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Thanks to Jerry at WorldVenture for this giggle. After reading about my upcoming surgery and concerns he sent me this joke.
Man to doctor: "So doc, will I be able to sing after the operation?"
Doctor: "Oh, sure."
Man: "That's fantastic, because I can't sing worth beans now!"
Even though I'm not sure how soon I'll be leaving, I have started going through my things to decide what goes and what stays. Books are one of the hardest areas to weed through. And I've got a lot. I don't plan on throwing them away, but I will need to give away/sell most of them.
So I got to thinking about why it's so hard to get rid of books. I've read most of the books on my shelves. Chances are good that I won't read most of them again - even though I found many of the books enjoyable. So why is it so hard? I have no trouble putting knicknacks, clothes, CDs and other things into the yard sale boxes. But books? I have a very hard time letting them go.
Tonight I had dinner at the home of a friend. We were talking with her 14-year-old daughter about several of the books I read in literature classes in graduate school. I remembered how much pleasure I had gotten from the stories - using my imagination to be transported into the worlds created by gifted story tellers.
It dawned on me then that giving up books is like giving up old friends. I got so wrapped up in the lives of the characters and felt like I knew them well. And even though I may never read those particular books again I keep them on the shelf because they are my old friends. I don't want to say goodbye unless I have to. So I'll be sure that when the time comes, each of my "friends" will go to a good home. ;-)
Alright America, I've got an assignment for you. It turns out that I have a toxic multinodular goiter that is growing inward and pressing on my trachea. It is causing a significant amount of pain (imagine strep for 2 1/2 months now) and keeps me from doing fun things like singing in the choir or on the praise team.
So on July 11, I found out that I would have to have my thyroid surgically removed. That's gonna leave a mark ~ a 4-5 inch scar across the base of my neck to be exact. The surgery is scheduled for August 10 at NW Hospital here in Tucson. Recovery is expected to take at least 10 days. So I'm hoping to get back to work on the 20th.
So to see a picture of what my scar might look like and for your assignment, keep reading!
So you know that people are going to stare and/or ask about the scar. I figure I need some really good stories - something along the lines of "bar fight; you should see the other guy." So bring 'em on. help me out with some really great stories to tell. The funnier/far-fetched, the better.
I'll post a top-ten sometime soon. And I'll definitely keep you updated on the surgery and recovery. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement as well!!
This weekend, I had a delightful opportunity to stay at the Westward Look Resort with my friend Martha here in Tucson. I had been wanting a mini-vacation, so this worked out well.
Martha has a friend who was registered to attend a conference at the resort. She specifically told them that she would not be needing a room there since she wanted to sleep at home to be able to take care of her two children. However, her school district instisted on getting her the room anyway. When Martha heard this, she offered to take care of Stacie's 9-year-old son during the day, while the baby went to the baby-sitter's hosue. Martha figured they would play in the swimming pool or go into town to do some fun things like bowling, movies, etc.
Being the wonderful and generous friend that Martha is, she allowed me to come stay with her on Sunday night. We (Stacie) checked in on Sunday afternoon and we all took advantage of the pool at that time. In the evening we had dinner overlooking the main pool. Afterward we sat on a bench with a great view of the city. A monsoon storm was rolling through Tucson. Though it never came all the way up to the resort, we were able to watch the lightning skim across the sky!! What a show God put on for us!!!!
I had arranged to take Monday off, so Martha, Lucas, and I hung out in the main pool all day. We played basketball, Lucas dived for his dive-sticks in the 8-foot section of the pool, and we bobbed around on pool noodles. I can bob in the water for hours at a time. :-)
I did put on sunscreen, but tend to forget just how white I am. So by 3:00 PM on Monday, I was quite pink. Toasted to a crips. For the past two days I've been walking around very gingerly, slathering on lotion with aloe at every opportunity.
Overall though, it was a wonderful mini-vacation. It was fun to be away from the work I had to do at the office and at home. It was great to sit in the sun (even if I did burn) and play basketball with a 9-year old. And it was especially good to have some time with my friend to talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk...