Where I've Been...Hospitaland, And A Happy Ending

   So, it's been quite the week around here. About 12 days ago my mom came down with whatever bug currently seems to be going around up here. She was recovering just fine but despite her best efforts, passed "it" to my dad. It's never fun to be sick, but it's doubly not fun and can be downright scary when both adults in a household are sick... at the same time. Add kids to the mix and... hello desert island!
  I can still remember my mom dragging our giant '60's TV into our bedroom when my sister and I were both down with the flu. My dad was on duty (he was a fireman) and she was sick too, and yet this tiny woman dragged this big TV through the house to our room. It certainly kept us occupied while she was able to crawl off to bed and be sick in peace and quiet.
  About ten years ago Alan and I were both down with the flu at the same time and it was hell... we could barely manage to stand up let alone get out to get any medicine, and my parents had to swing by our house (we were at our Sonoma place at the time) and toss a prescription through the door at us. I thought we were gonna die it was that bad.
  My mom, who had gotten sick first, was on the mend, but she was still not functioning at 100 percent, and then my dad got sick, and he got sicker, and while trying to get out of bed, he fell and my mom couldn't lift him by herself so she called the Fire Department and us, and the next thing I knew, we were all at the hospital Emergency Room. That was on Monday.
  Today, everything is okay but it was scary for a while. My father had not been eating enough and had gotten rapidly dehydrated, and that's why he fell. He's now up and out of bed, walking the halls of the hospital and itching to go home.
  This week has mainly been occupied with riding herd on my mom, making sure she eats (of course not my food... the way she looks at my cooking you'd think I was a Borgia) and rests, and talking to the doctors and nurses and just doing general overseeing. I have not been doing a lot of cooking. I had a kitchen full of vegetables lined up like planes on a runway waiting to be put into things, so I'm a bit behind. Once we found out he'd be coming home tomorrow, I went back and cooked us up a pot of toor dal with fresh Spring sorrel.
  I'll be back with the recipe shortly, but right now I'm going to put my feet up, enjoy a bit of peace and quiet and go see what everyone else is doing. I'm also very very grateful to all the doctors and nurses and staff at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital who've been so kind and helpful, the firemen who came to help, and all of you who've sent me such warm wishes. Thanks!