Staying on Task

NaNoWriMo

I made it over the hump of week 1 of NaNoWriMo and surprisingly to me, I still have ideas to work with! Leading up to the start of the event on November 1st, I followed the advice of my friend Amy Strickland and wrote an outline and got my typing fingers in gear to plot out settings, characters, and what I actually wanted to do with my story. It's been going well, and for the most part I'm staying on topic, but more importantly, I'm meeting my word goals each day. There have even been days where I've given myself a cushion and have been able to get out of the house. And, thank goodness for small favors, because I needed a cushion for this past weekend.

Small Wonders

I got a dreaded phone call on Friday morning; my mom was in the hospital and the doctors thought she'd had a heart attack. The 170 miles from home that I was might have been 170,000. Luckily, I work for an amazing family and was on the road within the hour, headed home to my mommy. I was able to get to the hospital before they took her for a cardiac catherization (where they would have done an angioplasty) and I was able to be with my dad and brother through the procedure. After a very long hour, the cardiologist told us that her arteries were clear, her heart was beautiful and it wasn't a heart attack. Thank you God. So, what was wrong?

When you have pneumonia, an infection settles in your lungs and fluid builds up, making it difficult to breathe. What happened to my mom was similar to that, only the infection settled in her chest and the fluid built up between her heart and lungs, causing her to feel pain in her chest and back. She presented with all the symptoms of a silent heart attack. Her doctors were wonderful and through and thankfully it wasn't anything life-threatening. She's going to feel horrid for the next three weeks, but she's going to get better.

I spent the rest of the weekend and Monday helping my brother and dad get the house cleaned, get the laundry done, do some cooking and basically doing everything that my mom shouldn't be doing. While she was still very tired and had no energy when I left, I knew she was in good hands with my brother and dad, and would be much better when I get back at Thanksgiving.

Speaking Of...

Thanksgiving. Why is everyone making such a big deal about Christmas stuff being everywhere? When was the last time you decorated for Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is about spending time with the people you care about, about being grateful for what you have, and what you can give to others. It's not a commercial holiday. OK, granted, I do get my turkey free from Giant every year, but still... do you sing Turkey carols? Here's the thing.

My feeling on this is that I can be thankful for what I have and what I can give to others while I enjoy Christmas music. I love spending two months walking around department stores and soaking up the holiday spirit. The music, the smells, the colors, everything! Basically, I think people are making way to big a deal out of a couple extra weeks of holiday hoopla, when they could be out spreading the cheer and the joy. Because, let's face it... we should be doing that year round anyway... only right now, we can be singing fun, cheerful carols while we do it!