The Long and Short of It

Day light saving time in Germany was just over this past weekend. So now the sun doesn't really fully rise until almost 8 a.m. and it goes down just before 6 o'clock. This makes for a very short day for yours truly since the boys and I don't really get moving until about 9. It's way too cold in the morning now for our usual summer day break walk, as I value my little toes and really don't care for frostbite. I woke up this morning to witness the first winter frost of the season blanketing over our green grass. Note to self: take more pictures. The boys sat with their little wet noses pressed against the glass door, since I promised them that we could go out as soon as the sun came up high enough to warm the air. It's so amazing to actually see a drastic change in season here. Since moving to the States, I lived in Florida, Alabama, and North Carolina, where people put sweaters on when the temperature dropped below 70. I found out that I was pregnant in August, spent the next couple of months inspecting the cleanliness of the toilet, and suddenly fall was almost gone once I was able to lift my head up for some fresh air. I didn't even get one single pictures of the yellow and orange leaves. Maybe next year.

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that Wil and I had matching appointments at Landstuhl but didn't elaborate much. His neurosurgeon referred him to see a specialist at the pain clinic to do one last test before scheduling the surgery. The test is called a Discogram, and it's done at the pain clinic for a reason. Neither one of us is looking forward to the procedure but it's the last important step to Wil's getting healthy again. So we went to his 8:00 a.m. appointment together. A doctor called us in from behind a check in counter. He looked familiar. I saw that he was also trying hard to figure out why we also looked familiar to him. Then I peered at his lab coat and name. "Conner!" I excited proclaimed. "Uma!" he shouted back. Conner was my across-the-street neighbor in Fayetteville from almost 3 years ago. I knew that he worked in a medical field, since he was always in scrubs. But we never bothered talking about work or learned each other's last name. We met because one day I let my baby Conner out to use the bathroom and he refused to come in after a forever game of frisbee. So I conjured up my most stern voice when I said "CONNER!," and someone, who apparently just moved into the empty house across the street answered "yes?" Since then, his cute little family and I always got together after work, along with a few other dog-people neighbors, to let our pups play. We knew they were moving to Germany but it happened around the same time we were moving to another neighborhood and promptly lost touch. What a happy coincident! We spent a lot of time catching up and found out that Germany also brought them another baby! I'm telling you it's the fluoride-free water. So now Conner is one of Wil's doctors. One who will be torturing my husband and "studying" his pain. They really should use this guy to interrogate suspects. He KNOWS syringes and where to poke to make it really hurt. So we left in high spirit after an hour of chitchat, which was supposed to be a consult, with Conner and some localized anesthesia especially for Wil after the first set of treatment. Then we headed to our first group prenatal visit. It was everything I thought it would be, only a lot more fun. Wil got to share his suffering with other dads-to-be and there were plenty of other moms to shower them with the sympathetic laugh. It was as educational as it was enjoyable and definitely had a hippie vibe to it. I think I'm going to wait until at least the forth session to ask if anyone wants to nurse my baby for me while I go shopping.

Well, the sun set almost 4 hours ago and I just finished dinner of tortilla with hummus and bell pepper, 2 plums, a big piece of raisin bread, a cup of warm milk, a piece of chocolate, and a handful of prunes. I should go to bed before I'm hungry again.