Cocktail hour cannot come soon enough Friday night

I ‘m feeling content and cozy tonight. I’m happy to be where I am at this moment. Literally and figuratively.

I love my house. It is small, but suits our needs right now. Ok – I lied. One SMALL bathroom is not enough for four (plus an occasional visit from a large, clumsy 12 year old step son), but we manage. Built in ’27, it has just enough character to satisfy my need for an old house, but it’s not so old that it’s falling apart and in need of constant care. In the evening, we rarely use the overhead can lights and turn on lamps. After dinner, instead of cleaning up, we just turn off the big lights and flip on our under cabinet lights. If you can’t see the dirty dishes – it makes it hard to clean them up. It’s our theory and we’re stickin’ to it.

Anyway, the ambience at night is really nice. When the kids are bathed, smell clean and using “inside” voices, it just all adds up as a great moment. That’s what happened tonight. Both of the kids were happy. They played well together, and for the most part, there were few conflicts of any sort. I think I’m so content because I’m feeling thankful for what I have. I’m thankful that my family is healthy and that we don’t have to get up early tomorrow to go to a hospital.

My mom called to make sure I knew what was the latest for tomorrow. Dad’s cold will not get in the way of him having surgery first thing in the morning. He has to be at the hospital at 4:45 AM. Surgery is scheduled for 7 AM. It is supposed to be over by noon. FIVE HOURS. I didn’t realize it was going to be so long. Now that I’m a fan of Grey’s Anatomy, I have a pretty clear visual of what I assume the scene will look like. The thought of heart/lung machines and his chest cracked open for that long is pretty weird. I can only hope that his surgeon, (and his hot, young assistant surgeons), will all be thrilled at the prospect of giving my dad a new valve and a longer, healthier future. Sure there’ll be a few harrowing moments, but in the end my dad will come through with flying colors and they’ll all go to some neighborhood bar tomorrow night and talk about how cool it was to touch my dad’s beating heart.

I will wait all morning for my brother to call and tell me that everything is fine. I will also wait for my realtor to call and tell me that our closing (also in the morning) went smoothly. Tomorrow is the 28th. Finally. Our vacation home is going to a good family.
I do feel peaceful, but I can’t exactly tell you why. I think it’s because I know I am going home. My parents desperately need me and I’m looking forward to helping them. I will miss my kids and my husband terribly, but I’m keeping my perspective. There will be plenty of Halloweens for me to enjoy with them. My parents will probably never need me this much ever again. They are my biggest fans. Their loyalty to me is unsurpassed. I cannot wait to give back