Update on my mom:

Today was a long day for my family. We are all pretty exhausted. Honestly, I feel like I'm going to lose it at any moment I'm so tired and emotionally drained right now, but I also feel this responsibility to be really strong and remain calm, so that's what I'm trying to focus on. Here's the summary: I went to the hospital late this morning to be there with my mom and dad when the doctor came by to discuss the plans. What he said was a lot to take in at once. My mom's surgery is set for Friday morning. They are going to remove her non-functioning kidney and hope that the other issues in the area heal by themselves once the kidney and related infection are gone. If not, another serious surgery is in my mom's future. Apparently, her condition and the surgery are both pretty rare, she still has an infection that has proven difficult to alleviate, and the area where they will do the surgery was heavily radiated during her cancer treatments over a decade ago, so no one really knows what to expect. That's all the information I'm going to provide in a blog. Email me if you want to know more. I will post an update after the surgery.

Picture of the day: Here are my holiday light plans for next year. Please, don't even try to out-do me...