Disappointments and Responsibilities

So, yesterday evening my dad went to the hospital for what he thought was the flu. His doctor freaked out and admitted him to the hospital. He's had 3 pints of blood and some other medications. He's had internal bleeding on top of the flu and previously diagnosed with cancer. Needless to say, it was an ugly night last night. My cousin Kevin dropped my mom off at the hospital and she had my son with her since I was still at work. She left the hospital around 4:30 while it was still daylight. At 6:30 my husband panicked that she still wasn't home and they couldn't find her anywhere between the hospital and home.

My mother ended up across town at a Burger King. The nice girl at the register told me mom to use her cell phone. When my mom couldn't get a hold of my husband, (she can't call me at work because we can't have a cell phone on us...anyway) she didn't know who to call. My son told her that he knows Michael's phone # and dialed the phone all by himself. This is not a revelation that my son knows how to call Michael. We do it often and I'm glad that he knows. My revelation is that my son was level-headed in a stressful situation. My mom was pretty freaked out about getting SOOO lost. She started crying. My son told Michael (after he raced across town) that he was scared, but he told my mom that it's OK and that everyone makes mistakes.

So, like I said, last night was ugly. My husband told me that I should stay here instead of go to a conference. I have a great boss who told me it was OK for me to stay in town and that family comes first. My good old Catholic guilt is bothering me about not going, but my great Catholic guilt would haunt me if I left town and wasn't here for my mom. On the way over to the hospital, my mom started crying and said, "What will I do without him?" That's a hard thing to hear. I played the Oh mom, you're fine. In reality she really would be fine, but that's not what she was referring. I know what she meant, and I guess I didn't like knowing that my mom truly needs my dad. I don't know if she loves him because they fight like cats and dogs, but she relies on him and him on her.

It's hard to know when my dad is really sick since he's such a hypochondriac, but I could tell that he needed my mom and was sad when she went home today.
I'm totally bummed that I am missing a fun weekend with a bunch of hippies-granola crunching Art teachers who think make up is the devil, but I know that my mom needed me more than my dad and I needed to stay.