Phone Trees & Wakes

Thank goodness for you bloggers, or I'd be wearing a path in the carpet from pacing.
I'm glad you all have things that I can read to pass the time until we can get new word from the Dr's about my Gramma's condition.
It's been a long night, quite possibly carrying into a long day where I may just take up a family members offer and head to the hospital (two hours away) for the day.
As a bit of trivia, there's a show on the Outdoor Live Network here in BC called Mantracker. A few days ago they aired an episode from a place called Big White, which happens to be Kelowna's ski resort, and featured my neighbor as the local guide. Was loads of fun to watch, and I rather enjoyed voicing what I would do, given the situation, and viewing the outcome. It feels like a small world.
Wish I could post my regular weekly feature today, but as I'm involved in the goings-on with my family right now, I'm just not up to doing a post about my neighborhood. I'll catch up on my "This Is" soon, I swear.
The phone woke me up bright and early this morning, with a phone call from Japan. Mr was browsing vehicles online yesterday, and somehow managed to mistakenly click something and order himself a vehicle from Japan. Was an interesting phone call, and the least of my worries.
So, here I am, after 4 hours of rough sleep, catching up on reading my blogs, looking at the time every now and then, impatiently waiting for 8 am to arrive so we can phone the hospital to get the new word on my Gramma. Last we heard, they were admitting her overnight for observation. At the very least, the root of the problem could be that she just went through a week long wake (in the Native American culture, it's tradition to have a bonfire during the entire duration, from death to burial, and for people to stand vigil over it each night to ensure it doesn't go out) for her Sister-In-Law, and didn't weather the stress well. My Grandpa has lost a number of family members over the last couple of years, and it's really wearing her thin.
I'd be really happy if we could make it through just one week without incident, but as that's just not likely any time soon, I'd be happy to be able to not worry over something.
On the bright side, I managaed to give myself a pedicure lastnight while we awaited new word from Dr's, and called various family members. Did I ever mention that my Gramma's the first of 10 (only one of which has passed on), and that my Gramma went on to have 9 children (my mom being the oldest), and all of which are still living? I have a big family, by normal standards. That's not including the children that her sisters and brothers have, most of which we're fairly close to. Family get-togethers have to be decently planned for everyone to have accommodation, and the amount of food we need to prepare for such things.
When something major like this happens, it's kind of like activating a phone tree. We got the call from my Grandpa, and then we took care of the rest. We phoned someone, who then contacts the next, or the next two or three, and that way everyone gets word as soon as possible. They're all waiting on us to hear from the Dr's, so once we get said word, we'll be phoning them and so on. I'm glad to report that we have a decent phone plan, and that we can talk long distance as much as we like. There were times when phone lines weren't that convenient though. Thank heaven's for modern technology.
Ugh, time just seems to be creeping by...