Mr Misfit was admitted to hospital this week. I won't go into details but a check up at the hospital on Monday (after a reaction to some medication) saw him admitted there and then, and surgery performed on Friday.
Finding myself suddenly without my partner in crime, and bearing in mind that we are together 24/7, taught me a few things.
* Not driving for 6 months, is a bad move. When you then HAVE to get back behind the wheel, your confidence is shot.
* When a friend then offers to drive you to the hospital in her Porsche to re-acquaint you with the route, do a quick finishing school course. Legs were everywhere, bum and back contorted in a very unladylike fashion.
* Getting back in your own car and negotiating London traffic after such a long break is actually as easy as falling off a bike. IF you have petrol in the car. Getting petrol - after possibly five years - wasn't so hard either.
* NHS nurses still range from FANTASTIC to WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS PROFESSION?! If someone calls at 8pm to ask if their loved one is back from surgery, DO NOT say, 'He's not back yet, ring in the morning.' Also, don't send someone to surgery with no wrist band and such a poor command of the English language that the forms you should have filled in days ago leave you asking, 'What is dental crown? What is cap?'
* Hospital food can be astonishingly good. Either my husband has become institutionalised or he hates my cooking because all I ever hear about is how good his meals are.
* Parking at a hospital is bad for your blood pressure. THIRTY minutes of driving around looking for a space almost hospitalised me!
* You learn who your true friends are and how far they will go to keep your pecker up and offer company in their own ways. Visits, meals, drinks, texts and calls have kept me sane through a tough time.
* Being a self-employed writer is a Godsend. I've earned money without needing to worry about working.
* Christmas shopping (online) is a great distraction and disposes of hours.
* A free Word Search app on your Kindle can get you through those worrying hours of surgery. Who'd have thought it could take so long to find the word. 'Loo'! I was just willing Mr Misfit to come round just so that he could find it for me!
But most of all, I've realised how much I miss my mum - do we ever stop needing them? - and how much we relied on each other. And, of course, how much I love Mr Misfit. He is such a huge driving force in my life and, without him, I feel as if my battery is missing.
Roll on tomorrow and (hopefully) his return home - there's another word I can't find in my Word Search!
