Pre-Surgery Post

It's 6:30am in the morning on Thursday May 30, 2019. One day before I have surgery to have my wisdom teeth extracted and one month before one of the biggest days of my life, my wedding. Frankly, each one of them makes me nervous. Tomorrow's surgery makes me nervous because I haven't had surgery of any kind since my reconstructive knee surgery back in July of 2010. The wedding, well, I'm nervous for that because I love Chrissy so much and this day should be absolutely perfect and special for her. She deserves it. I'm nervous because I want everything to go as planned and for her and I to tie the knot and enjoy our time together up in Mount Rainier National Park for the few days after for our short and partial honeymoon. There will be a much more heroic honeymoon later, believe me. Tomorrow's surgery has me anxious because I don't know what to expect, I've heard that the surgery is rather forceful and extremely painful, and the side-effects that were explained to me (numbness on my lower jaw, nasal sinus trauma from upper wisdom teeth, swelling, the poor clotting in the "holes" left by the extracted teeth, etc.) have me seriously considering my odds. I don't gamble, so I'm not sure how my luck will play out in the end. I will be taking tomorrow off from work and using Saturday and Sunday as "rest days" as I don't have anything urgent to address or take care of. I'll just need to sit upright, read, relax, and heal up, so that I can return to Monday ready to roll. I don't have to present new-hire orientation on Monday, so tomorrow was the best option available. Sure, I could have scheduled this for next Thursday or something, but I would miss two days of work instead of one, I would have to run in the Sound to Narrows 12k two days after surgery, the lawn would have to be mowed, and I would have to speak the following Monday. So, as you can see, there was too much going on next weekend and this weekend just made too much sense. I'm worried about the IV anesthesia that will be used to put me under. I've never had the IV option before. My knee surgery in July of 2010 was gas, so this is another "first" for me. I also worry about how I will heal being that I'm older than the recommended or suggested age of wisdom tooth removal (age 38) and I'm not as young as I used to be, obviously. I just hope that everything goes smoothly and I don't become too much of a burden on Chrissy over the next few days. My next post will be post-surgical. See you then!

Memorial Day 2019

For the last seven years, I have been making it a habit to drive out to Tahoma National Cemetery to visit my Grandparents every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. The cemetery is located in Covington, WA just off of Highway 18 on a stretch of highway between Auburn and I-90. My wife and I have been visiting them twice a year since Veteran's Day in 2014. Today will be our 5th year of doing it. Every Memorial Day, the Tahoma National Cemetery has Boy Scouts, VFWs, local schools, etc. that volunteer to clean up the headstones, plant flowers, and put an American flag next to each burial site. Just visiting the cemetery is an amazing experience for anyone visiting friends, family, or just showing their respect for those that served in the military. What started off as a simple bi-annual visit to my Grandparents has become time-honored tradition in my family. Each time that we've visited, it has been an opportunity to catch up with my Grandparents. In the past few years, it has been a chance to catch up with them and tell them that someone I loved has passed on. This year, we will go out there and catch up with my Grandparents and tell them how much we miss them, my Mom, and our son, Kasen Everest Cornwall. It has been a fairly difficult last few months since he passed away and there are days where I just miss him so very much. As I type this latest blog entry, we are about to start getting the day started. We will be leaving here in a little bit, drive up to the cemetery, grab some Starbucks on the way, show our respects, and drive down to my brother's place to see his new puppy. I don't think that either of my brothers will be able to make it up with us this Memorial Day and that's fine. It's something that I have made a tradition and anyone that wishes to join us are more than welcome. I hope that all of you enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Remember why we celebrate Memorial Day and remember to honor those that fought and died for this wonderful country of ours.