Day +177 Independence, Birthday, Overreacting

Happy Independence day! I hope everyone had a great day!

I wanted to let you know that yesterday was Dylan's 18th birthday. We have a new man in the house. We did whatever he wanted, which was to see a movie, eat out, and open presents with his family. Next weekend we will have a back yard party for him with his friends. Dylan is rapidly approaching 6 feet in height. His shoe size is bigger than mine and he has more hair on his legs than me. I still have him beat in hat size though! He is a senior in high school this year and has a real positive attitude about learning and education. He has been a wonderful help and inspiration to me this year. Good kid!

Yesterday I was happy to be able to report actual medical data on my progress. Going a month between doctor visits means that, if I am to post more than once a month, I have to write about the more subjective aspects of my recovery. One day I may collect enough of my thoughts to write something coherent about my 'mental' journey covering the past 6 months. Some of you have asked about this. However, I know such a post will be a great opportunity for me to ramble so I'm putting it off until I can compress into something of reasonable content and size.

Regarding 'overreacting', since yesterday I have been trying to find the right analogy for explaining the overreaction of a new immune system to a minor injury like a sunburn. So here it is. Imagine a convoy of heavily armed Blackwater contractors traveling through a busy marketplace in Sadr City and a firecracker goes off next to one of their vehicles... Yikes! I'll be staying in the shade!