Half a Convo is Better Than None

So I was quite sick yesterday. It was hard to pull it together.  I needed lots of fluids and antibiotics. The nurses again are the superhero team. I could feel a delirious bout coming on because I wanted to tell everyone how cute and sexy they were. Being deliriously dehydrated with fever is very similar to deliriously drunk. Wine: the truth serum. I probably should have told them how cute and sexy they are. Because they are!

But I was quite lucky that my friends Heidi and Craig (also cute and sexy) just landed from Chicago. And after they slept until the, "I'm on Chicago time" requisite 1:00pm, they walked over to the hospital and spent all day yesterday and today with me. They completely made me forget my sorrows. Starting with Craig blow-drying his trainers. It's ironic they have blow driers on the cancer ward, (basically no one has hair!) He laughed because I called them trainers. "They're sneakers!" (Although when you think about it trainers do make sense).  And I swear, it hasn't rained like that here in months! It doesn't really rain that much in London! Such skeptical looks I got!

It's so nice to be able to hang out with friends and listen to music and just talk. Once you have a kid's, or your friends have kids, an uninterrupted conversation is just a memory. Now it' important to find ways to be satisfied with twelve half-finished conversations. In Chicago, Andy called my hospital room, "Dina's Salon". And even in London, I have friends who like to sneak off and visit me. Maybe for some unadulterated women-time. And thank god! It means I get visitors! Yay! I figure, if you've got a friend with cancer, you've got every right to play the cancer card too.

You know, if this wasn't me, but a friend, I'd be so worried and upset!  I would just want to be there too.  But caring for someone affects your whole life as well! For example, this is how many people this weekend affected for Heidi and Craig. First, they have 4 kids, each with their own thoughts and feelings about when mommy and daddy go away. Then, Heidi's parents flew in from NY to babysit. (thank you!) Plus they hired 2 babysitters, Becky, and Alex to fill in where mom and dad couldn't. That's 10 people, to make a visit happen!

I think when friends are unwell, you just do everything you can. Right? In many ways, friends are people you've nurtured, as they've nurtured you. Mine have raised me, encouraged me, glued me back together, and laughed at all my jokes. (Even the really goop-y puns. Sorry. Wait, afm I sorry?) .  So you have a bit of parental protection and affection toward them. And when something goes wrong, you just can't imagine not being right there. So leave it to us to move to London and make it really difficult for our American friends to visit. It's hard to describe how thankful I feel for visits, sleepover dates, emails, cards in the mail, phone calls and messages on my voicemails. And I think for anyone ever wondering "what can I do?" when people you love, or even just like a little bit, hit rough patches, don't hesitate. It's good to keep in mind that something little, isn't.