And now for some good news...

I've spent the past week waiting for the phone to ring. My dad's bone-scan results were meant to be back last Wednesday, so I've had to resist the temptation to phone him at hourly intervals to see if he'd heard. 'We will phone you as soon as we hear,' my mum told me. In other words, go away and stop pestering us. 

They're busy selling their house at the moment, so an over-anxious daughter is an added annoyance. They're fortunate in living on the edge of a nearby town - close to the town centre in one direction and walks through parks and woods in the other. And five minutes away from the hospital, which was very handy when the children were turning A and E into their second home (dislocated fingers from flying cricket balls, photographic chemical spillages, broken collar-bones, and so on. If you have children, I'm sure you went through it, too...). So, my parents put their house on the market, and within a week it had been sold. It helps that the place is like a show-home, unlike my house which is bookstore-meets-overcrowded-bric-a-brac-shop. 

Not mine, unfortunately. Mine are

stacked sideways with additional piles on 

the floor. 

They're downsizing, so I've had offers of chairs, a bread machine, a double bed and a really annoying uncle who keeps appearing with bags of washing. I've said yes to everything except the bed and the uncle. I have enough ironing of my own to do, without adding his. 

Anyway, I got a phone call yesterday. My dad had just opened a letter which said his cancer had not spread to his bones, so he's able to have a combination of hormone treatment and radiotherapy. Sighs of relief all round. I owe a huge thanks to friends who have supported me and kept me sane over the past couple of months. And I think my dad now feels he can stop writing his bucket list and concentrate on living. 

More good news: Mr Chaos is, touch wood, moving in over the road. It'll be good to have him around, and The Husband is already trying to work out how to fit him in to the Cricket Club quiz team. 

Another thing: I have done some work. The first two bits of work for my RE course have been submitted, with the first getting a favourable response. I've only just e-mailed the second bit, so am waiting to hear about that. I really must crack on with the counselling course now...

And... I've made a final decision on my next OU course. The RE course has renewed my enthusiasm for the subject, so I'm going for one on religion and controversy, which starts October. Then I'll only have one more short course to finish my degree. Then what? No idea, but either more study of some sort or writing. The Daughter wants me to write a book, and I have some ideas that went down well on my OU course, but I don't know if I have the courage to take it further. Time to start looking at Masters degrees, perhaps?



Photo courtesy of Mr.TinDC at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/5323104963