Home Alone

After more than eight months of unemployment, Marty is now working. Hooray! Had I not relapsed at about the same time he lost his job, the experience would have been a lot more anxiety-ridden for us. Instead, it became mere background noise to round three of my bout with leukemia.

The upside of Marty being at home was that he could take care of me, the kids, the house and whatever else I couldn't do. He was with me at the hospital everyday, here in Rhode Island and up in Boston. When I was discharged post-transplant, he made sure I took my meds, walked each day, and ate as much as possible. I was his job, and he did it exceptionally well.

Marty's new job is in New York City, some three hours away. On Sunday evening, he drove to Brooklyn where he's staying with an old friend of ours. We lived in downtown Brooklyn for 13 years and still have a lot of friends there, so Marty already has numerous dinner invitations lined up. On Friday evening, he will drive back to Rhode Island and spend the weekend at home. This will be the pattern for the next four to six months, until we sell our house and find an apartment in New York. Harry graduates from high school in June, so we hope to synchronize that with closing on the house and moving. It will be a major upheaval, and very stressful having the house on the market, but we'll manage. Eight years ago, Marty moved to Rhode Island two months prior to the family's arrival from Costa Rica. Even though we were selling our house to friends there, the transaction was one of the most stressful experiences in my life, thanks to Costa Rican bureaucracy. Selling here should be a piece of cake in comparison.

So I am home alone, left to my own devices and ostensibly in charge. I'm fine with this, and think the extra work and responsibility will make me stronger. I have Harry to keep me company and to help out. I have friends and neighbors who will pitch in with shopping and other errands. Marty isn't as sanguine about leaving me on my own, but I've assured him that although I'm not 100%, I feel perfectly capable of getting through the week unscathed. I'm a big girl, and still think of myself as tough as nails, even though I am physically diminished at the moment.

I'll try to keep the mischief level to a minimum. I've already done one unauthorized activity, which only torture will force me to reveal.