whirlwind.

Lately life has been a flurry of events. Thursday, Papa had an appointment with a local cardiologist. He was doing pretty well, considering he hasn't been feeling well. As Thursday and Friday progressed, it was clear that his condition was inexplicably declining almost hour by hour. It was decided that he should be taken down to my aunt and uncle's house in case his condition worsened and he needed to be hospitalized. He hasn't yet, thank the Lord, but at least he is down there. Anyhow, on the trip down he was almost unresponsive to my dad, awake, but not really coherently there. Almost as soon as they arrived at my aunt's house, something switched and he was like his old self, conversing, telling stories, cracking jokes, eating better than he has in weeks, etc. The whole thing is puzzling, even to the doctors. After a few hours, though, he was back to acting like some "triggers" in his brain were missing. When given food, he would sit there like he wasn't sure what to do. He had a hard time getting his socks and shoes on. He just wasn't acting like himself. Yesterday was much of the same.

Meanwhile, on Saturday my parents, sister, and I went over to my Gramma's house to have dinner with her and help her clean a little and get packed. Sunday, my parents and I picked up my Gramma around 9:30 and we headed over to the coast. We stopped in Cambria for lunch, and then drove to Morro Bay, where their house is. We were there for about 1.5 hours, and in that time we tackled the weeds in the front yard that had been growing for months. We left there at 3:00 and then headed down to the Ventura area, where my aunt's house is. That trip only took us a little over 3 hours. Anyhow, we got there, unloaded my Gramma, had a quick dinner, and then we hit the road again, this time back home. As we arrived back in town, my dad needed to stop at one of his client's offices, so my mom and I dropped him off and we went to the grocery store for milk and a few other items. We finally arrived home at 10 pm to a sweltering house. It was 95 degrees yesterday, so the house, at least upstairs, was 88 degrees when we got home. Too hot to sleep, that's for sure! I quickly changed into my pajamas and got ready for bed. I was exhausted after a long trip in the car. The official total was 449 miles and 13 hours. What a day!

In the past week, I've been working hard to finally get my closet and room cleaned up. I am happy to report that the closet has made a big improvement. In fact, you can almost walk through the parts you are supposed to be able to walk through. The project will continue on tonight and throughout the week. As soon as I get much of the crap off the floor in my room, I'm planning to rearrange some of the furniture in my room. After it's all done, I hope to post some pictures.

On top of all of this, my aunt (mom's sister), whom we have had little contact with in the recent past is going to be staying with us. She was supposed to arrive next Saturday, but rescheduled her flight to arrive on Wednesday afternoon instead. So, my mom and I get to head to LAX on Wednesday afternoon to pick her up. She is 8 years older than my mom, and have had little relationship most of their lives, not from lack of trying on my mom's end. So, it should be an interesting visit. We don't know how long she's staying exactly, either. On top of everything going on with Papa, this has been an added stress on all of my family, but especially my mom.

You might not have noticed, but I have somewhat conveniently been ignoring an update on my plan to read through the Bible this year. I'm sorry to report that awhile back I gradually slowed my reading until it came to an altogether stop. I let the busyness of life get in the way, mostly as an excuse to make myself feel better, I'm sure. However, I am happy to report that about a week ago I began reading again. And I am determined to not only read everyday, but to read a day or two's worth in order to catch up to the place I should have been at this point. Obviously, "this point" changes every day, so I'm hoping to catch up as quickly as possible. I would rather not mention how long I "took a break," but catching up is somewhat of a daunting task.

I think that's a pretty good recap of the whirlwind I've been experiencing. And I'm afraid that this is just the beginning.