Three weeks post-op, and I have graduated from Lounge Lizard to…well, I haven’t really graduated yet.  I’m still a Lounge Lizard.  As I told my dad the other day, I FEEL better than I really am.  There are moments that I actually feel normal.  But give me a little while on my feet, and my abs and back start complaining and groaning.  I’m not sure how much of this weariness and muscle pain is due to the surgery, being out of shape, or fibromyalgia.  It’s probably a combination.  But the pain responds well to rest, heat, and a little Tylenol.  Oh, and I’ve found that oatmeal cookies are a cure for just about anything that ails!

Speaking of ailing, I am thankful that my kidneys aren’t.  We had a case of mistaken identity when I was in the hospital.  A doctor solemnly came in, folded her hands, and told me that she was there to discuss my kidney problems.  Even though I was under the morphine influence, I knew enough to to know that my kidneys are in perfect working order.  I’m sure my face must have looked beyond shocked, because then she said that someone should have told me about my kidney issues.  THEN she looked at her paperwork and said, “Aren’t you Sue Griswald?”  (Sue Griswald was not the name she said, but since I was under the morphine haze from you-know-where, Grizwald is what I heard.)  Phew.  Sigh of relief!  I’m not Sue Griswald!  It did make me feel sad for Sue, though.  God knows who she is, and I remember her in prayer.

My mom is here with me for a few days while hubby is on a business trip.  She brought an enormous box of of my Grandmother’s photos in hopes that scanning them would be a great project for a Lounge Lizard like myself.  What she didn’t know is that my scanner broke awhile back.  In fact, the whole printer/scanner/copier machine would be great fodder for an Office-Space type affair.  (Turn off your volume if you have sensitive ears or little ones around you.  The soundtrack is a rap full of “MF” words.)

So, I did some research and found a portable gizmo that came highly recommended for use with Mac computers.  I got one thinking that I’ll be able to sit on the couch and scan while I eat bonbons and watch movies and chat on FaceBook.  Until I saw the size of the box of photos:

Honestly, I am a little daunted about tackling this project and learning how to use the “Faces” feature in iPhoto to correctly document these pictures.  However, I am also excited about the gems I will find along the way, like this one:

This is my Grandma Billie Jean when she was probably about sixteen years old.  I look at her, and I see my daughter’s features.  I remember her smile and her peach cobbler and how there was always something mysterious to learn about her…there still is!  I’ve written before about my grandma’s battles with aphasia and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.  My mom took her back to the doctor recently and discovered that Grandma’s mental acuity has NOT diminished over the past two years.  This finding makes the doctor believe that she does not have Alzheimer’s.  Instead, he thinks that it is more likely that she has had a stroke which impacted her language and mental acuity.  This makes sense because although there is a strong family history of strokes, none of her siblings or parents had Alzheimer’s.

Living as a Lounge Lizard for a few more weeks won’t hurt me.  Maybe I’ll learn more about my roots (and I’m not talking about the ones on the top of my head.  Those are silver.  Silver is a euphemism for gray, and I’m sticking to it.).  Maybe I’ll investigate ancestry.com.  Maybe I’ll write a novel.  Maybe I’ll…(yawn)…take a nap.