Just Lauren

My week was relatively uneventful save for one thing – on Thursday morning Kaitlin called me saying she was in the hospital about to get emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder.

That was a shock.

Turns out Kaitlin’s gallbladder was filled with gallstones, causing her pain and sickness for quite a while. Thankfully it’s out now, the surgery went well, and Kaitlin is in recovery mode. Elisabeth and I went to visit her and the family Thursday night to check in. It was a great relief to see Kaitlin and know she was okay. She even showed us the incisions she had to get, it was pretty cool. EG kept wanting to see, which was sweet. EG also helped Kevin pass out Halloween candy and it was adorable watching her take her job so seriously. How I love her and Ollie. I’ll be going over tomorrow to drop off some meals and maybe spend a few minutes hanging out too depending on everyone’s energy levels.

I finished my word cross stitch the other day and love it, “Celebrate” in rainbow colors because I try to celebrate my life and because I love color. I think I’ll end up framing it and taking it to work. It was so easy to do that I could definitely do another one for my apartment if I feel like I’m missing out. Today I started a new cross stitch, a vase with flowers. It’s a pattern that Elisabeth bought for herself long ago and I liked it enough that I had to make it too. The next beetle cross stitch will happen eventually!

This morning Elisabeth and I went to the Botanic Gardens for their Dia de los Muertos day. There were vendors selling a variety of Hispanic wares and different organizations and schools throughout Denver had made ofrendas, the altars to the dead. In the small building where the bonsai trees normally are, was an art piece honoring those we love who have died. There were tags people could write a memory on and sign the name of their loved one. It was incredibly touching to me. The whole idea was that the people we loved who have died, continue to live on in our love and because of the love that they showed others. I really connected to that.

Afterward we went grocery shopping and came home and prepped the food for Kaitlin and for our dinner tonight, which we will be sharing with our friends. Should be a fun evening.