5: The Inbetween

The next few days just roll into one.

Im up throughout the night popping some pills, trying to get comfortable, icing down the swollen parts, finding something to watch at 3am is terrible. Thank god MTV just marathons Ridiculousness overnight, this way I dont have to scroll through Imgur or facebook to find funny internet videos to watch. My dad shows up to the house the morning after surgery all bright eyed and bushy tailed. See, Today is Dads day, a day that I think he thoroughly enjoys, hes cooking my favorite meal for me and my buddies. Mom and I are pretty tight, we bond over a lot, but one of those things is medicine. So while Dad has been sitting back watching what was going on and trying to rationalize and understand it, Mom and I were leagues ahead, cracking jokes and exchanging dirty looks about what was going on. Dad, Claire and I have some morning tea and coffee, and we're ready to head to the grocery store. I felt pretty good and this is something I wanted to do with him regardless of how I felt. I even forgo riding one of the little carts around the store. The walking seems to help reduce some pain and stretch out the groin muscles that have been tight since surgery. I tolerate the trip pretty well except for some back pain. Once we're home Dad gets to cooking, and pretty much everyone else takes a nap. Later that night, the food is done, it smells so good but unfortunately, i'm not hungry. I pick a little here and there just for some taste while everyone else digs in. We call it quits pretty early, Mom and Dad and Tammy were planning on staying the weekend, but theres a storm coming that is supposed to drop 1-2 feet of snow while they were driving back, so the plans changed and everyone is leaving in the morning. Which is fine, im feeling way better than I thought I could. Its Saturday morning and my mom had snuck up on me during a pain episode. For some reason rhythmic rocking is my go to when I am in severe pain. She watched for about 10 minutes for deciding she was staying a few extra days in case this got worse. It didn't. The pain was pretty consistent, but mild and well controlled with the drugs if we stayed on top of them. I wasnt a big fan of her having to change her plans just because of the pain, but as I am slowly learning during this, I need to let people help me because it helps me, and them. Dont be selfish, I try to tell myself. Mom leaves after a few uneventful days of recovery and watching it dump snow. Its pretty and there's no fomo going on because everyone else is also stuck inside. These were a few good days.