a lot of stuff

Clare,

I hope that your trip is going well. Life is getting back to normal here, post-vacation.

I'm not sure life is ever normal here.

I would settle for stable…
or even boring once in a while.

So, there is a lot to write about…
Papa D. is in bad shape. It sounds like he's pretty depressed about his cancer. The tumor is large and invasive, but the surgeons may be able to resect the primary tumor. That will be good. If there isn't distant spread that may clear the cancer…
if it has spread there isn't much else to do. Husband called S#5 and they spoke. He offered any assistance to anyone that wants to talk.
It's a strange sense that someone who is "bigger than life" like Papa D, is being brought down by some rogue cells. Those cells went 'bad' because of choices and exposures in his life time.
Everything we do matters.
It all matters.
The other lesson is that none of us will last forever.

I had some revision surgery on my lady lumps this week.
I had scar tissue removed that was pulling and causing pain. The surgeon also worked on the sides that were funky. He used liposuction to contour the sides. It was crazy watching the fat being sucked out of my torso. He did only a small area, but it was enough to motivate me to go back on weight watchers. I needed a visual to motivate me…and that was quite visual. I'm healing pretty well. Some swelling, pain and bruising, but relatively mild for the work he did.

I am struggling with my young man's behaviors still. He agreed to do some things for me…
and then lied about doing them…
and then is angry when I point it out.
I hate being the strict/structured mom…
but if I allow him to get out of a commitment by lying then I've taught a poor lesson that won't serve him in life. He's tough to read sometimes. Fostering is harder than I ever thought it would be.

My youngest is finally ungrounded…
better mood because he's not stuck at home all the time.
At least I can breath on that front.

I hope your trip is safe and swift. I look forward to your return here, to our virtual space.
Love and Light beautiful sister,
Maggie