One day more

So the Thanksgiving meal is done, and I feel completely bloated. I'm going to have to make up for it tomorrow and Saturday. I look forward to hitting the weights Saturday afternoon before work.

I hung out with my dad today along with my oldest brother. We had cold noodles with peanut sauce, a favorite of mine. We spent a couple of hours listening to my dad talk about what was essentially a heat lamp as the cure-all Chinese system for aches and pains. I sat there exposing my left forearm to it for 1/2 an hour in order to cure stiffness in my shoulder. I wound up with a slight burn on my arm. We also saw my dad's artwork using textiles as the medium for his work. He's really quite good, and he had sold some of it at a regional art show. I hope to get a sample of his for my apartment.

Afterwards, I hung out my brother's to watch part of the Dallas game. That was pretty weird, since none of us are particularly close to each other. Finally was the Thanksgiving meal. It was nothing to speak of, but it was nice to have the entire family together. It's now just a matter of getting through Friday before I finally return home to Boston Saturday morning. Once back, I hope to get some more political/world affairs blogging done, but for now, it's just stuff about me.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Wow

The girls of South Jersey are retardedly attractive. I'm impressed. One girl who was with this guy was trying to discreetly check me out. Every time I would glance her way, even indirectly, she'd quickly glance away from me. If you're ever in Cherry Hill, go hang out at PJ Whelihan's on Greentree and Rte. 70. You won't be disappointed.

More bad news

I took my mom today to the radiology center for an x-ray of her chest. It turns out that the doctors think that she has pneumonia. It's been a pretty upsetting day for me.

I saw my friend Jeff today. He's been recuperating from surgery, and so far, it looks like he's progressing well. He's still tired, but he's animated, and he's lost a lot of weight. He hopes to keep it off, too. I look forward to seeing him again, especially since he owes me a steak dinner because Bush won and Kerry lost.

Later on this evening, I may be seeing my friend Adam. I haven't talked to him in awhile, but it's always great to see him. We've known each other for 21 years now. It's amazing to me every time I think about it. That's practically my whole life. He's always been a good friend, and though we've drifted apart from time to time, we've always maintained a good relationship.

Home

Just got home to New Jersey this morning, and I feel like I've been here for a week. The holidays are not a vacation for me. It's all about taking care of my mom and maintaining my sanity in the process. I don't envy my brother, who has sacrificed his life to take care of my mom.

My mom is both pitiable and maddening at the same time. She is older than her years, and, according to her doctor, has early stages of Parkinson's. Diseases are strange things. I'd like to think that I'm in relatively good health, so it's inconceivable to me that the easiest things in the world for me to do, like walking, can be so difficult for my mom. Sometimes I get the impression that she's just not trying anymore to live well, but just to live, and that in itself causes me no end of grief and frustration. I want her to move into an assisted living home of some kind. That way, my brother can move on with his life, and my mom can get the quality of care that she deserves. But, of course, she doesn't want to. I suppose that she's comfortable with her living conditions right now, but I also think that she fears that we'd just leave her there. That wouldn't be true, but she doesn't want to believe it. I think that it's inevitable. She must leave the house. Living in a two-story home is just untenable. She falls with regular frequency, and my brother can't be at home all the time, and I will not sacrifice my life in this way.

I know it sounds like I don't care for her, but I love her so much, and I want her to be happy. Our family is peculiar. It's hard for any of us to show emotion, and sometimes love is shown through frustration and anger. I want my mom to live as full a life as she can, and I get angry and frustrated when she refuses to do so. I want to be able to understand her condition and why she feels the way she does, but I haven't been able to do so.

I have a grief inside of me that, so far, I can only express through this blog. Simply talking out into the ether is therapy enough. Just being able to put it into concious thought is comfort enough.