Where do I start...

... well, I am still in Texas and should be back in Atlanta sometime on Tuesday. Dad has been through a lot, but thank God above, he is well on his way to being 100%, although it looks like it will take some time. I don't have the energy to go into all the details (as this has been such an emotional and physical roller coaster), but boy, I have to say that was one of the most difficult weeks of my entire life, I certainly feel like I've tapped some reserves of strength that I didn't know I had. I feel like I can leave here knowing that mom and dad will be okay. I am also a little frustrated, for the most part I've carried the burden myself, my brother who flew in a few days ago is utterly useless, it's incredibly frustrating. He was born a full 10 years after my sister and was spoiled absolutely rotten and hasn't managed to slough off any of his old tendencies in the past 10-15 years. I was born 1.5 years after him and I get called spoiled, but I'd argue I am anything but. I've been running around for over a week handling practically everything, he spent the last few days bitching about how hot it is, complaining about nothing being on TV and rolling his eyes when asked to do the slightest thing or God forbid, pay for his own meal every now and again. My mistake for thinking he might actually show some maturity at a time like this. Sigh. My expectations of him are now sufficiently lower.

It is going to be HARD leaving here in a couple of days, I'm not sure how I will do it, but I will. I'm exhausted, emotionally and mentally mostly, not so much physically although I tend to get really physically tired by the end of the day. I have been trying to get in over 120+ grams of protein but I honestly don't know. The last few days I've been drinking at least one 52g protein shake and have been trying to get in 1 or 2 Atkins ready-to-drink ones. My diet has kinda sucked, I'm just too busy and wired to really focus on it, but I'm mindful of at least getting in the bare minimum protein and needless to say the carbs have been a bit out of control. Oh well, I'm not too concerned about that right now. I have been taking my supplements though, at least the daily ones. It's been tough getting in the Calcium, but I'll pop a couple of chewable tablets when I remember to do so. Instead of water, I've been drinking lots of diet beverages, at least it's not full sugar ones. I also have no idea how much I weigh, don't really care right now.

I reckon when I get back to Atlanta and have resettled into my routine that the weight of all of this will hit me at some point. My mind, right now, is really focused on accomplishing the list of things I need to do before I leave. Getting those things done will really ease my mind.

Have I mentioned how exhausted I am, yet? Well, I am. Unbelievable.