On the road...again
On Sunday morning in Shreveport I called my parents like I do every Sunday. It is tradition, or ritual, or whatever. They were of course very happy to hear about the trip and the game and how Sara was feeling after the game, but they had some news of their own to share. It seems that my uncle, my father's oldest brother, had been admitted to the hospital while the game was going on.
He had never really recovered from his esophageal cancer treatment. How could he, most of his esophagus had been removed and what was left no longer worked correctly to push food into the stomach. On a good day he can weigh almost a hundred pounds. These are not good days.
I asked my parents to keep me posted. If he turned for the worst I would need to go down there in support of my family. It is the way of my people. At this moment I am in late preparations to head that way. The eldest son of Leathe Cavenaugh is still with us. What we didn't count on was the passing of my mother's aunt. This happened late yesterday. I got one night in my own bed and a quandary. Clearly I have duties to attend to, I have enough vacation days saved up to get me through the crisis, but how am I going to be in so many places at once. This is one of the few times I think how handy it would be to have a brother or sister. One could go one way with mother, and the other could go the other with father. Complete parental coverage. But that is not to be. I must instead find the path that does the most good and not fret over the things I have no control over. Just call me the Zen Arrow.
In other words I've packed an extra large bag to cover every clothing occasion, and I'll be back when I get back. I'd better pack a book too.
