Highlights of my latest hospital vacation

I’m going home today (yippee!) but wanted to share with you some exciting activities I’ve participated in during my hospital stay this week:

1. Hoarding hospital supplies: I know exactly what we need and stock up immediately upon arrival. This time I even came with a list. Yikes...I feel like one of those people on the show “Hoarding: Buried Alive” on TLC. I’ve never watched it because the previews alone give me the creeps.
2. Watching movies: I watched two new releases this week, The Tourist and Country Strong. Don’t worry; I won’t be one of those people who ruins the movie for you by giving away the plot, though I have to say that was CRAZY when Tim McGraw chased Gwyneth Paltrow with the knife in Country Strong! Just kidding :). The Tourist is entertaining though forgettable but ends in a cool twist. Country Strong is haunting but very real, and I better not say anything about the end.
3. Editing a friend’s paper: I was able to help a friend and fellow teacher edit his reflections for his Master’s degree program that were due this week. I’m one of those rare breeds who actually enjoys editing (my 8th grade Language Arts students will attest to this), so being able to edit from the hospital was a tiring but rewarding experience :). His work was excellent!
4. Watching the “premiere” of Hop: The movie came out in theaters on April 1, so technically this wasn’t the premiere, but I got to see a movie that’s actually in theaters right now (non-bootleg of course ;) ), and with Zack no less! A couple times a year, LPCH receives copies of movies that just got released in theaters for them to show to oncology and stem cell patients who, due to compromised immune systems and/or hospitalization, are unable to go to the theater in person. They bring copies of the movie around to those who are interested, and even though Hop isn’t at the top of my “Must See” list right now, I jumped at the chance. It was surprisingly funny, and even Zack enjoyed it! :)
5. Learning to play Plants vs. Zombies: We bought this game for the iPad a month ago and Zack’s been playing it, but I finally had him teach me last night. Let’s just say now I know why my sister became addicted to the game within the first half-hour of arriving to see me from Seattle. I also stumbled upon Flight Control but am pretty terrible at it. Zack was trying to teach me and kept having to intervene as all my planes converged on the same spot. Noooooo....
6. Becoming the oldest Bingo player at LPCH: I found out something new during this stay! Child Life holds a weekly Bingo game in the Rec Room that they televise so that even patients stuck in their rooms (i.e. me) can participate. Once I heard that prizes were being offered, I was all in. With my mom and I each covering 3 Bingo boards and shushing my dad so we could hear each number as it was called out, we frantically dialed in to announce our not one but TWO Bingos! Since I couldn’t leave my room to claim my prizes, they promised to bring me my treasures. I was reminded yet again of the abnormality of my 26 year-old self being treated in a children’s hospital when my prizes turned out to be a mini Beanie Babie teddy bear and a plastic tiara :).