My March Madness

now with significantly fewer basketballs

What's the deal with March, you guys? For the last two years, I've just completely fallen off the (blogging) radar for the entire month of March. Last year it was due to extreme busyness and a heinous, far away volunteer fundraising gig that simultaneously depleted my gas tank and my will to live. This year it was due to...well, also extreme busyness, but most of it was the good kind.

My dad was here for all of March this year. He had been having excruciating, unrelenting sciatic nerve pain for months on end and it wasn't responding to any of the non-invasive treatment options. That left surgery. And, wouldn't you know, he just happened to know someone who works for a world-renowned neurological institute. (...you know. Me.) So he flew from the frigid plains of Nebraska to the lovely spring warmth of the desert, where our Chief of spinal neurosurgery proceeded to fix him right up via a four-level lumbar laminectomy. It was a little bizarre experiencing my workplace from the patient/family perspective, but it definitely made me (even more) proud to work for such a great place.

And even though the reason for his visit wasn't all rainbows and kittens, it was SO nice to have my dad here for an extended stay. One of the huge drawbacks to living here is not getting to see my family very often. I love my family. Seriously, they are the best. And only getting to see them for a few days once or twice a year is rough. So to have my dad here for five weeks and my mom here for the last week of his stay was pretty wonderful. And, not to get all sappy and whatnot, but to be able to give a little bit back to my parents, who have done SO much for me over the years, was a huge bonus.

Also: my mom brought homemade cookies for the neurosurgeon and resident who did the surgery. I love it. That's how we roll in the Midwest.

Topics for future posts (you are SO EXCITED!)
-The Ragnar Relay
-The sublimely glorious train wreck that is casino Bingo
-The Lavaman Triathlon and other Hawaii adventures
-Maybe a book review or two?
-

...yeah, that's probably plenty of pressure for now.