What a difference a day makes…

My dad was in the hospital on Wednesday and Thursday of last week and by Friday, I was burning the pavement from Minnesota to Arkansas as fast as my Mazda Tribute would take me. By the way, thank you, Trib, for getting me places after 120,000+ miles.

My little road troopers joined me…

We like to eat as much junk as possible on a road trip. Krispy Kremes were also involved. And Coke Icees. And Cracker Barrel biscuits and gravy. And pancakes. We were ready for tuna casserole when we arrived. Why does traveling make you so hungry?

Can I throw in here that I wish I’d never introduced my kids to Cracker Barrel? It began when I would drive this trip with Greyley as a baby and wanted a nice changing table, along with a good meal. It turned into an hour of eating food that can be hit or miss, drinking bad coffee and getting sucked into buying some sort of toy because you feel bad guilty that you’ve had your kids in the car for hours on end.

Now I feel like a traitor for saying that about Cracker Barrel, but to top it off~ after I’ve eaten their food, I’m always SERIOUSLY drowsy. Not a good combination with driving. OK, rant finished.

We left at 6:55 AM and arrived at my parents’ house at 9:00 PM. If you’ve ever been in the car for this long, you know that some madness is bound to take over your brain.

Some hyperness has to come out. Some slap happy-ness. Some other words ending with -ness.

We got here and I have never been happier to finally make it. It was killing me to be so far from my dad with him being so sick. I knew if I came while he was still in the hospital, he’d be doing everything he could to get out (he’s done this before when I come while he’s in the hospital) so as soon as I got word that they let him come home, we hightailed it over here. He’s still not doing well at ALL, but he has perked up a little with us here, I must say.

Here’s what has been happening with him~ a year ago yesterday (!) he had triple bypass surgery and we just kept waiting for him to get better and recover from that, but he hasn’t. Every doctor he’s been sent to has said, “It’s complicated.” Ugh. It turns out, he has several things working against him and we’re still not even sure what’s hurting him the most. The latest thing is that he has pulmonary hypertension, which is a scary thing…coronary artery spasms, another scary thing. He’s on oxygen around the clock, which has helped him stop passing out, but he’s still not getting enough oxygen. His blood pressure is crazy low~ like 55/32. He had 2 back surgeries a couple years ago and they didn’t go well, so any tests they run on him put him in more pain than he’s already in…see? It is complicated.

SO…we’re kind of desperate here for things to change for him.

All I know how to do is provide comic relief, make mashed potatoes, watch Little Rascals and pray. So that’s what we’re doing so far. My dad has to go back in for more tests and we’re still waiting to hear about the ones from last week.

I’ll be posting more this week, so keep me company over here, all right? After posting about my dad on Facebook, I was so encouraged and grateful for all my lovely friends and family. I’ve shown my dad all the wonderful comments and he appreciates it so much. We will take all the prayers we can get.

In unrelated topics, it is Hotter than Hades here.

And when I went to Walmart, I thought that’s where I was.

Forgive me, but it’s the truth. Walmart in Cabot, AR, brings out the very worst in me. Actually, besides the Ozarks and the fact that my family is from here and several other nice folks are too, I cannot think of much to like about it. I like a lot of places, but…I think ARKANSAS might bring out the worst in me. So maybe it’s not Arkansas, it’s just me. I might just be having a bitter moment that this is where I have to come when I visit my parents instead of where I grew up in California…but imagine what THAT road trip would have been like…