if at second you don't succeed ...
well, the D&C went as well as could be expected. not sure why we were to be at the hospital at 10:30 am when the procedure didn't start until 2:35 pm (and subsequently finish 15 minutes later) but i can't complain too much. my wife slept for a decent amount of the wait; the stuff in her IV drip must've been good considering at 27 and being her first ever operation she was calm enough to sleep! i mean, damn, they should have hooked me up as well!
the doc was the first person to talk with me post-op. he was cool and straight to the point ... you know how it goes (when it goes well) -- it's all good ... i'm the man ... she's just chillin' now (paraphrasing of course) -- but i forgot the one thing i was supposed to ask: so, like, when do we get to try try again?! damn! you would think that would be the first thing on my mind, being a guy and all. :)
ok, so we make it back home and i get her settled in with a bowl of the old fashioned chicken noodle soup -- you know, the stuff with the thin, rectangular noodles, and small cubes of chicken -- and something to gaze at upon the tv; then it's time for me to go run the errands. no problem, i just need to get cash, pain meds for ... well ... both of us (advil liquid gells for her, and some "cocktail sauce" for me, if you know what i mean), and retrieve the kid. well, the shopping was fine and so it was on to the in-laws. i show up and it seems all is as should be -- and by all accounts it was. however, i could tell emotionally stunted mother-in-law wasn't sure how to deal with me, or rather the situation; and emotionally born-again father-in-law wanted to avoid the whole conversation sans finding out his daughter is okay.
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begin mini-tangent
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let me paint the picture a little bit. father-in-law (fil) was the hard-ass, do-as-i-say-before-i-have-to-say-it, and fear-the-hell-out-of-me type raising his kids. there's nothing particularly wrong with that; in fact they have 4 kids, all of which have turned out great and stayed out of trouble. however, the tide turned the day i asked permission to marry his daughter. i couldn't even get the question out and already had the teary-eyed thumbs up from future fil. he then cried while giving her away at our wedding. he then cried the first time we told him of his first grand child to be. he then cried when first holding his grand daughter. he then cried when we first told him of grand child number 2. so, you can predict his emotional bewilderment upon learning of the miscarriage of grand child number 2 and the subsequent operation.
mother-in-law (mil) is ... umm ... well ... she's ... okay, i'm stuck ... here's her deal: mil gets up very early every morning to cook breakfast and begin preparations for dinner. she has always driven she and fil to all social occasions so fil can get his drink on. she fears technology of any kind to the point of ineptitude. she can't express herself through anything other than types of smiles -- you know how it is, if she's being teased she smiles wryly; if she's ecstatic she smiles widely, and so on. she's always carried herself in a way that exudes a sort of dignified servitude. neither mil nor fil historically have shown any sort of affection to the kids or each other ... ever!
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end mini-tangent
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so, i collect the kid and her things, side step the awkward acknowledgement of the circumstance, then bolt for home. i made sure to make the kid understand that mommy doesn't feel good and she must be gentle with her. i mean, how do you explain to a 21 month old that mommy just had surgery and she can't play right now, and don't jump on her the way you like to? but i guess our little heart to heart on the way home took. right when we got in the door the kid made her way down the stairs to mommy on the couch. all she said was "i wuv you, mommy" and all she did was climb up next to her and lay her head on mommy's shoulder. it was incredibly norman-rockwell-wrapped-in-a-halmark-card! what a sweet kid.
now the kid needs to go to the other grand parents house to spend the night. off to nana and papa's! nana gives me a hug and a kiss with prodding of concern for me; papa isn't sure what to do so it's our patented cool-guy handshake followed by a fist to my chest followed by his hand supportively massaging on my neck and shoulder with words of encouragement. then the kid gives me an extended hug, like 20 full seconds! she's awesome.
finally i go pick up McD's for the wife and me -- 3 dbl cheeseburgers (2 for me) and 2 medium fries for $5; that kicks ass! -- and head home. ok, all is well ... it's time to pop in walk the line, check one last time to make sure the wife is good to go, make myself a cocktail then sink into my couch.
i need a vacation! but it's back to work in the morning ... oy, i'm gonna be inundated with email!
take care, everyone.
