We’re not out of the woods yet with Jamie. He’s had some side effects from the blood thinner medication and also some pain in his foot we feared was a blood clot, which landed him back in the Urgent Care. Thankfully, they didn’t find anything wrong.
But overall, he’s doing well and the last week I’ve learned some things about him.
1) The Man is Vain.
He refused to take off his baseball cap in the hospital because of his bad hair. I told the man hospitals are the only place where you get a pass for bad hair (and everything else) days.
2) The Man is Addicted to Television.
He only watches television late in the evenings and often needs to fall asleep to it. I’ve made concessions in this area because it was the difference between him falling asleep in our bed vs. the couch and have learned to live with it.
But after his surgery where he was barely lucid and couldn’t put two words together, he managed to say this:
Where’s the remote?
Intervention needed.
3) His Children’s Empathy is Questionable.
Because we have two boys and two girls, we are highly competitive and our loyalties are evenly divided. However, Fat Kitty tips the gender scale and Hadley and Bode often obsess that we actually have three boys and two girls.
The first night Jamie was in the hospital was the most difficult for me because there was a deluge of uncertainty. The kids and I brought him an overnight bag and visited with him but I was reluctant to leave at the end of the evening. Then sweet Bode piped up:
Oh no! Now we’ll only have two boys and two girls at home.
The kid could have waited until we left the hotel room to start writing Jamie off.
3) The Man Has Great Friends
In addition to the many people 
who called, watched the kids and attended to so many of our needs, Jamie had some of his buddies stop by. College friend Whitney and his wife were house-hunting from Utah and generously brought us a healthy meal from Olive Garden. Then, Jamie’s childhood friend Ivan arrived loaded up with heart-healthy groceries. He also happened to drop by at the exact same time the BYU basketball game was on.
Kind of convenient that Ivan doesn’t have cable and we have an 84″-inch HDTV. 
4) The Man Has An Obsessed Wife
A few years ago, we watched a special on television that told the story of a husband who was in a horrific accident. He survived but his short-term memory was destroyed. This had many ramifications but the one the wife hated the most was anytime they were separated–even if it was just for a bathroom break–when they were reunited, he would respond like it had been years since they had seen each other.
Initially, this would be flattering but after a while, such celebrations would be annoying.
Welcome to Jamie’s world. Such is the trade-off for a gushing wife who’s just glad he’s still around.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 