going to the city...

Saturday started out with the regular "what shall we do with THIS fine day" anticipation. My brother and I had tossed a few ideas around but for the moment, we were getting ready to go volunteer at a tribal event we'd signed up for.

I saw my phone light up and heard the text sound on it but ignored it because we were getting ready to go out the door. A few more preparations for the day and then I picked up my phone and looked at it...the text was from my son D who was going to have to have emergency surgery...you know that sound you hear from afar off when you see a huge explosion? That kind of muffled "PUFF" sound and then you see the clouds? That's the sound in our home...we looked at each other and my brother said "we're going to PDX" and everything changed.

All of our preparations for the volunteering ended and we suddenly shifted into high gear - gotta get to the city...out the door we went. With good byes from Paw Lee and Princess of course.

The drive to the city was, as usual, interesting...

We picked up a hitchhiker about a third of the way. Now, be advised, we rarely pick up hitchhikers, usually only if they're someone we know and going somewhere we go...this young man looked different from the others, he had a sort of harried look as if he wasn't sure about this whole venture he was about to embark on so we picked him up...

We chatted with him from time to time but for the most part all of us were pretty much in our own thoughts for the rest of the three hour drive. We dropped him off with a good luck handshake and off to see my son.

When we got to the hospital he'd already come out of surgery, was in recovery and seemed to be doing fine. He was fairly opiated (grin) and spoke with that gravelly flat tone of someone who's just not quite in the room with you:-) As soon as we saw him and determined he was okay, we both (my brother and I) did a miniature "fall apart" I got all shaky like when you have low blood sugar (oh oops we'd forgotten to eat all day!) so we went and ate at the hospital cafeteria. We visited with him a little more, and then went to the OTHER kids home.

It's exhausting to have such a major blast to one's emotions...hearing the words "emergency surgery" from afar off and the full three hours of not quite knowing what to expect...this is the same son who went to Iraq and by gum I'm about done with getting all my grey hairs from him!!!! We gave short thought to "going out" after finding that son D was okay and went to hang out with son L and daughter J...grand-daughter entertained us and we gradually sank into our chairs...ahhhhhh relaxing! We got thirsty and headed to the store for a quick shopping...on our way there we were accosted by not one, or two but four different emergency response vehicles...ambulances, cops, firetrucks...sirens blaring, lights flashing...when we got to the store we were met by a bent over woman with stringy hair and poorly cared for teeth muttering to herself, she paused for a moment as we went by, looked up at us through her hair and then continued muttering to herself looking back at us balefully as if we'd had our nerve entering her universe without permission! We did our shopping and as we pulled out of the parking lot MORE lights and sirens, and as we took off got a call from son D who as it turns out was getting out the hospital and we got "I thought you guys were staying with MEEEEE" so we went back to L and J's house, gathered our belongings and took off back to D's...for actually, it was he who had gotten us to Portland anyway... kisses goodbye and out into the brazen, brassy city night.

Back to son D's house for late night snacks, settling him in and then trying to get comfortable on their sleeper sofa...failed. Moved up to their room where they kindly offered to have us sleep on their bed...OMG I hate getting old!!!!! Couldn't get comfortable, finally slept thanks to my brother generously making ANOTHER run to the store for some benadryl...

Woke up to a phone call from son L who was appalled to awaken and find us gone...tell you the truth, he's gotten spoiled into us taking him to breakfast by himself on Sunday mornings, daughter's usually got plans so it's just him and we take him for breakfast...we DRAG ourselves out of bed and go get him, take him to said breakfast and ahhhhhhhh FINALLY time to get out of the city!!!!!

I used to love the city...indeed when I'm in the mood I enjoy it from time to time but this time the noise was jarring, the people were odd, we got stared at when taking son L to breakfast...I realize now, we were probably quite the sight to see, myself, not showered albeit in clean clothes...looking probably pretty tired and crazy, my brother, long hair braided but still bushy, unshaven two days worth, my son, 6'4" and tattoos from his neck to the ends of his arms...okay, I'll give the city that one...

Heading home...we were tired but happy - son D was okay and we'd gotten to kiss and cuddle with baby Nellie...etc...did some shopping and finally got home to our little house on the prairie - daughter M had fixed us a delicious deer steak dinner and we could hear the coyotes yipping outside in the wheat scented night...