Estoy Nueces

I'm dressed and beautiful and waiting on Mark to get ready to go to a party with me. Tonight's party is the for doctor's office that I worked for from February to November. It is very nice that they have included me in their holiday get-together. It starts in 20 minutes and will take longer than that to get there so I am beginning to get antsy.

Last night I went to a Christmas party at the house of friends out in the rich part of Austin, Steiner Ranch. It wasn't quite as fancy as I thought it might be. It was very very nice, certainly. We had fun. I was glad Mark got to go and meet these people. They have taken me to the UT game and were great customers at the cafe when I was working there. It was odd to see many of their friends in this setting and recognizing them from having been their waitress.

Yesterday I had a very hearwarming day raising toys for the Blue Santa program. I never know if you'll get one or a hundred at these events. Yesterday we got plenty. People brought in huge sacks of toys, 40 teddy bears, crates and crates of books. It kept making me all teary-eyed.

I may be more and more teary-eyed these days because of my dad's health. He was unstable and unbalanced at Thanksgiving and now has had an MRI and a consultation with a neurologist. She (Mom and Dad were shocked that their doctor was a "she") said that he has had some atrophy of the brain cells. It could have been caused by his diabetes to some degree. I will blame a lot of it on his smoking over the years, too. It has left cells dead in his brain and that has created nerve damage in his hands and legs. This nerve damage apparently won't be improving, sadly. She recommended he get a walker. I'm sure when we are all home for Christmas next weekend we will have to have some discussions about his care and his future. Can he drive? I don't think he should. Can he even continue to live in their house? Those are things to consider. It makes me very sad that Mother's life will become confined because of Dad's health. She is still in pretty able shape, although she's not as great as she was not long back. Taking care of Daddy will be a huge job for her, one she happily takes on, but it is sad how it will limit her trips, her social life, her church life, her LIFE. I'm glad they have each other, but growing old is sad.

This beautiful 75-degree day has left me anything but feeling Christmas-y. I did work on some Christmas cards to mail tomorrow, but mainly I cleaned house, potted a plant, just enjoyed a basically free day.