updates, updates, updates...

It’s been a fast and furious new year already at Casa Comstock. In realizing I haven’t blogged since before Thanksgiving, I’ll try to make the recap and quick and painless as possible. Maybe splitting them up will make it a little easier on the eyes. :)
November
The end of November was bittersweet. Adam’s grandma passed away right before Thanksgiving after a long battle with congestive heart failure. She was a tough old gal, and of course, she decided to pass when she knew everyone would already be in town for the holiday so as not to be “an inconvenience” …what a woman. The weekend prior, Adam was hunting on her land and shot his biggest deer to date. She was able to see it through her window that day and I know she was really proud.
Now you guys know that hunting is NOT my thing, but it’s a big part of Adam’s life, so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that eventually there will be animals mounted on a wall somewhere in our home. But this one will be special. His grandma always went by her middle name, Dorene. Her first name was Alpha, so that’s what we’re naming his deer. Pretty weird, I know, but somehow it makes me feel a little more at ease about having a once-living mammal on my wall.
December
I spent the last couple of weeks before winter break doing my Mental Health rotation. I enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated. My favorite part was the Seniors unit, where most patients are admitted from a long-term care facility where they’d had an episode that warranted a psych evaluation. I absolutely adored these folks – we mostly did group activities like chair aerobics, arts & crafts, etc., but I was also able to have some really amazing 1-on-1 discussions with a few of them about their lives. With dementia, it’s hard to know whether what they’re saying holds any truth, but even if I was only hearing their version of history and reality, I know it had to be therapeutic for them. I was also able to sit in on an outpatient therapy group and observe some ECTs (electroconvulsive therapy).
Christmas came and went so fast…we had intended to split the time between both our families, but the roads were too nasty to travel so we ended up staying in H’ville. Here’s one of Adam’s many “festive” outfits from this season. I believe that night he was wearing original designs by Goodwill & DAV Thrift.
Towards the end of break, I was able to travel to St. Louis for a couple of days to see all the gals and their babies. It was so much fun to catch up! We were spent New Year's Eve over at the Pintado's with Rachel, Nick & Carter, Emily, and Carie, JP & Riley. It was nice to be with good friends and be in bed by 1AM. Not kidding.