Dear Dad, part 2

Sunday 7/1

Yesterday was my processing day. I was putting every moment into a diary, romanticizing and freaking out about what is to come. This morning Leland walked into the waiting room and non challantly said that you had your eyes open. I raced to your room, and Lois whispered in your ear that I was there. You opened your right eye, glanced my way, closed your eye and squeezed my hand. They said they won’t really wake you up for a few days. They said you won’t remember most of this stuff. I wish I wouldn’t, either. But as long as I can tell you about it soon, tell you the jokes we’ve made, tell you about Darla sticking her paws in her water bowl and Hunter peeing on her, and about the way Leland and I played race cars in the waiting room and cracked grandma up.

I’m being overfed by grandma and grandpa, and I want you to know that you are definitely missing out on good food. I got to pick where we went to eat tonight, so I picked the place I’ve been told that you suggested we go before you went into surgery (natch!). I liked it a lot. There was somewhere else that everyone wanted to go, but I just had to go where you had suggested. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. Maybe we sat at the same booth you did. Maybe you had the same waiter. Who knows.

By the way, I just want you to know I love you. I know that you know, I’m not concerned that you are unaware. But reinforcement – I tell you when you are sleeping, we all do (except Leland, he seems shy about talking to you while you are sleeping). Lois told us a funny story about when you two are about ready to fall asleep. You’ll wait until the clock says 10:31 and then you’ll start to exclaim, “It’s my birthday! It’s my birthday!” I got excited and told her that I always get excited when I see the number 317! We are two peas in a pod, no doubt about it.

The nurses and doctors are giving us good indications, saying you’ll come out of it. Everyone was worried we were going to lose you on Friday, but now they say you are getting better. Your kidneys started to work again today, and even though your fever is going up and your heart rate is still high, the doctors and nurses are still encouraged. So I am too. I just really hope that they don’t keep putting off when they are going to wake you up. I’m excited to see you and talk to you. I hope you will be up to talking. Or at least listening. HA for once I’ll be the one talking your ear off.