Ain't no one takes care of ya like yer Ma. True dat.

My mother is the MOST amazing and selfless person on the planet. (... and in this statement I also include my insanely awesome father and baby sister and younger sister as well.) Ok. scratch that... I think my family is the most selfless insanely awesome group of people on the planet. Let's rewind to the night of October 31. I wake up at 1:30 in the morning to the worst pain I have ever felt. No, i'm not lying. I've been in labor... i've been through childbirth. This straight up sucked. It didn't take more than about 20 minutes to confirm with my darling husband that it was time to go to the ER. We live in a small town, and the options are skim--skim--skim--skim for doctors. I mean, not even take a sick skunk I find on the side of the road to most of these doctors. This ER though, hadn't done us wrong in the past. We made an excursion in August when Daddy J almost chopped his thumb off in a Tim Taylor garage accident. True story.

They give me some pain meds, some weird tummy concoction my pharmacist sister calls "magic mouthwash" and do an ultrasound. The doctor comes in and tells me my gallbladder needs to come out. Now. They take me by ambulance (which was weird) to the hospital in Austin and we get to my room. By now it's around 6 am and Momma J is ty-yurd. I catch a few zzzzzs and Daddy J walks in exhausted. He hasn't been to sleep yet. We crossed paths as I got up, and he was headed to bed. Poor guy. A few hours later in trucks Mom and Baby J. She has taken off work, driven nearly 3 hours and picked up my son from day care and cleaned house and done some grocery shopping. I find out my Dad and baby sister are rolling in the evening, and that if my younger sister had had transportation-- she would have been there stat. Blood is definitely thicker than water. My surgery was a success that afternoon and I got home the next evening. Momma left today and just like when I was on maternity leave, I was sad to see her go. She takes such good care of me. I guess that's what moms are for, right? I want to be like her when I grow up. Friday (while still at the hospital) was my parents 33rd wedding anniversary. What were they doing? Taking care of me... What were they doing 30 years ago? Taking care of me... I talked to my mom today and told her I was sorry her and Dad couldn't go out together-- she said they wouldn't have it any other way. Cue the Kleenex!

Ok... but down to the real issue. ** stop reading now if you don't want to hear about people not checking on me. But seriously... it's a big deal. Especially if you know how my old school rolls...**

So we are on day 4 almost since my surgery and JUST NOW my boss has emailed to check in on me. (Oh wait... the school secretary sent me balloons... with the school's name on them... ) I have had 2 teachers ask how I was doing. I sent an email out when I got the balloons the day I got home from the hospital and just said "thank you for the balloons, thanks for checking on my classes... p.s. if you didn't know, I had emergency surgery, be back in a week... peace." NOT. A. SINGLE. REPLY. This makes my heart hurt a little.... ok, not that I want people wallowing all over me and falling head over heels sorry I can't eat fatty foods anymore and sorry that I had surgery... but really? Have a soul. I've had at least 7 or 8 people from the school I don't even work at anymore checking in on me. We call that caring. It makes me miss the W more than ever.... I miss the family I had there.

Well, that's why I am Jenny From The Block. I don't forget where I came from...

peace and fat-free dinners.