Freak Condition

Ty called on Tuesday to tell me some good news.  HE HAS A BLOOD CLOT IN HIS RIGHT ARM!  The good news is that he caught it.  He went into the health clinic on campus because one arm was a different color than the other one.  They sent him to get an ultrasound and see a specialist, and from there he went to the emergency room to get injections of heavy-duty blood thinners. 

Ty called his dad on Friday, because he thought I'd freak out if he talked to me.  They had admitted him to the Springfield Hospital (he had to ask the nurse what the name of the hospital was) and he would have to stay for a couple nights because he needed to be monitored closely in case he started bleeding internally.  When I called and talked to him, it slipped out that HE WAS IN THE ICU!  Everything was fine though because his friends were coming and bringing burritos and the NBA playoffs were on!

Now he is scheduled for surgery, and another night in the hospital, to have his first rib removed, which is pushing on the vein, which is causing the clotting.  We don't want this to keep happening.  Apparently, there is only one vein in your right arm, and it would be pretty debilitating if it wasn't healthy.  

He doesn't want me to come.  He thinks his roommate will drop him off and someone will give him a ride home when he's released from the hospital.  I'm not convinced that's the best plan. We'll talk some more, but I can go to Eugene anytime I want!  I'm his mom, and I don't think he knows about having a rib removed and the recovery process.  I'm his mom!

Former Students

I've been teaching long enough, and I'm getting old enough, that former students turn up in strange situations.  One of my friends was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall and had a mastectomy.  Her oncologist's intern was a former student.  Another friend went to her son's engagement party and met the identical twin of her soon-to-be daughter-in-law's mother.  (That's a lot of hyphens...and confusing.)  Anyway, my friend was her sixth grade teacher.  The mother of the bride was in the other class and hated her teacher.  I haven't run into former students yet (except finding them in arrest records in the paper), but it's just a matter of time.

Mom's Gift

It's my mom's birthday.  My sister and I usually scout out Arts in the Park and find something we can go in together on.  This year I went to Arts in the Park with Mom.  The only thing that tempted her was a booth where an artist, Julie Peterson, painted little birds and flowers.  Later that afternoon, I went back and picked up a couple little prints for her - one for summer, and one for winter.

The next morning I returned to Arts in the Park, early, so I could find a good parking place.  A lot of the booths weren't even opened yet.  I had just ordered a scone for breakfast when I spotted my sister and her husband across the way.  Nan had already found the perfect gift for Mom, a print of little chickadees and roses from Julie Peterson.

It was freaky!  I guess Nan just knows Mom.  I'm sure she'll love the gifts.  I just need to order another frame so that the little collection will be cohesive.

You Learn Something Everyday

I have my sixth graders interview each other and then introduce their partner to the class.  They're suppose to make their introduction interesting and tell us things that we might not know about their partner.  Today was very interesting.  This is what we learned:

6 1/2 toes on each foot

 

 

 

Wow!  That's interesting!

Mom's Gift

It's my mom's birthday.  Every year my sister and I check out Arts in the Park for the perfect gift.  We usually go in on something together.  This year I went with Mom to Arts in the Park, and the only booth that she was tempted by was an artist, Julie Peterson, who painted pretty little flowers and birds.  I went back to the booth later that day and bought Mom a couple little prints.  One for summer, and one for winter. 

I returned to Arts in the Park the next morning, early, so I could get a good parking place.  A lot of the booths hadn't even opened yet.  I had just ordered a scone for breakfast and I looked across the way and saw my sister and her husband.  They had just arrived too, but Nan had already bought something for Mom's birthday - a little print of birds and flowers from Julie Peterson!

It was freaky!  I guess Nan just knows Mom.  I'm sure she'll love her birthday gifts.  I just need to order another frame so that the collection is cohesive.
 

Makes You Wonder

I neglected to mention a few weird things from our trip.  Here’s a list:

• These construction vehicles parked along with other cars in visitor parking spaces.

• We saw a dead beaver in the middle of the road up by Big Sky.  Why would a beaver cross the road?
• I’ve seen watch for livestock or deer crossing signs before, but never a bighorn sheep crossing sign.  I kept my eyes peeled, but I didn’t see any sheep.  I would have liked to.
• We were behind this big F 150 on the way to Bozeman.  Why would you buy one in New York and drive it out West?  Just ‘pick-up’ one when you get here.
• There were only 2 or 3 exits in Bozeman, but as we were leaving town, we couldn’t find a gas station to save our lives.  We drove from the U of M campus out to the middle exit, through all kinds of shopping centers, including a Costco, but couldn’t see a gas station.  Finally on the far side of the exit there was a little mini-mart with pumps.  This is a business opportunity for somebody.
• In a ranch outside of Livingston, Montana, we saw a pasture full of llamas.  I’ve see farms where a few are living.  They’re a nice hobby or FFA project.  There must have been 75-100 of them in this field.  It made me happy.  They (along with quail) always make me think of Dr. Suess characters.

One More Thing

I just have to add this about the hotel that we stayed at in Rexburg.  When we went to check out, the girl said that everything was paid and asked if we wanted a receipt.  When Terry said yes, she reached under the counter where they had a stack of receipts already copied.  This is what it looked like:

There's a zero balance at the bottom, but nothing else - not the name of the hotel, the date, our name, nothing.  It was pretty funny.  Terry didn't say anything, just thank you. 

Dim the Lights

Actually, the lights went out.  They were passing the sacrament at church and we lost power.  There aren't any windows in the chapel, but there were 3 or 4 emergency lights that came on.  There wasn't a mic or air conditioning.  We started testimony meeting thinking that they would flicker back on soon.  Many people came forward and talked loud as they bore their testimonies.  It was more comfortable for some because people couldn't see very well in the dim light.  The lighting did set a quiet, reverent mood.  In the end, the organist moved to the piano and used her cell phone for light to play the closing hymn.  We all went home early and didn't finish our block of meetings.  It made for a perfect Sabbath.

I've never sat through a church meeting in the dark before, but there have been 2 or 3 times when our microphone picks-up a ham radio operator in the area.  That's pretty funny.  You never know how long the conversation will be, or what might be said over the mic, so they've just turned it off and had speakers speak- up.  We also smelled something burning once and the fire department came.  We didn't evacuate, but there were jokes about God striking someone, or sending a sign.

Double Dog Double-Take

I was driving through Bown Crossing this afternoon and saw a golf cart coming down the road.  There isn't a golf course very close and it's not the kind of road where a golf cart would be sort of legal.  The young guy driving looked very casual, like he might drive this way every afternoon, and in the back seat of the golf cart were two big, black, Newfoundland dogs, looking this way and that.  Not five seconds later I turned the corner and saw an older couple walking their dogs along the greenbelt.  They looked like twin dogs again, only this time they were brown and white Brittany Spaniels, and they both had plastic cones around their necks.  Weird in a happy, funny way.