stress of the world.

    So what happened Friday? Instead of arm pain. There was hip pain and shoulder pain and a super bad head space I was like WTF? Just remembered this morning I had the shot Thursday holy hell that explained a lot. The nurse was saying her fourth shot was the worst mine was too S and I were planning dinner but I struggled to just work on a puzzle and watch Hacks and go to bed. I've got those two hard cases to finish off (Large Cell Undifferentiated Ca of the lung met to brain? Maybe? If my stains pan out and a huge abdominal mass that I think is a carcinoid but Monday will tell). Also massage and hair and lunch with Christy and trip. Ready for a respite. 

    Jack asked for a bunch of cool things for his birthday but air fryer was our most exciting acquisition. I was a little scared of all the hype after the Instapot which was a hard as hell to use nightmare fad except to the good cooks in the world like Tuhina. We also got him a lot of vinyl and a poetry book and some multicolored disposable fountain pens. A mother's dream 17 yo boy bday list. Happy Saturday, Much love, E.