The Road Trip Is Nigh

I don't think I've ever squeezed someone as tight as I did on that sunny railroad platform this afternoon. It's like I wanted to condense every word and agonizing thought out of both of our bodies.

Of course, I had to be careful, as she does still have that one nasty adenoma buried deep within the left lobe of her liver.

The face of "Suck the big one, you carcinogenic fucker."

"Quick, listen," she said, urging me into the van. "StoryCorps has a story that's SO us."

A police officer was preparing for his lieutenant exam, following in his father's footsteps. His father was dying of cancer, but grabbed his son.by his collar and said, "You're going to take your test, and you're going to kick the ass out of it, and maybe THEN I'll die."

(I'm paraphrasing; I got into the van around the storyteller's last sentence.)

The son agonized over test preparations as his father lay in bed, under the watchful, reverential eyes of both his wife and Hospice nurses. The son's test was scheduled for a Saturday, and his father agreed he'd let go on Sunday, once he heard about his son's achievements.

Ultimately, the son lied to his father about the days of the week, and he died peacefully after being told that he aced the test (which he did, albeit a few days later). 

My parents' illnesses has made me decide to go back to school for nursing, to follow in my mother's footsteps and create a better tomorrow for my family. At the end of school, there is a deeply moving pinning ceremony, and it thrills us to think that she may be there to put the RN pin on my lapel.

"Dear Eddie, All My Love, Sharon" Like "From Justin To Kelly", but actually good.

In the meantime, she's going to put me through the ringer, starting with our early morning road trip, I'm sure. It's like Thelma and Louise, only sans Brad Pitt, and, you know, the whole flying off a cliff. 

But first...Jim made a special OCD-palooza, just for her. I'm waiting to see how quickly she catches on.

I had no input into this impending meltdown. I just took the photo.