Tomorrow I will be going home to spend Christmas with my dad and my brother and returning on the 30th. It's always a nice change of pace being at home, as it's a chance to not be super-busy all the time, but I'm going to have to make sure I'm still getting things done for Mrs. Hawking while I'm at home. There's a bunch of things I probably can't do ( Read more... )

My dad called today to say that my mom's nurses think that it is very likely that she will pass in the next few days. It's hard to say these things for sure, but she's showing all the signs of multi-system failure, and while there is a possibility she could linger, my dad, who has been right with her through every moment of her illness, thinks he ( Read more... )

At home for the weekend. Things are stressful given the situation but at least we're able to spend some nice time together as well. Today I've been helping my dad plant his garden. First we tilled the soil in two of the raised beds, and I even used the rototiller a bit. I didn't really pick up the trick of it, as for someone as small as me it's ( Read more... )

Going home again this weekend, and again, not looking forward to it. Dad says Mom is fading fast. I know the hospice people came by the house last week, and though they didn't exactly tell me what that means, I can only conclude that it was to make whatever preparations necessary for Mom to die. Again, not sure exactly what those preparations might ( Read more... )

I am at home in Pennsylvania this week to celebrate Christmas with my family. It is lovely to be hear, and we spent a low-key day today hanging out and cooking. We made our Italian seven-fish dinner, including cheats like shrimp, smoked salmon, crab cake, fried calamari, and our special lobster bisque that we make every year. It's our way of ( Read more... )

First day of chores at home. I was a bit nervous of being too sick for peak performance, as I've been fighting off a cold I caught from Bernie, but fortunately today the body aches were gone and left me with only a head full of mucous to contend with. Today we washed all the windows in the house, inside and out, and scrubbed the shutters back to ( Read more... )

I am at home in Pennsylvania for the week. I like being at home now and again because life is less busy, but this won't be a vacation. I've specifically set aside this time to help my mom and dad out with various labor-intensive chores around the house. We're going to be staining the deck, washing all the windows, and weeding all the landscaping ( Read more... )

Casey and I are both home in Allentown, Pennsylvania now, but it was not an easy trip. First, after leaving at 8am, it took me an hour and a half to pick Casey up in Boston, thanks to all the detours and blockades. Then on the highway in Connecticut we nearly got slammed by a crazy driver, and Casey had to drive pretty crazily to avoid him. We didn ( Read more... )

I am home now for Thanksgiving, and I am grateful in the extreme. I want more than anything to be able to take this time to relax, because I am sure that if I get any more stressed out, I'm just going to die. I got hit by a migraine early this morning, having had my last one before this only two and a half weeks ago. I'm pretty sure stress and ( Read more... )

I am now back from my mini-break at home with my parents for Thanksgiving. It was a really lovely visit and a much-needed change of pace; while my regular life is packed with activities and responsibilities, my time at home is leisurely and restful, spent mostly cooking and going out with my parents. Now that I'm in Waltham again, though, it's back ( Read more... )