What *is* 'expected'?

You've heard the phrase, 'as well as can be expected'. Right?

So what does that mean, exactly?

"Fred was doing some crazy acrobatics and crashed his bicycle into the garbage truck, which caused a cascade of cans and torrents of filth to bury him about six inches deep in the middle of the street, after which the truck backed over his right leg. But he's doing as well as can be expected."

Who's expecting it? Why are they concerned? Do they know Fred? Are they familiar with how he's usually doing? How do they know it's expected? Who told them? Have they seen a lot of cases of rubbish-obscured cyclists? Perhaps the other cyclists they've seen buried in filth have been substandard and recovered much more slowly than an amazing biker like Fred.

Or, you get the armchair bike-watcher who doesn't want you to get your hopes up that Fred is going to come back Freddier-than-ever. They're more than happy to say, when Fred is once again on the bike, doing his crazy road tricks, "I guess I was wrong. Fred recovered much better than I thought he would."

Because that way, they haven't set you up for failure. If you expect the worst, but then the best happens, you'll feel great. And I'm sure they will, too.

So that's the news. Joseph is doing as well as can be expected. Right now, they just don't know for sure. I think they're saying things with a slightly negative slant so that everyone isn't expecting miracles.

I am, of course, hoping he can get back on his bike and start doing crazy tricks again.

Or, in his case, start tinkering with the VWs he loves so much and prove everyone wrong about his long term prognosis.

I have spent many hours thinking about the whole family. I have never felt so useless.