Sunday Sundries

Wherein I am trying to be more of a Midori and less of ANY OTHER CHARACTER in Norwegian Wood.


So, this is a new thing I'm trying where I talk about my feelings and stuff (mainly about stuff, I expect) and generally distract you from the fact that I haven't finished any books for a while and so my fairly unexceptional life will have to be enough to entertain you, at least for a while!

Firstly, I just want to say a massive THANK YOU for all your lovely comments on my post on Thursday- it was pretty difficult to write, just because I'm not all that good at talking about or, you know, facing things that are horrible and actually happening, so just reading your 'I'm so sorry' comments really helped me get through the roughest day. I don't know if any of you have had someone close to you have a big operation or anything, but it's the weirdest feeling- even though you're trying to get through your day as best you can, it's always on the back of your mind and makes you feel so... restless and edgy. Seriously. This feeling wasn't helped by the fact that the hospital seemed to lose my mum after her operation was over, so my dad was calling them and no one seemed to know where she was! It was really weird, and ultra unsettling!

Anyway, they eventually found her and we went to see her in the evening, which was horrible because she was all drugged and feeling the after-effects of the anaesthetic, and generally was pretty out of it, which isn't a state I'm used to her being in so it wasn't very nice. BUT then on Friday she came home kind of early and was literally fine seeming! I mean, she's all sore and has a drain coming out of her (I'm guessing where they took out lymph nodes and stuff, but we're not really sure!) but she keeps wandering around and moaning that she's bored because we won't let her do anything. The most common conversation in my house at the moment goes:

Me/My dad/My sister: Where are you going?
Mum: I'm just going to get a drink/get some fruit/go to the toilet
Person who asked: I'll get that for you
Mum: I HAVE TO DO STUFF I'M NOT AN INVALID

It's funny because she hates sitting around, yet that's all we're letting her do because, hello, tumour removed like 3 days ago! The fact that she doesn't seem to be in too much pain or anything really makes it easier to be a Midori rather than a Naoko, even if it makes her an annoying patient in that you have to stop her doing things. I still prefer it to the alternative though.

So, that was the main attraction (attraction?! I guess I mean event...) of the week. We also had hospital trips on Monday and Wednesday for... things that I'm sure were important but I can barely even remember now so 3 of my weekdays were spent in hospitals, and on Valentines Day I went shopping with my sister to Windsor, which I want to sound very impressive to Americans because there's a castle there and stuff, but which is a place I go to quite a lot so has lost all exotic attraction to me. I mean, I had lunch in a Pizza Hut that faces the castle, but it was still a Pizza Hut! Anyway, I bought myself presents because I'm a strong independent woman who doesn't need a man to do such things for her, and I'm assuming all your valentines cards got lost in the post..? I thought so.

Post-Thursday, it's pretty much been: looking after mum, doing washing, making dinner, putting flowers in vases (I have a big family. HUGE. And most of them are my mum's, so, you know, there've been flowers, and also a fruit basket!) and generally sharing household duties with my sister, who goes back to work tomorrow which I'm dreading a tiny bit because I'm so tired out just by my half of the things my mum does all the time! I think my sister and I have gained a newfound appreciation for all the things she does, and I've definitely revised my opinion of housewives. Like, seriously. I suppose that she does do more things than your average housewife since she's also my dad's carer (so for the next couple of weeks I am...) but still. It's kind of immense.

So. That was my week! There was also some reading- I'm not even halfway through Jane Eyre, I read a bit of The Falls on Saturday afternoon, but only because I was upstairs, Jane Eyre was downstairs and I couldn't be bothered to move. Which is bad. I'm getting through Jane Eyre at a snail's pace, which I blame entirely on having a beautiful copy of it- I do A LOT of reading in the bath, and I don't take Jane Eyre there anymore because of an unfortunate incident where a bit of water got on the front and rubbed off a bit of the cover... I don't want to talk about it, other than to say that it was VERY traumatic and I now practically have to wear gloves even to touch it because I don't want to injure it more. Very sad stuff, and I don't mean in this way :(. Mainly I'm too lazy/busy to read anything except magazines at the moment, but if you're VERY lucky this week you might get a rant about how awful Cosmo is, like you didn't already know that. Nothing but originality here folks!