Dear Kids,
         I’m uploading my Mom letter a day early this week, because Dad and I are going to swap out my desktop computer for a surplus school computer that Tom got for us, and it might take us more than a day to get everything set up again. My desktop is at least 10 years old, has only one working usb port, has trouble reading CD’s and DVD’s, and is slow to open and close its tray. The one we have from Tom isn’t new, but it’s newer than mine, and I’m sure it will work better. Besides that, we’re saving it from the crusher.
         If anybody has stopped reading my Mom letter, I don’t blame them. It’s only medical news any more. But that’s my life! I saw a proctologist ("bum doctor") on Monday, and he wasn’t very nice. He was completely unsympathetic to my problems, and didn’t seem at all concerned about my symptoms, but he scheduled me for a colonoscopy Monday morning. At least I’ll find out if there’s anything seriously wrong with me. One good thing–when I told him I could hardly stand the pain, he said he’d prescribe me "a couple" of percoset. When I groaned, he said he’d make it 40. I told him he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.
          And it’s a good thing I got loaded up on pain pills, because Wednesday morning I had to have a root canal. There was a filling Dr. Condie had done the week before, and he had warned me he’d gotten very close to the nerve, and it turned out to be too close. I thought once I had the root canal my tooth pain would be gone, but it hasn’t let up yet. It’s so bad, I hardly think about my other problems. I take the pain meds every four hours, and I’ve gotten to be like the mean old lady in "To Kill a Mockingbird," who always set her alarm for her next dose, and tried to make it through till then. I hope the tooth pain will let up before Monday, so I’ll only have to deal with the colonoscopy. Which reminds me, I have to do the colonoscopy prep Sunday afternoon and evening, so we won’t be up for visitors Sunday night. I’m sorry, because we always enjoy having you kids and our wonderful grandkids come and visit us. It’s the highlight of my week.
          I hope I can write a more pleasant letter next week. If I don’t write at all, it’s because we couldn’t get the new computer set up, or because I decided that life itself simply isn’t worth it. I hope you’re all doing better than I am.
          Love, your unhappy Mom