A Headless Chicken
That's what I'm feeling like these days. I keep running around and like a chicken without a head and nothing ever gets finished.
There is so much to do before heading out to L.A. to see Mom you'd think we're going on safari. It seems way more complicated than when we used to visit France from over there. I suppose part of it is knowing we're dealing with the visa/moving issue. But I'm also racing to finish our new novel "Edgar Allan Poe on Mars," which we want to have out at the end of the year. I also have a short story for the "Shadowmen" short story anthology for early next year and all the other household tasks that don't stop just because you don't have time to do them.
We still have no idea of what we're going to do about Mom's visa. Friends Diane and Evan did manage to get the Consulate on the phone this week. However, the answer was more than unhelpful and leaves us as much in the dark as we were before. We may wind up on their doorstep Friday morning to try and get some kind of rational answer.
The only really hopeful thing is that our local Deputy (the equivalent of a Congressman) called us this week. JM had written to ask for a letter of support for Mom's file, figuring that it couldn't hurt and might help. Well, M. Dupree has taken an interest in our case and is going to try to intervene on our behalf. Perhaps that will force the issue and at least get us an interview. Only time will tell.
Adding to all of this is the fact that JM's dad has been having his own health problems for the last few weeks. He had bladder cancer 7 years ago, and when they removed his bladder, there were post-op complications which meant a second surgery. That surgery left him a mess inside and he has been suffering from a massive hernia ever since. No one has wanted to operate on it because it was going to be a very complicated and risky surgery.
We've always known that one day there would be a problem. With classic bad timing, that one day is now. He's been in and out of the hospital for the last month, and finally they did surgery on him today. We're still waiting to hear from my MIL as to how he is. For us, part of the problem is that she doesn't explain things to us clearly, so we don't really know what is going on in detail.
I must admit that knowing we are going away in less than a week is making this uber-stressful, because if something happens to Papa we're not sure if JM will still come with me or if he will cancel his trip and stay with his mother in Paris. As I said, stressful.
Still, that's part of lilfe. You can only plan so much then you have to pretend that you're a leaf floating on a stream and go where the waters take you.
Ciao for now.
Randy
There is so much to do before heading out to L.A. to see Mom you'd think we're going on safari. It seems way more complicated than when we used to visit France from over there. I suppose part of it is knowing we're dealing with the visa/moving issue. But I'm also racing to finish our new novel "Edgar Allan Poe on Mars," which we want to have out at the end of the year. I also have a short story for the "Shadowmen" short story anthology for early next year and all the other household tasks that don't stop just because you don't have time to do them.
We still have no idea of what we're going to do about Mom's visa. Friends Diane and Evan did manage to get the Consulate on the phone this week. However, the answer was more than unhelpful and leaves us as much in the dark as we were before. We may wind up on their doorstep Friday morning to try and get some kind of rational answer.
The only really hopeful thing is that our local Deputy (the equivalent of a Congressman) called us this week. JM had written to ask for a letter of support for Mom's file, figuring that it couldn't hurt and might help. Well, M. Dupree has taken an interest in our case and is going to try to intervene on our behalf. Perhaps that will force the issue and at least get us an interview. Only time will tell.
Adding to all of this is the fact that JM's dad has been having his own health problems for the last few weeks. He had bladder cancer 7 years ago, and when they removed his bladder, there were post-op complications which meant a second surgery. That surgery left him a mess inside and he has been suffering from a massive hernia ever since. No one has wanted to operate on it because it was going to be a very complicated and risky surgery.
We've always known that one day there would be a problem. With classic bad timing, that one day is now. He's been in and out of the hospital for the last month, and finally they did surgery on him today. We're still waiting to hear from my MIL as to how he is. For us, part of the problem is that she doesn't explain things to us clearly, so we don't really know what is going on in detail.
I must admit that knowing we are going away in less than a week is making this uber-stressful, because if something happens to Papa we're not sure if JM will still come with me or if he will cancel his trip and stay with his mother in Paris. As I said, stressful.
Still, that's part of lilfe. You can only plan so much then you have to pretend that you're a leaf floating on a stream and go where the waters take you.
Ciao for now.
Randy
