I'm grateful for: having my house back; successful trips; peace and quiet at our home and at theirs

Well, I survived. We all survived. Dr.s visit was annoying, I guess, but good. Do they all go to school for that patronizing, dismissive air and tone, or does it come naturally to people who become dr.s? Enquiring minds want to know.

Or not.

Anyway, he gave me the depo-provera shot, and seemed perfectly willing that if it works (that is, the bleeding stops), that I should just keep getting the shot every three months for the rest of my natural life, or until menopause. So, that is good. At the moment we are supposed to wait the three months to see if the shot works, then we will discuss (if the bleeding is still a problem) having the surgery. So, that is good, too.

Not good is that an hour after leaving the dr.s office, I had one of those blood gushes which I have, soaked through everything, pad, underwear, my dress, and even got a pretty thorough mess on the car seat. Of course it happened in an awkward location, parked in a gas station where in theory I was dropping John off at work (he works across the street from said gas station), but no where near the bathrooms. In any event I wasn't going to try to walk with the blood gushing out of me like that. Oy!

I had nothing to change into really, but I did have one of the plastic underwear (adult diapers) I sometimes use with me, and we just put it on over the blood-soaked underwear to contain the mess, put a plastic bag on the driver's seat to avoid staining the other side of the car; John used some of my seltzer to get most of the blood up from the car seat, and I drove off home. Lovely, no?

At home, 8yo John and Adam were sitting on the mirpesset (porch). I had phoned Simcha to let her know what I was coming home with since she would have to help me. She was waiting when I got home, and I asked her to ask John and Adam to please move off the mirpesset until I'd gone upstairs. Guess what? They didn't move. I asked them (begged, really) to PLEASE give me some privacy, and they could come back upstairs as soon as I was in the den. The did move downstairs and I ran for the den and the big bathroom, where, with Simcha's help, I stripped everything off, rinsed off what I could, hosed off in the shower, made sure there wasn't any more large flood of blood waiting and got dressed in clothing more capable of coping with my bleeding. Plastic underwear, heavy duty black (really grey now) jeans, a red t-shirt.

Have I mentioned that living in this body is no fun at all? Really, no fun. Just in case anyone was wondering.

I made it back downstairs where I zoned out on the computer for a little bit, while Maxine and Darryl and Dingo were rounded up. Adam and John enthusiastically carried things out to the car. Eliyahu and Simcha and Zechy came along for the trip so the car was quite full. The drive was uneventful, and went reasonably quickly for a two-and-a-half-hour-long drive. The cease fire held, so far.

It is not a good situation in many ways but I believe that we have to have faith - not in the government, or in the U.N., or in anything but Hashem. He has carried us this far against all odds, and often against our own efforts. But I worry about Eldad and Ehud and Gilad. I can't imagine what they must be thinking (assuming they can), it's as if the 'powers that be' have completely forgotten about them. The IDF hasn't. There is even a petition circulating among the soldiers requesting that they be allowed to do what they were called up for originally - to bring our kidnapped soldiers home. I guess all I can do is pray. It is such a nightmare.

And, yet, already something has changed for real. Because the arabs around us have never 'kidnapped' a soldier and kept him alive for any reason - prisoner exchange or what-have-you. So this is something new. Assuming they are alive. I continue to hope.

Kadita, where Maxine and family live, was largely untouched. I didn't see any signs of bombs, although Darryl pointed out where one had come down that I didn't see while I was driving. Their house was fine. John and Adam were so happy to be home, they were shouting out "We're Home! We're Home!" with real joy. Dingo was just as happy, if quieter. Before we had even turned into Kadita, he was up on the seat trying to nose out the window. When we got close to the house he could hardly contain himself (Maxine got scratched by his front paws). That was a very, happy dog. What was funny is that after they had gotten out and unloaded most of the stuff, Dingo climbed back into the car again. "Okay, home is safe, now let's go for another of those great car rides!"

Bittersweet fairwells. John got to show Eliyahu his room and treehouse and all the neat stuff they have. Simcha saw the house and loved it. Maxine and I shared a couple of things in the car, when no one could overhear. For all the aggravation, I still can't imagine putting two families - basically complete strangers to each other - together into a single house and having it work out so well as it did. And I invited us up to Kadita for a visit when things have settled down. Assuming the cease-fire holds and they do settle down. If it doesn't, they will I suppose be coming back here for a bit to stay again. I know we all hope not, but at the same time, we all know this cease-fire is unlikely to stay stable. Whatever. Not today's problem.

I turned the car around and Eliyahu and Zechy moved to the front seat and we headed for home. We actually made very good time, and were home in less than the two-and-a-half hours of the trip up, but it was very frustrating and it took an hour and a half to get to the highway which had me feeling close to frustrated tears at the end. Still, we made it. I got home and literally dragged myself - with some help from John - up to the bathroom, to peel off those awful plastic pants and the jeans and put on some thing comfortable for in the house with just family. Yeaa!

Then I zoned out. That's not true. I was too exhausted to be zoned out. I sat like a lump in front of my computer, and wondered whether I should just go to bed but didn't seem to be moving. And that was about 9pm, so I sat there for maybe six hours. Yikes!

Still, the peace and quiet - and having the kitchen all to myself - and turning all the lights out when I came to bed - and the freedom of wandering about my house - were all quite simply delightful. I am delighted.

Please, Hashem, we need a miracle for our kidnapped soldiers. Please, bring them home.

We have another dentist appointment for Thursday, hoping one more time to actually finish the work on John and myself, and Neil's is starting. Whee.

And that's all the news that's fit to print from this part of the west bank in Israel. A damn sight better than what the NYTimes is running these days. Whatever. So there.

I'm listening to just the fan

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06