I recently decided to take a trip to LA to see my brother Rob. He is two years out from a brutal treatment for stage 4 inoperable head and neck cancer and I was craving spending time with him. I sometimes get lonely in my house in spite of the activity and noise level. When you live with two people with Tourette, OCD and ADHD, you sometimes feel like the odd man out.
Anyway, the point of this entry is that well laid plans can backfire. Marcus was accepted into Camp Hacamo, a camp for kids with disabilities like his, for the week of August 14th. He went last year so I knew he could handle it. This seemed like the perfect week to go visit Rob. Marcus would be at camp and this would give Morris five solid days alone in the house. I could visit Rob and not feel guilty about putting all the work on him. So, I leave that Sunday. I had a nightmare travel day, but arrived safely. Saw Rob first thing and spent a lovely day at the beach. I love the Pacific Ocean; it is soul healing for me. I even called Morris from the beach to say hi and to let him hear the ocean. He seemed a bit distant, but the call was nice.
When I got back to Rob’s after the beach, I saw there was a message from Marcus. He got kicked out of camp on the first day and was home. What!!!??? Evidently some kid called him a name and he went after him with a stick. No one was hurt, but they kicked him out. He had been home already when I called Morris from the beach. Morris didn’t say anything because he didn’t want me to worry. What a sweetie. But of course, not only was I worried, I was now riddled with guilt. Here I was enjoying the Pacific and Morris was having to juggle work and Marcus home all day for the whole week. That’ll teach me to take a vacation.
No comments:
Post a Comment