I said goodbye to my parents yesterday. The temperatures are dropping and it’s time for them to head for a warmer climate. I got up early and went for a run, then walked over to sit and have coffee while they finished their breakfast and prepared to begin the long drive. My youngest brother will take them to their winter home, spend a few days helping them get settled and then fly back home on Thursday. My siblings and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I am incredibly grateful that Craig was willing to take on this responsibility.
I seem to be thinking more in terms of the big picture lately. As my sister and I stood in my parents’ garage yesterday, watching my mom get comfortable in the back seat and my brother in the driver’s seat, fiddling with the GPS, I watched as my dad stood next to the open passenger side door. He made one last assessment of the house, glanced up at the sky, taking his time, silently saying goodbye. In my mind’s eye, I saw a panoramic of all the events of the past months. My dad resting in his recliner in the early summer, exhausted after a round of dialysis. My mom expressing all the worry and fear she felt while facing dad’s surgery last summer. My own hospital stay. My dad’s precarious recovery after the kidney transplant. The first day I realized he seemed profoundly better. Watching him snooze in my living room the other day after enjoying Thanksgiving dinner, surrounded by his entire family. I realized that just a few short months ago, I wasn’t sure we would see this day. I wonder if he was thinking the same thing as I was at that moment. We did it. He made it. He’s free to carry on with the rest of his life. Such a bittersweet moment. I miss them already.
Yesterday was a lazy day. I fully intended to avoid Black Friday like the plague and spent most of the day reading and napping. Mark ventured out early and came home with a recipricating saw. Thinking there was some big project in the works, I asked what it was for.
“Cutting stuff.”
Rolling my eyes, I clarified, “No, I mean, do you have something going on that you needed a saw like that right now?”
“Nope. It was just a good deal and you never know when you might need one.”
“Well, in that case,” I replied, “I think I should find myself a pair of cowboy boots.”
“Why?”
“Because you never know when I might need them!”
The saw wasn’t Mark’s only purchase. He couldn’t resist the ten-dollar remote controlled helicopter and brought that home too. He and the kids have had more fun with this thing, which I expected to be broken by now, but it’s still going strong. Money well spent, I guess!
Last night my sister and I went out with her two best friends from high school. We went to see Hairball. I had the best time I’ve had in a long time! It was wall-to-wall people and the dance floor was packed. We squeezed our way onto the floor and danced like maniacs. There was an odd moment when I almost ran into a woman playing kissy-face with her husband. I put my hand out to keep some space between us and the husband looked at me. It was my chiropractor! For a moment I felt like a little kid who sees her teacher in the grocery store. We laughed and chatted for a few minutes, as much as possible in a bar where the music is so loud the floor vibrates. I later ran into his sister who is the office receptionist and she sat down next to me to talk and prefaced everything she said with, “I gotta tell you. I’m drunk!” I can’t wait to see these two at my next appointment on Wednesday!
Today will be spent trying to squeeze in as much togetherness as possible with Brad and my sister and her family before they head back to school and home tomorrow. Sigh! Why do these kinds of weekends always go too fast?
