Thanks and The Last Supper...

Thanks, everyone, for reminding me that not everyone likes their job. One of my students, today, shared an article that said that approximately 55% of people are satisfied with their jobs and the number appears to be decreasing. If someone asked me if I was satisfied with my job, I guess I would have to respond "yes" mainly because it allows me to do the personal things I want -- spend time with the kids, have a flexible schedule, and travel. So, yes, I'm satisfied with it because it is a means to an end and I know there are a lot of worse places to be. I'll stick with it. You're right, job security is a REALLY nice thing.

e's birthday is coming up and I've got some planning to do! We're going to have it at the local roller skating rink, but I still haven't bought the invitations and ordered the cake. Definitely have to get going on that!

It turns out that my surgery will be sooner than I thought. I went to the doctor last week for another of the million check-ups that I have to do for this surgery and I was ready to beg for a first week of March date. Typically, it is eight weeks after meeting with the surgeon and I was asking for five weeks so I could do it just before spring break and have some time to recuperate without taking too much time off. Well, he came in and said "how about February 12th?" Feb 12th!? Yikes! That's two weeks away! Okay, I'll make it work. In a lot of ways, earlier is better, so I have more time to recuperate and get used to the new me before traveling this summer.

So, I start my liquid diet tomorrow (they said I should do it for two weeks, but also said it was okay if I only did it for about eight days) and will have my stomach detached in a week and a half. I'm sure, in 20 years, bariatric surgery will sound like an absolutely barbaric method. But, it mitigates so many health issues and has been successful for so many. I am on the very low end of being accepted for the surgery. While I feel pretty fat, I am not morbidly obese like I see so many are. I wanted to have the surgery because I have a family history of heart disease. My mom had her first heart attack when she was not much older than me and she died when she was 68 after many years of problems. That scares the sh*t out of me. I totally see myself turning into her. I really want to lead a healthier life and provide a positive example for my children. AND, I want to be around for them for a LONG, long time...hopefully, without them seeing me very sick. So, I decided now was the time.

I'm not telling very many people. I told my assistant here, because I'm going to call in sick that next week and I want her to cover for me. I'm not telling my Dean or most of my family. I told some friends, and my brother. He's been really supportive of many of the things I've done -- including having children on my own.

Now the challenge is getting someone to watch the kids for the three days that I'm in the hospital. I asked my brother if he and his girlfriend could come down for the weekend, but I'm not optimistic. He's been off on a sailing race for the past two months and gets back to the U.S. on Thursday. He had to cut his race short because his sciatic was bothering him so much. So, he needs to see the doctor as soon as possible. Also, since he hasn't been home for the past two months, I'm not sure he'll want to jump in the car so quickly for four hours to spend a few days here. We'll see. I'm sure either of my sisters would come down, but I don't want to tell them. I just don't think they would be so supportive of my decision. I may have to hire someone to watch the kids....hopefully, the same woman who watched them last week overnight is available again. So many details to work out!

In the meantime, I'll have my "last supper" tonight...sushi with the kids. Yum.