This week and a half is different from my usual work trips. It is a mixture of experiences from the painfully poignant/heartwrenching (staying part of the week in my grandparents' empty house full of happy memories while my grandma lies miserable in a hospital bed wishing she could just leave this world and my grandpa sits alone in his lazy boy in an assisted living facility nearby) to the scientifically challenging and interesting work I am getting to be involved in at the large animal veterinary medicine clinic at Texas A&M. I spent many long hours trying to comfort and distract my grandma and grandpa, then had to transition suddenly in a matter of minutes into scientist mode.
The smell of star jasmine will always remind me of my grandma's kitchen... This picture was taken in my grandparents' backyard. Early in my week here I clipped a bunch of the star jasmine (top half of picture) and took it to my grandma's hospital room to bring a tiny piece of her garden to her. This morning I clipped the stalk with the easter lilly (and buds) and brought that to her room too. I managed to get out for a couple of runs so far in the steamy Texas heat, but somehow running just can't take the edge off of a week this intense...
