The surgery went well. We aren't out of the woods yet--I'll know more tomorrow--but so far, so good.

Dropped my dad off at the hospital tonight. Have to get up before 5 to see him off. Everyone's holding up pretty well. Sorry if I haven't called/written. I spent the day with my family (and mowed the lawn. Boy do I not miss that). Dinner was good. This is really hard on my sister--she got a little upset. So far I'm fine. I've made my peace with it. If anything does go wrong, well, I've had a fantastic week that I wouldn't have had otherwise. He knows I love him, and there's really nothing more to do. When we were waiting to check him in, he leaned over and whispered, "I'm glad you're okay with everything. Be strong for your mom and sister." I will.

He wrote us all letters in case something goes wrong. I intend to read mine on my flight home as he's recovering.

My dad has one of those daily calendars where you tear off the pages. It's a baseball theme and each new day has different facts. He's torn every one off until the 29th. Depressing.

First of all, my folks have a dial up modem, so it's taken me 20 minutes to get to this site. I miss my cable access.

Last night I stepped of the plane and took a deep breath. Cold and wet. Yep. I'm in Ohio. My sister was picking me up on her way home from Ohio University (not Ohio State, everyone always mixes them up), and was caught in traffic in Nelsonville. I waited outside with my luggage and a few Hershey Kisses with caramel. She finally arrived and we began the hour+ ride home. We talked about movies and classes and the apartment Paul and I will be moving into. We passed the Huber Heights exit on I-70, and I started to get excited. I haven't seen my family since November, and it's been hard being so far away while my dad is going through this. As we were pulling off I-75 at the Little York Road exit, Lindsay looks at me.

"So, do you really think he's going to survive the surgery? I feel like there's something they're not telling me."

I almost threw up.

I haven't talked about this in a while, and some people have been asking. On April 29th, my dad is having open heart surgery. They are repairing all of his mitrovalves and repairing or replacing his aortic valve. They won't know if it needs to be replaced until they open him up. It's been scary lately, and I've been thinking a lot about possible outcomes. But it wasn't until I heard about a conversation he had with my sister that I was sad. My dad is superman. And he called my sister to say if there's anything he can do for her before she graduates college to let him know, because he might not be around. He's thinking about his own mortality. And I wonder how scared he is. I wonder what he will be thinking Thursday morning when we wish him luck and they take him to the OR. By himself. Alone. What will go through his head? How scared is he? Because, you know, he may not wake up. That's hard for me to think about, but I can't imagine what he's going through. I'm flying home Friday and will be there until May 2, so I'll get to spend a lot of time with him before the operation. And I'll be there the two critical days afterwards. People at work keep saying how nice it must be to have a whole week off work. And, to tell you the truth, I'd really rather be there. I'd rather this wasn't happening at all.

I love my dad.

Very much.

How To Deal With A Charging Bull
1. Do not antagonize the bull, and do not move. Bulls will generally leave humans alone unless they become angry.
2. Look around for a safe haven--an escape route, cover, or high ground. Running away is not likely to help unless you find an open door, a fence to jump, or another save haven--bulls can easily outrun humans.
2. If a safe haven is not available, remore your shirt, hat or another article of clothing. Use this to distract the bull. Despite the colors bullfighters traditionally use, bulls do not naturally head for red--they react to and move toward movement, not color.
4. If the bull charges, remain still and then throw your hat or shirt away from you. The bull should head toward the object you have thrown.

*Tip: If you encounter a stampede of bulls or cattle, do not try to distract them. Try to determine where they are headed, and then get out of the way. If you cannot escape, your only option is to run alongside the stampede to avoid getting trampled.

1. My Sirius stock went from $3.05 on March 15 to $4.03 today.
2. My boss gave me a $30 gift certificate to a spa because she lived too far away. I live four blocks away and am scheduled to have a detoxifying linen herbal wrap Saturday morning.
3. This is disgusting.