Wellbeing

Music memory

I was lost for a year and a half after high school, that dark time when the object of my high school crush was dating someone else, a hundred and fifty miles away. I spent many nights in my dorm listening to something from U2… huddled under a small lamp with a stack of paper, a fountain pen, and my sadness. A random play through the music library on my PowerBook brought up With or Without…
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Wellbeing

Soma relief

I’m not sure where I heard this, but Disney supposedly inflates the estimated wait times on their amusement park rides. Makes sense, right? I’ll bet leads to fewer disappointments. The day of Cheryl’s surgery, I remember the doctor saying her pain should start feeling better by the following Monday. As I’ve mentioned before, it didn’t. In fact it got a little…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

She's 38

I have a much longer post written (in my head) tentatively titled “state of the Kauffmans,” but it will have to wait until a time when it’s not past my bedtime. Until then, know that Cheryl’s recovery is going as planned, and she enjoyed a little get together with our parents to celebrate her birthday. (She was a little nervous about me wearing my Obama campaign shirt with…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

Cheryl speaks

Cheryl posted a couple comments to the last posts, in reply to the thoughts, good wishes, and prayers sent her way. I’m reposting them here to give them the visibility they’re due (and because one reflects well on me). Thank you all for your good wishes and virtual lasagna. I just got home and am already feeling better. I have discovered they don’t let you sleep in the…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

Back in the hospital

Naturally, the first song to pop up on a random play of the songs on my phone would be “Hymn to the Fallen.” Hospitals have been a benign place most of my life. While not exactly money in the pocket of a forgotten pair of jeans, it hasn’t been the center for suffering and death it can be for others. Growing up I had my share of stitches, broken bones, and dislocated hips. The…
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Wellbeing

It's all my fault

You don’t want to read this post. Why am I writing it then? Therapy. I have a theory for why I’ve been feeling down lately, and the title to this post is a strong clue. Since it’s apparent no one else is ever at fault for things that go wrong, the logical conclusion is it must be my fault. When everything is your fault and you accept responsibility – even if it’s just…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

Surgery set

It’s official: Cheryl’s having surgery on Feb 12th to fuse two of the vertebrae in her neck. The doctor had some encouraging news. The procedure he described requires less recovery time than some of the others we’ve heard about. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a good thing, if he’s giving bad advise, or practicing bad medicine. But he comes highly recommended from…
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