Oh look it's New Years Eve again

Everyone has been whining about 2016. Celebrity deaths and politics.

Newsflash: all of those celebrities were going to die anyway. Many of them were rather old, others had famously done a lot of drugs. There were, of course, a number that died at what we would consider young, and those losses are lamentable. But when you whittle it down, it's not surprising. The Boomers are retiring in droves now, and their idols (which are in their age range +10) are just as plentiful. There aren't more celebrity deaths *per capita*, I don't believe. Just more celebrities in total.

The politics, though, oh wow the politics. I didn't see any of *that* coming at all. I refuse to discuss politics in my aging, dusty blog, however. So enough of that.

I bought a house this year, and that's awesome. My two oldest sons (the ones in school) have shown a sharp increase in their reasoning and negotiating skills (and their math). My third child started speaking in full sentences (having little conversations with him is amazing, and he can ask plainly what he wants, and tell us what bothers him. Makes a world of difference). My daughter understands what we're saying to her. While she can't speak just yet (she says "DA DA DA" when she wants me, and that seems to be it), she can sign a little and motion to what she wants. Again, makes a world of difference.

I appear to have made a full recovery from my surgery, too. The only changes to my diet that I really needed was a switch from larger portions of fat, grease, and salt to smaller ones. And more spaced apart. And never concurrent. (I get to pick one, and have a small amount) It would seem I'm losing weight as a result, too.

I rather enjoyed 2016. I expect to enjoy 2017 as well.

Surgery Pains

The pain. I kept thinking that maybe I had eaten something that didn't agree with me. Or perhaps that something had gone bad that my deficient sense of smell let past. It was the kind of pain in my abdomen that turned up sharply, and you could never find a comfortable position once it set in. The only thing that ever worked was simply waiting it out. Being very still worked best, and I'd lay there until I fell asleep. That was the only way the pain ever stopped: falling asleep. Sucked.

It started about three years ago. It would happen once every few months. I didn't put much thought into it until this past year. It went from every few months to every month, then every couple weeks. Then every week. Then twice or so a week. The increased frequency was joined by a worse pain.

I only told my wife about it two months ago. I never though to bother her with it. (She always thought I had a weak stomach anyway, so I never got the impression she would think any different) She did, to the surprise of no-one, recommend seeing my doctor. So I did.

The poking and prodding showed a specific pain. The x-ray showed nothing. The blood work said my liver was up to something. The sonogram showed a huge gallstone. The doctor then sent me to a surgeon. The surgeon looked at it and told me that I could just walk away, but that this thing would likely cause some severe damage to my life. (Something about obstructive jaundice or  pancreatitis)  I just needed to give him a go-ahead. So I did. The gall bladder had to go.

They put me down for two days later. Apparently that's quick.

Just over a week ago, on the 15th, I was hoping that the snow would pass. I hate waiting, and I hate rescheduling. I got there in time, but everyone *else* was delayed. Oh sure they admitted me and stuck me with an IV on time, but I sat with that thing in my hand an hour longer than I expected.

I'm not complaining. Really.

My dear wife got the wifi password and we watched stuff. She had a coat on. I wore a very unflattering gown that opened in the back. She had the eggs. I wasn't allowed to eat. I've had better lunch dates.

Then they rolled me into the operating room. Out of nowhere a hand holding a mask pops over my mouth and a voice tells me to take ten deep breaths. So I did. I counted them. When I reached ten, I told them that whatever was in there wasn't very good. The voice told me I only made it to five.

Dude, I counted.

So I started again. One, two, three-

And like changing the channel, I was suddenly in a different room. It wasn't so sudden as to be unnerving, but there I was. Once the staff noticed I was awake they were very attentive. I asked how it went, and he was happy to show me the four gigantic cuts in me. I had been unconscious just under two hours. He didn't know who my wife was to call her in.

Across the room, I saw another man recovering from a surgery. Same IV, same ugly gown. We noticed each other and gave each other this weak nod, as if to say "I need to get the heck out of here and into my *own* bed".

My wife appeared. So did my stuff. What little food I ate almost reappeared, too. (I'd complain about the anesthetic, but I think the pros vastly outweigh the cons here) I couldn't bend down, or twist. I couldn't use any of the muscles in my abdomen without massive sharp pain.

For the first time ever, my wife put my pants *on* me.

Then we drove home. With anesthesia induced nausea. In a blizzard. I was intensely grateful that my pharmacy was on the way, else I wouldn't have had my amazing pain meds when I needed them the most.

I spent the next several days cleaning out my YouTube 'watch later' list. I'd say I'm about 80% better. So far.

Yay surgery.

No shave Novemburrr

As I have often done, I refused to shave during the month of November.  No-shave-November, Movember, Novembeard, I've heard quite a few variants of the name. It's supposed to be to raise awareness of something, but I just use it as an excuse to be lazy.

Also, my wife seems to really like it. I start to hate it about two weeks in. (I'm lazy, but not that lazy)

So three days into December, I decided I needed to see my face again. This year was met with some similar experiences, and some new ones.

Old ones:
My face is cold. As in the gentle breeze caused by simply walking put a chill to my chin. More pronounced this year due to cooler weather. Still old news.
My wife did a double take and said nothing.

New:
My 19 month old daughter caught the sight of me, and made it very clear that I did not have her permission to shave. She can't speak yet, however her ability to communicate is unparalleled. If I ran this by her in advance, she would have said no. Maybe it's better that I didn't.

I still have a blog

Turns out buying a house, and the subsequent work on it, really takes up a lot of time.

I should post before / after pictures. Once the after part is done, anyway.

Figured it out

Turns out that when my baby daughter is sucking on Cheerio's, her breath smells like toast.

She doesn't even have teeth.

The longest of days

When nobody sleeps well (enough, or at all), the following day is just a chore.

In my teens and 20's, New Years Day was a fun day off. Half way through my 30's, I understand why it's a day off. For me it's because I have four kids that won't let me sleep on a normal night.

This whole 'getting old' thing is crap.