How I Spent My “Fall” Vacation – Episode 62

Episode 62 – December 31 – Yes, today is New Year’s Eve and even under normal conditions I would have said so what. For the most part I find this to be one of the most contrived and overhyped holidays, amongst a myriad of contrived holidays. In the past thirty years, I’ve worked more New Year’s Eves than actually celebrated. I made a pocketful of coin rather than blown a paycheque each year. It doesn’t sound right but of  the twenty-one New Year’s Days I had with Lorraine the first kiss of the year more times than not came from a co-worker or a stranger but Lorraine always got the last kiss of each year. Mind you I’ve had some memorable December 31s including the one at Whistler I had talked about in a previous episode. I was reminded of a daytime New Year’s Eve 29 years ago. When my friend, Sharon, was visiting last week, she said almost smuggled in a piccolo bottle of Henckel Trocken so I would have something to toast the New Year with. I laughed because the only time I had ever drank from those tiny bottles was in the parking lot of the Bloedel Conservatory at 9 AM after her wedding. Hey, we couldn’t be expected to knock off whole bottles at that time of the morning. 9:30 maybe! 10AM without a doubt! There was a very attractive loophole for those getting married on December 31 in those days. Happy Anniversary, Sharon and Eric!

Ironically the event I would have worked tonight had already been cancelled. Damn. I so wanted to be able to book-off!

Before going off shift, Cat checked my glucose levels and they were still stuck at 4.9. The muffin was good for me; maybe not so much for Regina who came on as my day nurse. I put her to work right away. (Repeat mantra – “I never want to be a nurse.”)

It has now been two months since I was locked up here. I keep hoping it’s been a season long dream sequence a la Bobby Ewing.

The toaster at Evergreen thought it would be fitting to let us know one more time before the New Year and the alarm went off again at 7AM. Actually I’m beginning to believe Edna’s granddaughter and it’s really because the little old dears down there just want to ogle the firefighters.

Just as lunch arrived, Regina came in and told me she had to help pack up my things because they had a bed ready on 5 East, the rehab unit. So I obtained a small plastic bin and loaded everything in my bedside drawer into it and began organizing everything else within my reach to get ready for the big move. As soon I was already to go, Regina came in and told me that the move was on hold probably until tomorrow. I just left everything in the bin because as soon as I unpack a porter will be at my door to move me. The bad part is because of the move, I got moved down on the floor physio’s list therefor  no walking.

As I’ve said before, I somehow manage to lose things in my twenty square feet of a bed. This time it was my cell phone. I used the old trick of borrowing the portable phone and calling it. Sure enough I was pretty much sitting on it. Damn, I should have had it on vibrate.

I just read a post by the daughter of a friend about her accomplishments during 2012 and it made me feel proud. I really believe that our definition of family has evolved some for bad but more so for the good. We are in a way reverting to more of a tribal system where a friend’s children become our own. It really does take a village. Well done, Missy and remember the good things in life will always outweigh the bad as long as you let it.

Talk about serendipity, just as I had finished typing the Henckel Trocken story above, I received a message from a former cellmate, Cheryl, asking if she would be allowed to bring me up some bubbly. Nurse’s official answer: “No!” Nurse’s unofficial answer: “You never asked me that...I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Cheryl showed up at about 7:30. It’s amazing how much better a person looks in something other than a blue hospital gown and a face grimacing in pain. We got right down to it and popped open the bottle of ...er...um...sparkling apple juice. And then compared battle scars with Layla as the judge while she was taking my blood pressure. (BTW – my blood pressure tends to rise in the company of two beautiful women, hee hee!) Cheryl won on actual length and length proportionate to body size and I took the quantity and symmetry prizes. We chatted and sipped our...er...um...sparkling apple juice or rather I babbled on. I tend to do that when I’m nervous and hadn’t had any ...er...um...sparkling apple juice for two months. We toasted the Eastern Time Zone New Year watching a live feed of the ball dropping in Time Square. The ability to tap into the EST feed of New Year’s celebrations has been a godsend to west coast parents of young children and retired party animals which are not necessarily mutually exclusive groups. It was n*** to add a new NYE memory by getting to know a new friend a little better. Thank you so much, Cheryl!

My year ended on one more good note. A few minutes after Cheryl left, I received a call from my beautiful niece, Jennifer calling to wish her ailing old Uncle D a Happy New Year. The poor dear was sitting in the dark with Molly due to a blackout. Knowing that I was better than okay brightened up her night at least figuratively made my even brighter. After saying goodnight, I made a quick call to the big guy upstairs and her night was brightened up literally; her lights came back on. Hey! Prove me wrong! Love you, Jen Jen!

And with the aid of Zopiclone, Benadryl and...er...um...sparkling apple juice, I was out like a light. (pun intended)

To be continued...