It's always shocking when you learn that someone you're close to is dying. Now imagine one minute being someone's "just in case" contact for a routine surgery, and the next standing alone in the Intensive Care Unit, shaken to your core while trying to make life and death decisions, praying to whoever will listen that you are doing the right thing, and the stars will somehow align and yank this soul back from the cliff...
And listened did he, she, it or they. It almost seems trite to say thank you, but there, it's Thanksgiving, and that's what I'm thankful for (plus everyone around me who's helping take care of me so I can take care of her).
All those days and nights hovering by the beeping machines and getting entangled in endless tubes and cords, trying to eavesdrop on conversations among the hoards of faceless doctors filing in and out when I'm not stalking them, watching the EKG and mean arterial pressure (above 65, please, just 65... you can do it)... and the rollercoaster ride of emotions, highs when the first word is uttered after extubation, lows when the fog of ICU delirium roll over and I became a menacing stranger...
All these are worth it when what I hear these days are "thanks, and did you find my nail file?" and "wow, this 7-up tastes so good". You know life is back when you can once again appreciate the simple joys of living.
I'm not a superstitious person, but I do believe that good karma has a way of perpetuating itself in this universe.
And on a lighter note, we're so psyched that we're able to resume our tradition of volunteering to deliver Thanksgiving meals for the Salvation Army this year (we stopped since Eva was born, it's just hard imagine schlepping an infant in and out of the car through the city).
Since both Hubby and I didn't grow up here, "traditional" Thanksgiving traditions are kinda lost on us. What I really hope to impart on Eva on this hoilday is the importance to be thankful for what we have. I guess she's a little too young to appreciate it, but I hope that by seeing how little some others have, that she'll know how lucky we are.
Oh and to deliver meals in style, I made her a little turkey handpuppet (I saw the tutorial online a while back and can't find it now...).
I traced her hand on felt, cut out two pieces and glue-gunned them together, then fashioned some feathers with different color felt, a beak and a waddle. Glue those on, and voila! Gobble gobble!
Hi! I'm Eva Senakarn, reporting to meal delivery duties (notice Gobble Gobble on her hand).
And yeah, it was raining, but even better as she loves wearing the strawberries rainboots PoPo got for her in Hong Kong... It was pretty funny that the seniors are so delighted to see Eva, they often came after us and stuffed our hands with all kinds of sweets (Russian ladies gave us chocolate, Chinese ladies gave us oranges...)
An evening with friends celebrating with a semi-traditional dinner (ham, yam, lettuce wrap, seafood stew, pumpkin pie and cupcakes, yummm...) with screaming kids running around, banging their heads on things and each others, and Thanksgiving is complete.
