Those of you I speak to in person know that news about my dad's health has turned much worse than previously thought. It's been a constant roller coaster of bad news, good news, worse news, better news. We've been left with some pretty awful news.

It seems the mass in his pancrease is too mixed up with the arteries and vessels to make surgery a good option. It's increased from the size of a golf ball in May to the size of two fists as of late July. The cancer has spread to his liver and several spots along the arteries serving the digestive system. The best treatment option is chemo. We'll see how his kidneys do. His cancer is considered terminal. We're looking at a matter of years, most likely, but won't really know until they can see how it responds to the chemo.

I've gotten all the major updates on my father's health via email. I think he does this so everyone gets all the same information at the same time. That, and he says he gets a bit too choked up to talk from time to time.

On July 30, my best friend, Swankette, got married in Seattle. During this trip, Realsupergirl and I took advantage of our proximity to Dad's home in Tumwater to pay him a visit. So good to talk in person.

This morning I opened up my email box and found an email from Dad with the subject line "change in status."

Oh gawd.

What could it be now?

I was terrified.

When I finally worked up my courage, I opened it. It contained one sentence: "Hi there, [partner] and I married yesterday in a quiet civil ceremony at the courthouse."

Wow.

This trips me out in so many directions all at once. First, when I was processing wanting to marry Realsupergirl, he counseled against the institution. Dad's twice divorced. He and his partner have been together some months, maybe a year longer than Realsupergirl and I have. He told me all about the legal work they've done to protect and include each other in case of death and illness. He seemed quite content to build a long-term, stable, loving relationship without marriage.

He just re-did his will a few months ago. This "change in status" is gonna require yet another update to that document.

So, I'm a little put out (my own issue) over the fact that he didn't give anyone an opportunity to be there or involved. No heads up. Nuthin. And a little upset that he would do so 13 days before my wedding. Feeling a little upstaged.

My feelings are only starting to catch up with my surprise. This has really hit me out of left field.

Gonna actually try using this blog.

So, I created a Blogger page so that I could 1. Post comments on my friends' pages, and 2. Lock in my screen name on yet another system. But, other than commenting on GrigorPDX and Swankette, this space has been left unused. As more of my pals (Belly Dancin' Mama and TeacherRefPoet) are on Blogger, I've decided to try posting here more. I think I'll be simul-posting for a while (my original blog is at Livejournal). We'll see which blog wins.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.