eat about a third of it, but then I realized the tiny pieces of ham were like thousands of swords stabbing my throat and mouth. It makes sound kind of ungrateful, kind of a jerk, but please don't offer to bring me food. Please don't offer to bring me even the food I've listed here. When it comes to food, let me ask you to bring something specific. If I want a latte, I will ask for it. Ditto for watered-down soup and ice cream. Visits are definitely appreciated over the weekend, though not the unexpected kind. The amazing Eileen is gone for the weekend, and there will be far fewer doctors and nurses visiting me considering the holiday, and so I'm looking at the next three days as Manulife-funded writing retreat. I need to devote blocks of time to simply writing, but in between those blocks, I'd love visitors to come and hang out with me, go out on walks with me, maybe watch a movie, or paint nails, or give me a shoulder massage. See how I slipped that last one in? I can't eat food, but I can accept pampering, wink wink, nudge nudge. So this little food freak-out aside, I want to say to everyone thank you so much for everything. Thank you Colleen for cleaning my entire house. Thank you Lauren for taking my food and fanny pack requests. Thank you Kailey for unpacking my luggage and setting up my hospital room (that I keep