a more even keel

Thanks to everyone who’s left comments or emailed me privately (and a special thank you to Katie B for sending me an email about one of my books that really put a bright spot in my week, just when I needed one).

Things are on a more even keel now the antibiotics are kicking in, and Dad sounds much more like his old self again. But it’s definitely been a weekend to give me grey hairs. Thursday was rough, Friday was worse, and I really wasn’t sure he’d pull through on Saturday.

Everyone’s been marvellous. My husband is a true superstar, holding the fort without complaint and even cooking Sunday lunch for us all (and yes, those of you who know me in real life – even though he can’t cook and loathes doing it, he followed my list of what to put in the oven and when, and the kids voted his roast potatoes as good as mine); my editor and agent have been brilliant and very accommodating; the nursing staff at the hospital are excellent; and my stepmum and I have worked out a rota which will hopefully mean Dad isn’t on his own too much. He loathes being in hospital, and when he asked the consultant yesterday if he could go home that evening, he was very unhappy with the answer – yes, if you’re up and walking as normal. (Which he isn’t… and it’s going to be a while before he’s on his feet again. Though the physio did get him out of bed yesterday, there is a very long way to go.)

Life can’t go on hold, however, and I need to keep things ticking over at school and work – though I am ducking out of governor meetings and have cancelled my music lessons for the time being so I can spend the time between school runs at the hospital and then work in the evening. Work is not pressured AT ALL because my ed is very understanding about the situation - but I will go bananas if I can’t write. I need to work for my sanity’s sake! However, I may be a bit quiet online for a while – and I’m actually saying no to people. (I think that deserves a gold star as I find it very, very hard to say no instead of just adding it to my list and whizzing through what one of my oldest friends calls ‘doing six impossible things before breakfast, and that’s at half-past six’.)

Oh, and I lost 1.5 lbs this week. Good thing about the hospital is that it does low-fat, low-cal sandwiches (and they’re edible). And one latte a day is well within my calorie count. Between school and the hospital corridors, I’m hitting 10k steps a day (poor dog is missing out a bit). So. Even keel. And fingers crossed that my dad continues to improve.