I just don't know what help to ask for.

Where are you staying? Is that working out?

Do you want company in the hospital?

Do you want someone to go have a drink/meal with just to get away for a bit?

Do you want homecooked food?

{{{Sean}}}

I suspect the cafeteria people have seen plenty of meltdowns, Sean. That's where I usually go to meltdown away from my loved ones.

It would be so great if Suzi's mom can help talk y'all through this. The medical system in this country is completely broken. I wish there was more I could do from the other side of the country.

In the much less pressing "I have a loose tooth" news, I saw the dentist and she says she doesn't want to pull the crown out and recement it until after the holidays because if there is something broken, there wouldn't be any crown-repairing people or gum surgeons around. So I get to spend the next two weeks chewing with the left side of my mouth.

::points up::

Totally what they said, Sean.

Sean, anything the 'istas can do, please, let us do. It makes us feel useful, and doesn't carry the guilt and other baggage that sometimes comes with others. We like to help.

Anyway, sometimes the strongest thing a person can do is ask for help.

Yow Ginger. chewing~ma

{{Sean & S}}

glitter for the cali-istas.

teeth-heal-thyself~ma for Ginger

I want to be "self reliant, I need no help" guy, but I'm also thinking that's really stupid, and I need to let that go.

I am the queen of never asking for help, but I recognize that this can be insane troll logic. It's one thing to be self-reliant for life's normal ups and downs, but this is a huge deal that most people never have to face. I have noticed that most of the talk-show hosts who preach self-reliance have rarely had anything bad happen to them that was outside their control. A child with a birth defect, cancer, a car crash or a failing liver can all show that self-reliance is as much a matter of luck as it is of hard work.

I guess it just feels like if I let that go, it will be harder to be strong for S. But it's still stupid and I still need to let it go.

Sweetheart, you can't be strong for her if you bottle it all up until you shatter. The good news is, you don't have to be strong for US. We're here with shoulders and help and whatever the hell we can give, okay?

So I spoke to javachick, and she'll be stopping by briefly in a little bit to drop off some help. juliana, megan, and any other SF-istas, S is saying she would love to have some visitors. She's feeling a little glum, cooped up in the hospital room. For my part, I'd love to finally meet megan, even if it's to have a non-hospital dinner for a bit. S would love to meet you, too.

Like everyone else who's not one of us, she's constantly amazed by Buffista love and generosity. Generocity? Neither spelling looks right, and the iPhone is not telling me which is the right spelling.