Pax status is AMBER

Hello My friends - I"m sorry for the lack of substance posts in the last month. Unfortunately a family health crisis popped up late June and I've been dealing with both the emotional and logistical stress since then. Now that my middle sibling has been advised (he's in Sydney so mum didn't want to call with the news until she had all the decisions made) I can mention it beyond one or two friends.

The Good news - my Mum will be going in for an operation on the 30th of July and her surgeon is cautiously optimistic.  The Bad news - it's a pretty aggressive cancer (two tumours) so recovery and follow up treatments will be on-going for a good while to come.  Any prayers you can spare to send her way would be appreciated.

I don't yet know if I will need to move back to their home to assist with the nursing. I have made the offer and have mentally plotted out the hows & can-dos to ensure I can keep my job and still be of help to the family.  I am also postponing my university studies for another year - I really don't need the added stress of juggling assignments when I want to be there for my mum.

So far my parents are resisting my good efforts (I suspect they feel that having one offspring - ie. my eldest brother - living with them is enough excitement for now; especially since brother R & I get on *exactly* like a house on fire) and they will be having a Blue Nurse carer come in daily to change the dressings and administer any medications.  I guess if I were there I'd be just doing the "keep a cheery face / do the housework / drive my dad insane*" thing, but I'd like to be involved if I can. So far the plan will be that I will be living at their home on the far side of Brisbane on weekends - and back to my place for the weekly working commute.

Eeh.. so yes.. I've been stressed.. non-communicative... shorting my friends; and worse - my adopted soldiers - with only hastily written emails, letters and postcards. I'm not currently sleeping beyond 3 or 4 hours a night and living on sugar & caffeine (lets NOT even talk about the pudge factor from that). I can see where I'm failing and will get my act together *after* the 30th. Till then I reserve the right to be a squirrilly basket-case.

Oh... and whereas other (normal) women manifest stress-coping factors by shopping, I seem to channel all that into adopting more bewildered Americans.  Just got my 3rd Soldiers' Angel adoptee for this year (I can have 3 SA's at a time plus my very special MP from TSBTS) and I'm about to introduce him to the joys of having a quirky Aussie Angel (Bwhahaha!). I do promise to instigate a "capture-release" program for them all at the end of their deployment (although I *have* noticed that the requests for timtams never seem to cease)

*I love my dad - we share a common sense of humour which any of you that know me well would say is a sad sad thing. Unfortunately we both manifest stress in hideously over-emotionally ways and the verbal fights can be devastating