It feels SO good to sit down at my desk right now. It’s been a week of drama, illness, and rearranging schedules. It’s only Wednesday, I know, but no matter! This week’s been a bear to wrestle…
First and foremost, I’ve had to play Nurse Norman for my wife, who woke up at 3am Tuesday morning feeling dizzy and disoriented. I thought she was gonna topple over and crack her head on the master bath marble. Turns out she has a pretty bad inner ear infection gained from a terrible cold she’s been combating since last Thursday. So there I was all day yesterday, escorting her to and from doc appointments…running around picking up meds and food…dropping 10 very specifically-timed ear drops into her right canal…”10…9…8…7…etc.” Checking in and making sure: “Eat your soup!” “Go lie down!” “Take your meds!” “Stop e-mailing work!” (My wife does NOT know how to relax…)
In other news, my pug Mickey was put under and had a very deep-rooted tooth extracted last week and HE’S been on 100 different meds. And getting him to take his required pills is like wrestling TWO panda cubs. Yes, I’m telling you, shoving meds down The Mick’s throat is EXACTLY like THIS. Exhausting! The damn dog’s 19 pounds and it’s seriously like tackling a linebacker. He’s strong! “I’m not trying to kill you, Mickey, I’m trying to ease your pain and prolong your life!!!”
I also have dear friends going through tough times. I wanna be there for them. I wanna bring the good wine over. I wanna listen and support and pay very close attention to what’s going on, and, hopefully, provide some laughs if I can, sitting around their family table. But it’s work! It’s work to be there for your nearest and dearest. You wanna do the best job you can.
So I have been wrestling bears this week. It all comes from a downright obstinate sense of duty. Care-taking’s like a side business for me. I even used to get paid crappily for it. I worked with an elderly male victim of HIV and a woman who died of lung cancer. I’ve seen some shit. LITERALLY. And, don’t get me wrong, I RELISH my position. But then I worry, should anything bad ever happen to ME, what will my people do?? I mean, I’d like to think they wouldn’t be able to function without me. But something tells me they’ll be fine.
Like…JUST. FINE.
That’s cool. I hope they will be just fine. I also hope they remember the care I took of them and the love I showed them. Because loving and caring for my people is almost like a disease for me. If I ever cared to find a cure, I would!
The good news is, I’m going out-of-town next week. Rest could be on the horizon! The wife has a conference in Vegas and we’re gonna go check out some shows (none which feature wrestling bears, however, which surprised me.)
Listen, I’m no fan of Las Veg–I mean, Lost Wages by any stretch. But I AM a rabid devotee of sitting around a fantastical pool, sucking tropical drinks through a giant purple straw, ogling bikini girls, and reading my John Lydon book. Hey, I’ve EARNED that shit. We’ll also be taking a side trip to the Grand Canyon. I’ve never seen it. I really wanna be awed. But my worse fear is I’ll just pull a Clark Griswold and be on my way.
So more to come! And TAKE CARE. 😉
WINE PAIRING: My friend Doug Paul sent us the crisp and tart and completely delicious 2012 Georgia Cuvée from his Three Sisters Vineyards & Winery which we opened and toasted with on Father’s Day. I’m telling you…whatever Doug and his team are doing down there in Dahlonega wine country, they’re doing it RIGHT.