Update on my Grandfather, Snow, and Sickness

My grandfather returned to the hospital. Apparently his sodium levels were dangerously low, and things were looking grim. The doctors managed to strap him up to a feeding tube, and now people are talking about him actually getting better. His heart is a different story. It's been through a lot, and there's no way it's going to magically get better, but I saw him again and he's at least looking more lively.

He even told us a joke:

In France, in the age of the guillotine, three men were sentenced to death. A lawyer, a priest, and an engineer. The lawyer was first to the guillotine. They had him face upwards so he could see the blade coming. The executioner pulled the lever and the blade fell, but stopped halfway down.
"It's a miracle! It's a sign! This man is innocent!" people exclaimed, and the lawyer was set free.
The priest was next. They placed him in the guillotine face up, let the blade loose, and again it stopped itself.
"It's a miracle! It's a sign! This man is innocent!" people exclaimed, and the priest was set free.
The engineer was last to the guillotine. They placed him under the blade, face up like the last two.
"Oh, I see what the problem is!" he said.

It's nice to see him getting back to his old self, but I know it won't last forever. In fact, my fiancée and I were watching the Disney/Pixar movie "Up" together, and I balled my eyes out as I watched the introduction sequence where the boy grows up, gets married, and grows old enough to watch his wife die. I've seen the movie before and I knew it was coming, but it felt so real after having just seen my grandfather, an old man with an entire life story, lying so vulnerable in a hospital bed.

Work is the same. I know my internship deadline is coming up, and I feel helpless to do anything about it. I can work as hard as I possibly can, but if they decide they want someone with years of experience doing something I don't understand instead of a fresh-out-of-college copywriter, I'm out of the picture no matter how hard I work.

Yesterday was a bit of a snowstorm here in white wonderful winter Wisconsin, and I'm feeling a bit under the weather (it's either a cold or my allergies have mysteriously transcended seasonal limits). My boss let me go home early from work, and after double the normal driving time I was able to spend some much needed rest and relaxation with my fiancée. We'd had plans to go out that had to be suspended due to the snow, but I'm not the sort of person who needs to leave home to have a good time. I love when it's just the two of us cuddled together under a blanket eating pasta and watching a movie. It's the best.

Don't worry, I'm still hard at work writing short stories and my novel. Things are going pretty well in that department, actually. One day I was inspired with three whole new ideas for short stories and a particular scene in my novel, so I've got plenty to work on.

Summer cannot get here fast enough.

-Ryan