A Winter of Discontent

So regarding the Thanksgiving Weekend football game that I decided to blow off...  I was actually feeling a little guilty about cancelling the pep band appearance, and was trying to just put my mind at ease (especially since the rain excuse wasn't looking like it was going to pan out) when the universe decided to 'help me out' by giving me something else to worry about. 

The short of it is that my father went into the hospital for a menagerie of conditions that converged simultaneously on him on Thanksgiving morning.  Now... I cancelled the pep band appearance two days before this showed up on the radar - some idiotic voice in my head is still trying to guilt trip me about that...  but for the most part I am grateful that I didn't have to scramble to find someone to chaperone in my absence *or* cancel at the last minute.  For the record, the idiot voice is bound, gagged and locked in the closet.

I ended up spending most of the weekend out of town - hanging out with my family at the hospital, mostly watching my dad sleep (struggling for breath and looking generally uncomfortable as hell).  It was a hard thing to see... especially since I couldn't help but think "This will probably be me someday"  I just hope my son will be old enough to handle it, and that I'll be less stubborn than my father is being now. (Long story, which I won't bother you with)

Obviously game wasn't even an afterthought.  I only knew the outcome because the ASB adviser broadcast it on Facebook.  I did bring my own wife and son back home after a few days - she has work and he has school.  I have to at least spend a day getting my classes ready to work towards the concert, without me if necessary.   As of today, dad is kind of doing better, but he's not great.  Even a 'recovery' would put him back to status quo, which was sketchy to begin with.  So I need to be ready to leave again, at a moments notice... and until further notice.

The weird thing is that even given the number of things that can go wrong this month - I'm kind of getting Zen about it.  I feel funny about calling it an 'advantage' - but there is a calming peace that comes with realizing that you can give the world the middle finger once in a while and take care of what's important.