Let's Do the Time Warp Again

I'm beginning to feel like my days begin at 3 a.m.

I'm here in Wisconsin and have just checked into my hotel. Travel went well and we even arrived 35 minutes early into O'Hare. There's something miraculous in that. After a solo lunch at my precious Rocky Rococo's, I went to Mom's to meet everyone. I got to meet my littlest niece, Kate. She is just about as precious as any baby I ever birthed...uh...saw. I got to chat with the next door neighbors, who became our neighbors as young marrieds expecting their second child and who are now grandparents. I got to see my lovely teenage niece and her sweet brother who's about twice as tall as any 11 year old I know [close to 6'].

Mom seems to be handling all the details as you would expect. She is, after all, a bookkeeper. The four of us children all shared the photos we brought. My brother and I expressed surprise at what we saw. Those old photos brought back memories of "old Dad"... the one before the stroke. My sister-in-law only knew Dad after the stroke. There was so much more to Dad than those final years of decline and the pictures reminded us of that.

I drove through my small town on its biggest day of the year--the 4th of July. I have never seen so much bunting outside of a political convention. I felt like a visitor.

Tonight I tried to turn left onto the main thoroughfare. After a few minutes, I opted right and came upon my great friend [who was my Maid of Honor and who lives in Florida], her mom, and her daughter. We talked and talked and laughed and cried and took in the fireworks as the night air got cold on their back deck. I know that encounter was not by chance and it gave me a lot of peace.

Tomorrow, it's brunch with Mom and sis to talk about more details.