Christmas Day came and went and will be remembered as an enjoyable, quiet, relaxing day. Pip enjoyed all his new toys, especially the last minute cheap stuff I grabbed at the dollar store - a set of musical instruments/noisemakers, a ping-pong gun and the candy canes.

Benji managed the transfer from Dad to Mom without incident, then he and I went to eat and to a movie. "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey was exactly what the doctor ordered for me - enough laughs to trigger the endorphins and turn around the depression that continues to drag me into the doldrums. After our hospital visit, we stopped by Sandra's so I could introduce him to my good friend from Tupelo, who happens also to be a close neighbor now. They immediately fell into a conversation that only English professors would understand.

We visited with a sleeping Mike at the hospital, unplugging his phone before we left, hoping it would prevent the 5:30 AM calls we've been getting. Alas, he discovered our mischief and plugged it back in or got a nurse to. Looks like I'll have to call the nurse tonight and get her to remove the cord, or make some arrangement so he can't continue to harass me like he's doing. He's so inconsiderate. Ron, his best friend, says he's been harassing him, too.

So far, all of Mike's friends have been very supportive of my decision to send him to rehab. They have all expressed admiration and appreciation for how long and how well I've cared for a "very difficult person." They are all tired of watching him commit suicide the slow way and had quit having much to do with him because he could never control his drinking. This probably explains why things were getting so much worse around here. He had no where else to go with his irresponsible behavior.