Thursday, November 01, 2007

Life interrupts Halloween

My Halloween did not go as expected. The Plan was to wear the Luna earrings to class, then hang out for a bit showing them off and studying, and then come home to help my family with the trick or treaters (their neighborhood is quite the hub). I had a dress fitting scheduled for this morning at 10am.

First, I woke up late, but not so late that I wouldn't make it to class. I had stayed up till 3 the night before, grading and procrastinating the grading. The phone was what actually got me out of bed. It was Dad, calling from the hospital to say that Mom had appendicitis and they were going to have to operate.

And that was when I knew, Halloween was not going to be quite so awesome this year.

Class didn't go smoothly for me, the TA, but that is a slightly duller story. It involved me tripping in front of the class. I did wear the Luna earrings, with a gray sweater and a black skirt which I thought sort of resembled an undercover Hogwarts uniform.

I headed down to Galveston, where my parents live, a little before noon and got there a little before one. Mom's appendectomy started just before 11, but the hospital took its sweet time in getting her from recovery to her actual hospital bed, so she was still in the surgery area when I got there just after 2 (Dad said they didn't need me just then, so I took a nap at their house). To give a little more information, she had gone home sick on Tuesday, thinking she just had some minor intestinal issues, but it kept getting worse so after midnight she and Dad went to the ER. She works at this hospital and knows a lot of people, so she gets pretty good treatment, but they're still pretty slow. Dad's glad that her surgery was done by the day staff, though. Everyone keeps asking, so they didn't do it laproscopically, or however you spell that. The surgeon she got was highly skilled and respected, and he doesn't like it, so he just went in the normal way.

Dad and I hung out with her for a few hours, and then I stayed there and Dad went home to pick up my brother and deal with the trick or treaters. His totally sweet setup for scaring children and dispensing of candy involved a few tealights on the stoop which my brother didn't see, so he caught his enormous baggy pants on fire. I was on the phone with Dad at the time and heard Tom say "why am I on fire?" Dad put it out with his "spooky" black gloves, now also singed, and there's about a 5" hole in one leg of Tom's pants.

Mom was very sensitive to the drugs they had her on, so she pretty much slept all day yesterday. I brought her some little satyr horns so she'd have a costume, but she couldn't keep them on very well so we gave up. It was pretty funny when the nurse noticed, though. I got a bunch of knitting done.

I got home at 9. Dad had been out of candy for an hour and a half (they never, ever have enough, so I'm glad I stole some candy corn before going to the hospital). I got into costume anyway so I'd at least have some pictures. The robe is my Dad's from when he got his master's, and the "wand" is one of Mom's long cooking chopsticks.


Mom was much better today, and she'll be discharged this evening. But this recovery will not be quick. So we could use some vibes. The dress fitting went pretty well, but I have no new pictures for me. She did give me the leftover scraps including the still-intact bodice. Tomorrow when the light is better and my batteries are charged I'll try to get you a closeup of the material.

I'll close with a bit more Luna.

14 comments:

  1. Very Luna... you look great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad your mother sailed through her surgery; I am sending positive thoughts her way!

    You do look like Luna, as described in the book. I have yet to see the movie; I'm lazy like that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry to hear about yer Mum. I wish her a speedy recovery!

    And the Luna outfit is great!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you look great as Luna! :)

    Thinking of your mom -- hoping the recovery goes smoothly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You look fab as Luna! I hope your mom's recovery goes well. Mine took a while, I remember.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh I'm sorry for the change in plans for not a great reason! I pray your mom recovers quickly...so nice to know she got good care.
    You are adorable as always. Can't wait to see the fabric and dress.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, man, that sucks. I hope your mom feels betters soon.

    I must admit I cracked up with the description of your brother with his pants on fire though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, my goodness, you had an awful day. My mom had the same thing happen a few years ago on Valentines day. Her recovery was slow as well.
    Your outfit was great!

    ReplyDelete
  9. So sorry for the crappy Halloween. I am glad your Mom was able to get such great care though. Good vibes coming her way from me!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hope your mom is feeling MUCH much better today - what a wrong kind of scary for Halloween.

    EXCELLENT Luna earrings, though!

    ReplyDelete
  11. HI Liz
    I am Pamela's mom and yes I did have the same thing....my recovery was a bit longer...10 days in the hospital......glad she is going to be alright....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cute costume! Hope your mom is doing better.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I hope your mom is recovering well. Let her know that there’s another knitter sending her thoughts for a quick recovery.

    What a weird day (right down to your brother catching his pants on fire!), but your Luna Lovegood costume is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Did any of your students notice your earrings?

    ReplyDelete
  14. i hope your mom is doing well!

    ReplyDelete