that rascally duck...

I’ve had it with those damn ducks! They are going down.

Ever since we got this pool 2 years ago, two ducks have tried to make it their home. In fact, these two ducks have made my neighborhood their neighborhood. One is a huge green duck (male) and the other is a gray smaller duck (female). I swear they've gotten bigger. Somebody must be feeding them around our neighborhood and that's why they keep hanging out here. They peruse our front yard. Fly into our backyard and swim in our pool. In years past, I could just go outside, throw some ice at the ducks, they leave and never come back (at least for a couple of days).

Well, imagine my surprise yesterday when they came back for the second day in a row. This time the two weren’t in the water. Instead they were sitting next to our pool pooping! I was livid. When I chased them off yesterday afternoon, the male came back 20 minutes later. (He checks out the backyard first, then goes back to get his wifey once its clear.) So for an hour yesterday afternoon, I was chasing the ducks out of the water because they kept coming back.

I’ve had it now! I’m going to Academy this afternoon to get a pellet gun. I’m taking them down and they are going to go back and tell all of their friends not to ever come back to my house. Or at the least pick someone else’s yard to go back too. There are several other pools in the area they can go wade in. They just choose ours because we don’t have a dog. But I know of a pool two streets down and they have no animals either.This is it. Since I don’t have school anymore, I can duck hunt all afternoon.

do you believe in miracles...

So dad goes to the doctor and we were told they’d probably have to put him in the hospital immediately to do one more surgery before he starts dialysis. But for some odd reason his creatinine levels hadn’t gotten higher. (The higher the levels the more his kidney is failing him.) The doctor had no idea why. So we’ve been warned once again, when he goes back to the doctor in June if his creatinine levels are any higher he has to go into the hospital immediately.

Anyways, several people have asked me how did my dad get in this situation. Was it from bad dieting or what? The answer is no.

Years back, dad had kidney stones. He had to have surgery to get them out. The doctor didn’t get them all out. Therefore it damaged one of his kidneys. That left him with one kidney and he’s a diabetic. So that’s the story folks.

Meanwhile, we have plenty to celebrate. Instead of walking, I decided to just have a party for my graduation. It’s kind of funny, because my list started with 25 people, but it has slowly grown to about 35.

I think my parents are excited about having a party, since dad’s surgery has been delayed. That way all of the family can come up and see him before everything starts. This all means I get everything I want for the party. Well mostly… dad only cut half of my food list (usually he cuts it down to ¼.). I think he was pleased I put barbecue on the list. For those of you who know me, I’m not that crazy about barbecue. But my people will expect barbecue on Memorial day weekend. So I just added a bunch more stuff that I actually like to eat.I have to get a bubble blowing machine, a cake, ice cream maker.

Ooo and I ordered two new swim suits today! Since I lost 20 pounds my old ones don’t fit. Should be interesting…

just like a piece of cake...

So I called the nurse a couple of days ago because I had a more questions about the foot surgery I’m supposed to have. My questions were fairly easy: are you for sure it will be 6 weeks before I’m able to drive? Are you sure you can’t do both feet at once? How long will it be until I can get in a dress shoe? (All of this is a.k.a. when exactly will I have my social life back.)

I tried to explain to her my situation. It is after all, unlike no other. See the entire month of May I have very important things to do. I’m pretty much booked solid. Then I have a bridal shower to go to in July at Schlitterbahn. Then I have a vacation in October. I also have a wedding I’m in in February. I also have this thing I like to call restlessness, so I can’t stay at home for long periods of time. It makes me sick. No, I mean it…really, really sick. I start having driving and shopping withdraws and then I’ll get a horrible migraine.

After explaining all of this to the nurse, she tried to use a scare tactic. I quote her, “You need to take this seriously. This is a major surgery. He will be cutting and taking out some bones. You are going to have to give your foot time to heal. You need to make time for it.”

Whatever.

I guess I have hard time with this because I don’t consider this “major” surgery. When I hear major surgery, I think heart bypass, leaky valve (or is that a car?). Not cutting some bones in your foot. It’s just a foot! After all, it’s only day surgery.

I don’t mean to downplay it. I get that it’s important and all, but it always could be worse. Maybe all of this comes from watching my parents go in and out of the hospital since I was a kid. They’ve had organs taken out, veins tied and a lot more other major parts of the body cut into. So compare that to foot surgery and it should be a piece of cake right?

As I took my dad to the hospital today, I was thinking this is really all normal to me – register at the desk, go back to the room, change into the hospital gown, get the IV put into you, have the anesthesiologist come in, he/she makes you count back from 10 as he gives you the sleepy medicine, family leaves as they roll you out. (Believe it or not, there are some nurses that know my family and I by first name.) The only difference is I’m the one who will be in the bed.