Where I've Been

I've been in Iowa. Last Monday, at work, I got a call from Will relaying sketchy information from Rob saying something about Mom had a fall and she's in the emergency room and she may have broken both shoulders...? Huh?!??! This is not the kind of call you want to receive. After many more phone calls trying to sleuth out some bit of information (yes, I put a video on for my students to watch) I found out that she had broken an arm, busted a lip and gotten herself several scratches, stitches and bruises. I decided to set up for a sub, pack up and leave as soon as I could get home. Henry and I got to Mom's around 10:30 PM.
Out of respect for my mother I will not post photos of her in the earlier stages of recovery...
After a few days with Mom I thought I could leave her for a bit and head down to Burlington, which was my original plan for the weekend. Henry and I stopped for lunch at La Casa with Uncle Rob:
While in Burlington we got some good quality time with Aunt Joyce and Great (that's two greats for Henry) Aunt Jean, in from California. We also saw various other aunts, unlces and cousins. Henry was a bit overwhelmed and a bit of a show-off.
Pete brought the train in on Friday night (originally I was to take the train down with Henry and Pete would drive in) so we would only have one car. We met up with Sam and Jan for some Chinese food and sushi. Sam's a chopsticks master.
We spent some more time with Aunt Jean, when she wasn't busy taking my cousins' money in cards.
We had some coffee at Mr. Moto's before heading back up to Mom's. Moto's is our favorite new Burlington spot. It's right next to the train tracks, which Henry loves, but he also frequently needs to cover his ears. The train needs to blow it's whistle lots while passing through town.
While I was away Mom decided maybe she wasn't crazy about being on her own with her injury. Due to choosing not to have the bones pinned, her arm was much more mobile, therefore needing much more support, but also allowing for more natural healing- that's my understanding anyway. The point being- she needed a little more help than one might assume a broken-armed person would need. Not to mention, when you lead the hippie lifestyle with no dishwasher and line-dried clothes, there is just so much you can accomplish with one arm. We called in Beth for support. She flew in from Atlanta and took charge. Pete and I drove home last night (arrival at home: 11:05PM) and I went back to work this morning. At last report Mom had been back to the doctor today, gotten two new casts (the second resident didn't like the first resident's work...?) and had seen a physical therapist. Sounds like things are on the mend, despite some tricky self-nursing there in the meantime.

If you really want the story behind this photo you'll have to email me. Also, is my head twice the size of my mother's?

Oh yeah, to answer the question which will surely be asked- it was a dog related injury. In trying to catch Gracie, Mom took a face-first dive over a 4' retaining wall. Thank goodness this is the worst she did! Gracie, for the one time in her life, quietly followed Mom back into the house on her own with no prompting.